Your biography is very compelling. Tell us a bit about your parents, and how they influenced your art.
"I grew up in Strasburg, Virginia, which is a tiny town in the Shenandoah Valley. My mother owned an antique shop called Tiques, which, compared to the more conservative storefronts, definitely stood out. It used to be an old grocery store that she painted bright yellow [and] surrounded with sunflowers, and [it] had black-and-white striped floors. Growing up, I was always taken to antique shows and auctions throughout Virginia. Every show, we would roam the rows and rows of white tents that would be filled with antique rugs, house columns, and pie cupboards, and I would just listen to her talk about each piece's history and how it was made. I fell in love with antiques almost instantly after that, and became a stickler for good craftsmanship.

My father is a painter and works full time in his studio in Peru, where he was born and raised. For a brief period of time when I was young, he stayed in Strasburg and rented an old barn to use as his studio. I remember spending the entire summer watching him paint these huge abstract paintings day after day, with the barn doors open and classical music blaring into the street. It was such an experience and an inspiration to watch someone work so passionately and with such concentration everyday."

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