This series -- prior to becoming digital in nature -- involved a playful foray into watercolor. During the Coronavirus lockdown in the spring of 2020, I (like most others) was stuck inside. I decided it was time to dabble in watercolor. I had zero experience and really just dove in. I bought myself a basic Cotman watercolor set, and unearthed my late grandfather's thick watercolor paper. Next, I began watching instructional videos created by Laura Horn, an Australian painter whose work I admire. One of the first exercises I practiced was color bleeds, and I quickly discovered that this activity had a calming effect. Eventually, my color bleeds became more and more interesting. Abstract forms and shapes emerged on the paper, and while they were sketches, I recognized that they had the potential to become so much more.  

So, I asked myself one of my favorite questions: What can I do with this? How can I transform this into something cohesive, something with a meaningful composition? 

My response was to do what I already knew how to do: I took out my camera and began photographing what was in front of me. I took photos of my watercolor sketches. Then, to transform the photos, I implemented the same digital manipulation process that I'd used for my previous series, Inner Life.

As I watched my watercolors transform on the screen, I quickly recognized how the results appeared to echo the imagery in the famous Rorschach inkblot test. My new art now harnessed a tangible familiarity, with exciting connections to be made, and I liked it. That's how the Somatoforms series took shape.