My work explores issues in contemporary family structure. My experiences growing up as an only child of a single parent mother provide the foundation for the development of my ideas. I look to analyze the sociological impact that the lack of a father figure has in a boy's 'coming of age' years. Within this investigation lie multiple related bodies of work. One body involves aspects that reside in the household itself such as mother / son relationships that include shared feelings of bitterness and abandonment brought on by my father's leaving. Other times I aim to pay homage to my mother for her fulfillment of both parental roles. Related are works that explore the reasons, impact, and dynamics of neighborhood street gang acceptance and involvement: such as the allure of the 'extended family' to a fatherless, only child, and its accompanying values that addressed issues of respect, pride, protection, and loyalty; all of which seemed to instill a certain level of manhood and masculinity beyond a mother's capability. Michael Vasquez paints some really amazing pieces. His use of color and style is ridiculous.
I build my paintings through a unique set of marks that seem to mirror those of graffiti and territorial 'tagging,' striving for a seamless marriage of content and execution. These marks are often made of broken color that when viewed up close seem as foreign as the figures' hand gestures; yet optically assemble themselves from afar. Many of these marks aim to capture the atmosphere of the figure's environment and are neither a part of the figure nor the background; yet somehow inform them both. I aim to be able to slip in any color with any type of mark, anywhere on any painting and have it accepted and functioning.
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