“Negroes in the Trees is a series that explores the ways in which we, as black individuals, in this urban community of Baltimore connect to nature and our surroundings. We often think of nature in terms of natural landscapes and wildlife, spaces that rarely exist in urban settings. In Negroes in the Trees, I want to create an imaginative environment that wrestles with our undeniable connection to nature, despite being outside of the rural community. In this series, the trees, flowers and plant life meld into the urban backdrop, blurring the lines between what is natural and architectural. Akin to the roads and pathways on a map, I use a continuous line technique to define the contours of the subjects faces and bodies. The process of creating each figure, as well as blurring the distinction between the body and its surroundings, re-inscribes a physical connection to nature that has been lost through urbanization.