Recognized Works

My work throughout my life has been strongly influenced by the simple beauty of nature, homes and architecture, small moments of joy, and vibrant, expressive colors. Stylistically, I described myself as extremely detailed oriented, extremely vibrant, and fluid. Generally I keep with the wetter, more fluid mediums that can be layered up well,my favorite being acrylic paint. Although lately I’ve been playing around with mixed media illustration, playing around with maker, water color paint, pel pen, and sharpies. Artist which have influenced me greatly include the expressionist works of Marc Chagall and Margaret Keane’s big eye paintings. Both artists have a body of work which is both grounded in reality and dances in it loosely at the same time. Such a style has always had a heavy impact on my heart, and I try to take a bit of them with me in each piece I make.

The blurred line between humanity and nature has always interested me, particularly what connects us and how we interact without even knowing it. For my concentration, I chose to explore the significance of the number four in nature. I wanted to explore the idea of balance and unity and the effect it can have on humanity. Over the course of the assignment, I found myself leaning more towards darkness, the night, and loneliness than the initial idea of unity, which is generally a more optimistic idea.

For me, art has forever been one of two things. It Is both a deeply personal experience of which I release a tremendous amount of anxiety, and it is also something engaging and meaningful that I can share with my friends and family. As a result of this, I find myself making both pieces which are traditional in subject matter as well as piece which express my anxieties, fears, and what makes me happy. Both of these subjects I appreciate equally, and I so love having both in my in arsenal of use. I an extremely mixed media artist, sometimes using up to four or five different mediums in my works, and such Is usually selected based on whatever effect I strive to get. For smooth textures, I reach for acrylic paint. For a more translucent look, I find myself reaching for watercolor. For soft edges, I reach to colored pencil, or for hard edges, I reach to markers and sharpies. If I'm feeling wild or like I'm willing to branch out of my comfort zone, I reach for string. Weaving and embroidering is an extremely therapeutic experiences and always me to get lost into the process. My senior year of high school has put a lot of stress on me, but after a traumatic car accident which I endured right before Christmas, I am very grateful to have art in my life as a means of expression. In my work, I strive to make connections with others. I strive to try and make sense of my life and all that surrounds it, and I share what I create to make others like me feel less alone in their bubbles. I strive to make the human experience feel less empty and lonely and vapid of reason, as all art should.

I plan to spend my next four years at Springfield College studying art and education, hoping that one day I will be able to spread all I've gotten out of art to a new generation, while still continuing to explore what I have to say and developing my style and voice as an artist.