When you take off the mask and see what remains...a study in the imposter syndrome. Pen and ink on paper. 9" x 11". 2016.

He loves me, he loves me not...Colored pencil on bristol. 9" x 11". 2017. 

Reverse Medusa. Pen and ink on bristol. 9" x 12", 2017.

Twisted still life from a college watercolor class. Watercolor on paper. 16" x 20". 2010.

The first in the Inner Demon series: the parrot that ceaselessly squawks the broken record of your most negative inner thoughts. (Other representations of a propagator are left as an exercise.). Pen and ink on paper. 8" x 12". 2015.

Concentric calla lilies. Paint pens on paper. 8" x 10". 2016.

Psychedelic take on seraph. Colored pencil on paper. 9" x 12". 2016.

When you hope someone opens up to you for the first time...Pen and ink on paper. 11" x 14". 2016. 

A skeleton sitting in a chair...a bit unsettling for some. Watercolor on paper. 16" x 20". 2010.

Flowers can get almost fractal. And they say diamonds are forever...[A gift for a loved one.] Paint pens. 9" x 11". 2016. 

A maelstrom of a sea creature. Watercolor and ink on paper. 12" x 14". 2015.

Sketch of a spidery girl. Pen on paper. 8.5" x 11". 2013.

Our fears reveal much more about ourselves than we could even imagine...and that's the true horror behind them. Yet they are much thinner than us -- emaciated, less than three-dimensional, they cling to us and suck the life from us, reducing us to them. They are the parasites of our souls, offering us images that lead us to live our own invented realities. Pen and ink on watercolor paper, 11" x 14", 2017.

A creepier way to enter the Chapel at Hope College. Watercolor on paper. 14" x 16". 2010. 

My long time friend and foe, GUILT. Nothing you do is good (enough), and none of that is forgotten. It's your ball and chain. And of course it has to be wagging at least one bony finger. Pen and ink on paper. 9" x 12". 2016.

Lilies on lilies. Paint pens on paper. 8" x 10". 2016.

Sometimes something else hides among the leaves...watercolor on paper. 11" x 14". 2009. 

Doodle of an expressive mind. Pencil on paper. 4" x 6". 2016.

A depiction of the feared demon from Mayan mythology. Pen and ink on paper. 8.5" x 11". 2008.

Op art-esque snake, what more can I say. Paint pens on paper. 8" x 10". 2016.

Splat. Colored pencil on paper. 8.5" x 10". 2009.

The imposter syndrome, in short: Bury your head in the sand, and out of your rear sticks out any number of masks, pretending to be you -- and with your permission, of course, so as to cover your ass. Pen and ink on paper. 9" x 12". 2016.

Pen and ink on watercolor paper, 11" x 14", 2017. Most of us have felt some dissatisfaction with our appearances and physical abilities. Media and cultural pressures don't help. The promise of perfection, especially the "perfect" body, islike a neon sign. We are easily enchanted by things pleasing to the eye. For some of us its pursuit could lead to dark waters swarming with...low self-esteem and self-confidence simultaneous with high standards, which can slip into self-harm, particularly in Eating Disorders...and that lure is attached to the Monster itself.

Anorexia consumes its victims whole, while forbidding them from happily or even neutrally consuming anything. It promises beauty, but it is nothing but grotesque. It turns every mirror into a funhouse mirror, except that the circus is your life, and Anorexia is the ring master. As you starve yourself and reach for that lure, you starve yourself of everything else: only your "health regime" matters, and you have little to no interest for anything else. If you do, it is to pursue some orthogonal ideal, upon a high pedestal.