Artist Statement: The theme of my artwork is always the same: to bring the viewer into direct contact with the places and the people who occupy them, and to break down stereotyping and alienation by sharing experience of these places. In the painting Mandela Farmer’s Market, I hope that viewers will be intrigued and heartened by the presence of a down-home, organic farmer's market flourishing in West Oakland. The empty street between West Oakland BART and “Trucker's Friend” gas station is filled on Saturdays with a vital mix of neighborhood activities, which includes the presence of the Scott Family, organic farmers from Fresno. Getting to know the family while working on this painting was one of the highlights of the project. You can see them waiting on customers beneath their canopy in the foreground.