Artist Statement

I’ve always loved portraiture and capturing the beauty of a person through art. Especially during the pandemic, it became increasingly more important to cherish moments with others.  After being isolated for so long, the one thing I want to immortalize is my social experience. My work has evolved into capturing these moments and relationships through paintings and drawings. My friends and I take photographs of almost everything we do, just to remember the moment. Whether it be from a polaroid, DSLR, or an iPhone camera, we always seem to be taking pictures. This becomes my inspiration for my art. Oil, acrylic, pastel, and charcoal are my mediums of choice and help me in my process the most. I like how I can easily manipulate these mediums and change things as I go along. While trying to be loosely realistic, I exaggerate certain details in my work such as lighting and color. I do this in order to capture how I felt in the moment rather than just try to copy the photograph I am working from. I do not often plan ahead of time before I start working as I like to keep things spontaneous and candid, much like the photographs I work from. Mark Tennant is a major influence on me. His work also captures people candidly with loose gestural brush strokes. His style definitely has an effect on the way I work. His work as well as mine, celebrates moments with other people. In order to actively do this, I show my work in environments where more moments like them can be created. For example, my roommates and friends are often hanging out in my living room where a lot of pictures are captured. I have some of my work there which starts conversations about certain memories and times together. These conversations become the celebration and purpose of my art as it allows me and others to further appreciate time with each other.