Exploration and an unsuppressable feeling of “what if” are core to my creative practice, so as a longtime cocktail enthusiast - and brand new watercolor artist in October 2021 - when I saw the beautiful glow of light through a Negroni, I wondered “can I capture that luminosity? What if I could?” So I tried it, and it worked, and it was hard and scary and delightful. Since then I’ve continued to stage more and more complex cocktail still life scenes, adding complicated shadows, unexpected reflections, and surprising glassware - all while embracing the thrill of not knowing how far I can push my newfound painting capabilities. Sometimes I fail, and I find more and more that that is as good for my heart as succeeding. 

“A Toast!” is a love ode to the cozy intimacy of a shared cocktail: the delight of chatting with Seattle’s hardworking bar staff about their favorite spirits and current experiments, the warm glow of a candle through the big ice of an Old Fashioned or a perfectly clear Vesper, trying a sip of your best friend’s drink, and chatting - thick as thieves - over a round or two at your favorite local watering hole.