To me, using scratchboard is almost like sculpting. As I remove the black India ink from the board, I feel as though I am carving and shaping an image out of darkness into the light. Something I read in Robert Henri's The Art Spirit has always stuck with me: "Draw the mood of a thing, not simply a copy of the thing itself." In my art, I seek to capture the mood of a subject through the dramatic contrast of black and white. The artwork on this website represents this philosophy of art.

In The Dream the man's hair seems to have a life of its own, much the same as an optical illusion does: it appears to move. For me this is like the mysterious dreamlike state in which creativity itself takes place, the point at which creativity is born on the inside.

The Disk Jockey holds a lot of nostalgia for me. It is based on a photograph my Dad took as a soldier in the 1950s army. It recalls an era gone by: the pleasure of listening to music via phonograph. It also emphasizes the beauty and grace in everyday gestures that we take for granted, similar to Degas' The Tub.

Soldiers (at a Market in Panama) depicts American soldiers circa the 1950s eating bananas and chatting at an open air market in Panama. This is based on another of my Dad's photographs and I was fascinated by the dynamics of the soldiers interacting with one another.

Victory is one of my emotional reactions to the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Creating this image was a meaningful way for me to express my feelings. In Victory, the stars of the American flag have become fighter jets returning home from a victorious mission. The stripes become clouds & vapor trails.

Bedtime Prayer captures the serene moment of a child praying, from a unique perspective. We observe this moment from above, as though we are looking down with God upon this boy kneeling at his bedside.

Are We There Yet? visually illustrates the urban legend that the Statue of Liberty was originally based on a black woman in chains. What do you think the answer to the title question is? What is your interpretation of this image? I made this image at a relatively small size because I wanted the viewer to be challenged to engage it up close.

The Magic Touch: As this African American orchestra conductor waves his baton, the air is filled with beautiful music and a rainbow of colors. His baton appears to carve a musical staff out of the darkness. Notes gently float off the staff as violin bows poise below. The conductor truly has the magic touch: the ability to inspire a breathtaking performance from his orchestra; music that brings light to all who hear it. This piece symbolizes the freedom that African Americans have to choose non-traditional career paths and the excellence with which they can achieve it. I dedicate this piece to pioneering African American conductors like James DePriest and others around the world.