Artist Statement

Painting is a way for me to document and express my emotions in a way that I cannot communicate with words. I find I cannot fully understand what I am feeling, or put certain moments to rest, until I paint them out. Expressing the vulnerable parts of myself in this way feels incredibly intimate. Art is a space where the viewer and I can both be honest without hesitation.

I often rely on metaphors to create narratives that express my personal experiences while leaving enough ambiguity for the viewer to connect with them in their own ways. Much of my work revolves around my interpersonal relationships. In my painting “Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You” I stare directly at the viewer, angry and crying while covered in claw marks and bites. I am stabbing the dog that lies across my lap. The painting is about how I have been loyal to a fault for a long time, and I am, in a sense, killing that part of me in order to protect myself. My gaze at the viewer is a warning to them. I will not accept being treated with disrespect any longer.

I start with photographic references that I composite together in Procreate, adjusting color and lighting until I feel it properly matches the emotion I am trying to convey. I work primarily in oil on canvas, with a palette relies heavily on phthalo blue, creating cold, atmospheric outdoor spaces in which my subjects sit. I bring the eye to areas of interest using cool pinks, oranges, and reds. The overall value structure of my work stays mostly in the midtones, with darker shadows or brighter highlights when the piece needs stronger contrast. My compositional structures also tend to be consistent with most of my works. I place the main focal point in the bottom right and a smaller point of interest in the top left, creating a diagonal eye flow. When I feel it is necessary, will put my subject at the center of the piece, so the narrative feels more confrontational and unavoidable.

My eye-catching colors and dreamy spaces draw the viewer in before they become faced with the violent nature of my work. This mimics the conflicting feelings of nostalgia and pain I experience when looking back upon difficult memories. I get very fixated on my negative experiences, and it heavily impacts the way in which I paint. I often end up focusing on my heavier pieces with painstaking detail, mirroring how I endlessly ruminate over hard experiences in my mind. I have a much harder time letting go of these pieces and allowing them to be done, just as I have a hard time letting go of the moments themselves.