Houston (Ancient Coasts), 2023-2025, Carved acrylic and found paper on canvas, 75” x 136”. Attributed to Chowdhury & Turco (2006) and Campbell & Wise (2018).

Houston (Ancient Coasts) is a visual poem to the 66-million-year history beneath Houston—a meditation on oil, water, and the layered mechanics of local geology. It references the city’s salt domes and three major aquifers—Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper—whose extraction has supplied rapid population growth and fracking while causing the land to sink. 

Formed by ancient extinctions, oil now accelerates the climate crisis, echoing the very cycles that created fossil fuels.

Houston (Ancient Coasts), 2023-2025, Carved acrylic and found paper on canvas, 75” x 136”. Attributed to Chowdhury & Turco (2006) and Campbell & Wise (2018).

Harvey (2017), 2022-2023. Acrylic on cotton. 59” x 45.5”.  

This piece moves beyond the rectangular format to explore the interplay of shape and layers. "Harvey (2017)" commemorates the most destructive flood to hit Houston in over a century, sparking ongoing discussions about the city's drainage systems and flood resilience. The painting presents an aerial view of the flooding, inspired by news drone news footage and aerial photography documenting the submerged downtown area from North to South.

Harvey (2017), 2022-2023. Acrylic on cotton. 59” x 45.5”.  

Evangeline, 1976, 2024. Acrylic latex on canvas. 21 ¾” x 16 ½”

This piece analyzes historical maps of Houston's salt domes and the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, starting with the creation of the Houston-Galveston Subsidence Commission in 1976. It explores visuals of how groundwater withdrawals and resource extraction have caused ground sinking and flooding in Houston for decades.

As of 2021, USGS, the City of Houston, and the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District decided to acknowledge the close connection between these two units (Chicot and Evangeline) and Houston's welfare and declared them to be measured as one combined hydrological unit.

Ancestral Coasts, 2020-2024. Acrylic latex on canvas. 36” x 24”

Exploring the ancient dunes and coastal borders of Texas reveals the region's unique geology, shaped by its long history beneath prehistoric oceans. Houston's numerous salt domes result from diapirism—a process where salt rises through rock layers over millions of years. These formations, vital for oil and gas extraction, act as natural traps for pressurized resources. Despite their seemingly simple structure, salt domes are remarkably complex and diverse in form.

Sugarland, South Houston, Mont Belvieu, Hockley, and Blue Ridge are areas in and around Harris County that sit directly atop salt domes (in red).

 ITC (2019). 2020. Latex on cotton. 36” x 79”

This work echoes the trailing shape of the smoke plume from the 2019 ITC Deer Park terminal fire—one of Houston’s most significant industrial disasters in recent memory. That day, the plume was visible from the artist’s downtown studio, from over 35 miles away at the Galveston Ferry, and as far as Austin, 162 miles out.

Sparked by a failed circulation pump, the blaze burned for three days, igniting 14 chemical storage tanks and releasing carcinogenic benzene and other toxic fumes. The painting’s jagged form mirrors both the tank farm layout and the drifting plume. At the same time, its layered surfaces—evoking the view from beneath murky water—reflect the slower, less visible damage: contaminated waterways, lingering benzene in the air, and public trust eroded by delayed warnings.

The ITC fire revealed critical gaps in Houston’s safety systems. This series stands as both a record and a warning: a reminder of what happens when unchecked industrial growth collides with inadequate regulation, leaving nearby communities exposed and unprotected.

Shatter, 2020. Acrylic latex on cotton. 23.5” x 16.5”

This painting series centers on the 2020 Watson Grinding and Manufacturing explosion in Houston, which exposed a fatal gap in the city’s “no zoning” policies. The works reflect real afterimages burned into the artist’s memory just before the shockwave destroyed and damaged homes—including the artist’s home studio—at 4:24 a.m.

On January 24, 2020, a degraded welding hose leaked propylene gas overnight, igniting when an employee turned on the lights. Three people were killed, and nearby homes and businesses were leveled. At the time, Houston’s hazardous materials ordinance only covered indoor storage, leaving outdoor materials like the propylene unregulated. Following the disaster, the city closed this loophole, expanding buffer zones and tightening safety measures.

The series stands as both symbol and warning—layered with the consequences of unchecked deregulation and risks left hidden in plain sight.