The portraits are of friends and family. The poses and environments make reference to various sources from the history of painting. I take a very intuitive approach to this. I look for a pose that works for that particular person. When selecting an environment I try to find sources that relate to my experience of the subject. The pose and the background are not always from the same source. The most important thing is that it feels right. My intention is not to recreate or update paintings from the past. Rather I am interested in making connections from my relationship with my subjects to my experience of the history of painting. After I find an environment I paint a very loose and simplified backdrop based on it. When the sitter comes to the studio I pose them in the environment (backdrop) and paint them directly in natural light. I do my best to complete the painting in one session. I want to the painting to be fresh and not labored.