The Story of the Series, Moments

The artwork in this series of paintings titled Moments, are inspired by the moments, both small and large, that influenced my life over the past year. Not only does this collection memorialize instances in time, but also shows my growth as an artist, taking a mixed media approach to some of the artistic styles that I have engaged in during my creative journey. I grew up exclusively drawn to creating art by pencil, and didn’t discover my love for painting until I was an adult. I was too intimidated by the idea of experimenting with color to make a composition come together, but once I let loose, I found a love for it. This collection addresses the early stages in my art career where I leaned heavily into integrating collage work with abstract representational paintings as well as plays into my love for drawing. Ink drawing, specifically, was something I started to embrace as a quick sketch practice to capture my experiences when traveling and out in nature. Each mixed media piece takes on an abstract play on emotions and color palettes inspired by places where specific moments took place. When observing each painting in this series, you are getting a snapshot into aspects of my life that make me, me as well as the foundations I have built to create art that I am truly proud enough of to share with an audience such as yourself.

The Story of the Painting, Black Palace

The mysterious, gothic black brick building on the corner of South and Walnut is a place I get to spend a lot of my time. Behind the walls, there are several businesses, but the collective art studio – Forming – is why I chose to include this building as inspiration for a Moment within this collection. I have always created art in my home, having either a designated room or corner to work in, but the Black Palace marks my move to having additional studio space to work and teach out of and collaborate with the other artists who take up residency there. I was very shy as a child, but I somehow fell into teaching art classes starting in 2020 and have taught at several businesses and agencies, before having the chance to curate a selection of classes of my own. This piece models the architecture seen in the windows of the building including the red glass in the arched corners – my favorite part. The structural forms in the heavy wooden doors to the mosaic tiles (set with dove motifs) lining the bottom exterior edges of the building compile a beauty I cannot explain.