The Paintings

9”x12”

Acceptance flows in both directions. The choice must be mutual, a commitment to a journey that will surely be trying.
Accepting an appointment to USNA can be many things at the same time. It can be a response to a calling, an act of rebellion, a step of faith, or a hopeful assurance of adventure.

11”x14”

While many consider ceremoniously walking through the doors of Bancroft as the symbolic step across the threshold, I always found that first step into Alumni Hall on Induction Day to be the moment. It is that threshold that invites inside a civilian and spits out a somewhat dazed fresh plebe. Nobody can forget this day, even if all the details mush together.

11”x14”

This day is the first of many occasions where a midshipman will make a promise. There is only so much they can understand about what that means at this stage in the journey. The next four years will invite a never ending barrage of trials and opportunities to understand and prepare to make that same promise as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps.

20”x16”

At any given moment, a plebe must know precisely how many days there are until a notable moment of longing: typically, a leave period or a rite of passage. It is a grueling mind game to constantly look ahead and reflect on how many moments of plebe misery will exist before reprieve.
As an artist, still life style paintings will always be special to me. They are how I learned to paint. My teacher would set up a challenge and expect me to produce a finished painting at the end of
our three hour session. I learned to paint directly through this process, but I also learned the how a still life can tell a story.
Each item is chosen for a reason and is used to guide your eye to move around the painting. Notice the first thing you look at and the subsequent journey you take.
You may observe the acorn on the lower right-hand side. When it makes sense, I prefer to include elements from nature in my paintings. I use this motif in the two other still life paintings in this series to signify growth.

24”x20”

The climactic end to Plebe Year is the Herndon climb. It is a marathon of grease-covered bodies wrestling to scale the heights of the 21-foot tall monument. The realities and interpersonal dynamics of midshipman life are clearly observable in this struggle.
Named after a stanza in the "Laws of the Navy":
On the strength of one link in the cable,
Dependeth the might of the chain.
Who knows when thou mayest be tested?
So live that thou bearest the strain!

9”x12”

The advent of Youngster Year brings about a sense of freedom and relief from the demands of plebe life. With that, however, is a sudden void of attention, even if that attention is unwanted. It is common that Youngsters can feel a strange sense of loneliness and sadness. They are not yet enjoying the authority of 2nd Class and Firstie years and still subject to much of the restrictions of underclassmen.

9”x12”

Parade season is a busy one on the Yard. Despite looking
almost as good as West Point parades to spectators, midshipmen in ranks know the truth. Clicking rifles, locking knees, and alternative ditties are small acts of rebellion that midshipmen perform outside of most visitors' awareness.
Our brigade Gunnery Sargent taught me a life lesson through parade practice on one particularly long afternoon on Worden Field: "You are going to feel uncomfortable no matter what... You may as well look good doing it." That has stuck with me for over a decade.

9”x12”

The largest dormitory in the country is filled with over 4,000 midshipmen, many of
which, at any given moment, are feeling similar things: A little bit on the outside, searching for belonging, surrounded by people yet still finding where they fit. In this space, there is an opportunity for deep and meaningful friendship, even if it is not discovered until long after the four years by the Bay are finished.

18”x24”

Nighttime on the Yard is reserved for those closest to it, and Stribling Walk at night is particularly vibrant. The street lights illuminate the paths just enough to navigate from the dungeons of Rickover to the glowing facade of Bancroft. Long after visitors have left, the grounds are serene and alive. Midshipmen in their nightly rituals of study and community quietly traverse the campus. It is a daily moment of tranquility amidst a place that never stops. To see the Naval Academy at night is to truly see it.
The homeostasis of all midshipmen is some combination of exhaustion, in a hurry, and already thinking about tomorrow. I was no different, but sometimes, this view was enough to force me
to slow down and appreciate the grandeur of the place.

24”x20”

My goal as a painter was to capture the moments, big and small, that define the US Naval Academy. When I saw this photo by Aaron Rosa, USNA Class of 2011, I knew instantly I needed to paint it. Most people are familiar with the significant moments of USNA: Many of them depicted in this series, the events plebes count down to and newspapers highlight. But what about the days in between? The ones spent counting? Those are the ones where midshipmen are actually learning to become officers: through study, and practice. Those are the ones nobody sees, but define the ones everyone does.

http://aaronrosaphotography.com/

16”x20”

While painting this collection, I tried to keep my personal experience separate from the narrative. However, over time, I realized I could invite you to reflect on your perspective by sharing my own.
Academics at the U.S. Naval Academy make up a significant part of the experience. For the still life c o m m e m o r a t i n g midshipmen life beyond plebe year, I decided to paint the first of two self portraits.
The first is pictured here, slightly less conventional than a typical portrait. My personal bucket cover, Naval Architecture textbooks and drafting tools, and class ring tell this story of a work-in-progress.
The oak sprig not only nods to the material used to build the first frigates in the United States, but also shows growth from the acorn in the previous still life of plebe life.
The "design waterline" of a ship is where it floats when fully loaded. It is a foundational metric that is the point of departure for all other design decisions.

11”x14”

The Dark Ages at the U.S.Naval Academy correspond with a season that is dismal, both in weather and in morale. Spring is not yet within sight. It is the thickest part of the year, demanding a "nose to grindstone" response.
It is also a season that offers the opportunity to nurture coping mechanisms which will pay off during the realities of deployments in the Fleet.

This gray season offers moments of delight, however, when fresh snow blankets the Yard with majesty.

12”x9”

The signs of spring are truly exciting. Just when the Dark Ages trick you into believing they will never end, Spring Break offers a moment to breathe. It marks the beginning of the end of the cycle. The warm weather bringing much more than better moods: the anticipation of finishing the story that seemed never-ending the first time you made a promise.

24”x30”

One of my favorite things about the U.S. Naval Academy is the way traditions are passed down
throughout decades. There is an institutional experience that any midshipman can relate to. Ring Dance is certainly one of those traditions.
A celebration of earning that coveted ring, the dance is an occasion to bond with classmates and appreciate the journey.

18”x24”

There are times midshipmen find themselves residing in Bancroft Hall during an unforgettable national event. I happened to be just a few weeks from graduating when we got the news that Osama Bin Laden was captured.
My class was in the middle school age group during the attacks on September 11, 2001. That tragic day during such formative years inspired much of my class to join the military to begin with. To witness that sense of closure days before commissioning was unforgettable.
The response was unanimous. Thousands of midshipman instinctively ran to Tecumseh Court to express their elation.

20”x16”

The second of two self-portraits, "Identity" was never a painting I planned to do. I painted it on a whim one day, because I felt like I needed to. As I painted, I unpacked why I felt the urge to make it.
It was first to acknowledge (and thank) the women who paved the way. By enduring the process first, they made it better for me. It is my hope that trend continues into future generations of
women and minorities at USNA.
It was also an retroactive acceptance of who I was that day:
I was saying goodbye to something I was very much ready to leave.
I was excited, yet unsure, about the future.
In a matter of weeks, I would be married to a fellow classmate, moving to a new city,
and standing in front of my first division of sailors as a brand new ensign. Each classmate could relate to a flavor of that feeling.
I was also navigating my identity as an officer. The uniform meant one thing, but there was still an individual with unique passions and dreams beneath the "sameness."
That person did not have to have everything figured out. Neither do you.

20”x16”

The entire point of the process is to commission officers in the Navy and Marine Corps. All other purposes are second. The journey starts, in theory, the same for each midshipman. However, the end of the pipeline results in an abrupt divergence as newly minted officers receive orders taking them across the globe. From here, some paths will continue to intersect, and many will not. The end of the Naval Academy journey is just the beginning of something new.

11”x14”

I could think of no greater visual of the United States Marine Corp ethos than the image of newly minted 2nd Lieutenants taking their final vow within the confines of Annapolis on Commissioning Day. Peppered amongst a sea of white naval uniforms, these officers stand and affirm their vows with gusto and unity.

24”x20”

Most days, it seems like this one would never come… When it finally did, it was surreal and truly wonderful.
Going into the day, it did not occur to me that this insular community would never be the same. We had endured so much together, and suddenly we were scattered… just like the covers we had just tossed in the air.
The commissioning ceremony ends with hurrah. First, underclassmen offer three cheers for "those who are about to leave us." And with great jubilee, Firsties respond with three cheers "to those we leave behind."
Hip, hip, hooray.
Hip, hip, hooray.
HIP, HIP, HOORAY!

9”x12”

Anonymous faces would suddenly feel like home when our paths would cross again… that familiar face would take you back to that moment, the one that seemed so benign and exacting at the time.
At my five year reunion, Kevin, a dear classmate, expressed after a reminiscent conversation, "What I'd give to go back for just one day." I echoed his sentiments. I realized that his words are the perfect ending to the story. What would you do? Who would you see? What would you say?