To make art is to examine the self. To practice psychiatry is to examine the other, in relation to the self.  Both are phenomenological. They are inextricably linked, and bidirectional. As a psychiatrist, I heal and comfort patients who suffer from immense physical and psychological pain. We form a therapeutic alliance based in curiosity and exploration, and partake in a journey of discovery. We are guided by biological underpinnings, social determinants of health, and psychological conflicts at varying levels of psychic accessibility.  Together, we examine how affect and self-esteem are regulated, and explore the sources of these cathexes. When I paint, I do the same. I examine my own incontrovertibly human conflicts: the paradigms of self and non-self, idealization and devaluation, control and chaos, love and aggression. My art surprises me, embarrasses me, excites me, fills me with shame and dread — all inevitable human experiences. In that way, more than anything, my art connects me to the human experience, and thus connects me to my patients.

Three Yiayias in Mourning
24” x 36”
Acrylic on canvas

Red as a Beet, Mad as a Hatter
40” x 30”
Acrylic on canvas

24”x 24”

Acrylic on canvas

Blue Ridge Worms

24” x 36”

Acrylic on canvas

125th St.

36” x 36”

Acrylic on canvas

Self-disintegration, in Pink
36” x 24”
Acrylic on canvas