When I was 6 or 7, I started having this dream at night that I could breathe underwater and swim with all types of sea creatures.

I would daydream as well. Out fishing with my grandfather, I would daydream that I was a fish — what it must be like to see the underwater world from their perspective, how the light came through the water and what the colors were doing. It looked like a magical place and I really wanted to be in it. Those dreams inspired me.

As a kid, I was always drawing. I would get on my bike and go to the woods and just draw.

In college, I was scuba diving and taking photographs of sea life and going to aquariums. Working at a small gallery, I learned a lot about creating and presenting art and a lot of business skills I think were vital in my transition from student to working professional.

This is what I am passionate about: I want to make a living painting these creatures and bringing awareness to conservation needs and support that through my art work.

There’s a special relationship between artist and collector. That piece is very personal to you and it’s something you’re passionate about and it’s very personal to the collector. The peace, the magic, the beauty of the underwater world also spoke to them.

When we start out as as children, we haven’t gone through loss or pain and the world is just wonderful, and there is something about that that we lose as we get older and bad things happen to us. That pain stifles our ability to feel wonder and joy in our lives.

One of the reasons I love the underwater environment and painting it is I feel being in that place helps me as an adult return to that childlike state where I can have awe and wonder and I can revel in beauty and feel the glory around me, something that feels very sacred. There’s healing in that. This is the feeling I want to give people when they see my work, that for a moment they can taste what it’s like to feel awe and glory, to feel free from fear and anxiety. That is the power of art — to communicate in a way that is nonverbal — there are no words.

As a painter, I want to share some of that peace and beauty and healing with other people and bring joy and meaning to their lives. The possibilities are endless.