After becoming disabled in 2007 with Bipolar Disorder I, I developed a sense of community from watching old mystery shows. My BA and MFA were in visual arts, although in the past my work was primarily video and/or conceptual.

I began filling multiple notebooks with funny or poignant lines of dialogue from these shows. I also had begun painting with gouache sometime in the late 2010s. At some point, I began putting the dialogue over the paintings.

In the beginning I focused on Murder She Wrote and Monk. I liked watching Angela Lansbury acting as an older single woman protagonist, something pretty unusual. Monk held the appeal of humorous writing and (Tony Shaloub) Monk’s mental illness. I did Monk first, I’m sure I’ve seen every episode multiple times over. There are more Murder She Wrote episodes though, and I don’t think I’ve seen them all.

Sometimes I’ve gotten quotes from commercials or other old mystery shows, although not as methodically. Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock…

Usually, although not always, the backgrounds are abstract.