Welcome, traveler, to the earth below 

My Name is ezra (with intentional lowercase). Here lies the underbelly of humanity, where I have set up camp with paint and my easel. Everything I create here is inspired by folk tale, myth and metaphor as a means to navigate the emotional currents of being human. The image vocabulary of surrealism, fantasy and horror are my primary tools along with art nouveau and gothic architectural motifs. Because I am so deeply fascinated by our desire as human to lean on faith, I often include biblical references in my work. I am not religious myself, but I was raised christian and have since found myself drawn to understand how faith shapes world view.

We love to believe that, as humans, we are governed by logic and fact. That idea makes us feel safe but in reality existence is much more akin to a river than solid ground. We are driven by what we believe more than what we know, especially in the case of religion, trauma, and politics. We all wish to feel like we can predict the future, and the only one to offer that is faith. My own experiences with religion and spirituality have led me to examine faith’s impact on my life and the culture I am a part of.

The world of spirituality also offers us a mosaic of metaphors and imagery through fable. and parable. My first language has always been metaphor, and as someone living with chronic illness, symbolism has been where I feel most seen. Where I can thoroughly explain myself and the body I experience life through. This body that has taught me so much about love and grief needed a place to store all of those big, heavy feelings. That became art and stories and poetry. I refer to my work as a “Beautiful Bucket” into which people may cast their heavy feelings. The connection we feel with art is much like a person. We see ourselves in them, and thus the weight of our experience is now shared. I do believe that art is about connection first and beauty last, but isn’t it nice to get a treat after unloading your worries somewhere safe :)

My journey as an artist truly began as a dancer in college, where I fell in love with the human form and learned to channel difficulty into something others could find meaning in. I began oil painting during lockdown in 2020 and since then, all I have wanted is to continue creating beautiful buckets to make anyone who’s sees themselves in it feel a little bit lighter.

Thank you so much for being here, on the other end of this continuous connection. I hope I can provide some peace, relief or solidarity for you through my work.