My work tends to be make first, think during, and explain later. I develop my work with research later mindset. I like to create pieces first and explore what they mean about myself and the society I live in later.
Not everything is seen first on the surface, sometimes you have to explore an idea first before you can articulate it. Every sketch is a preliminary investigation into a different aspect of myself and my identity. I treat this work as a therapeutic and emotional process. From these initial sketches and ideas, I work backwards into the “why” of why I created it.
Working within a physical medium is almost mediative. Every mark you make is real and physical, and if you make a mistake or decide to do something different you have to take the time and effort to erase or change it.
A lot of my work falls into portraiture or still life paintings. People are such a huge part of everyone’s lives, and I feel capturing a moment of a person is like capturing a small part of myself. Similarly for my still lifes, objects tell you so much about a person and their history. Abstracting objects through cropping and proportion are small windows into explaining small parts of me people can’t see when they see a face. Both aspects are incredibly important, and I enjoy showing both.
