My work echoes the gloomiest emotions I have experienced in my life thus far. In particular, the past two years that compose the darkest place I’ve ever found myself. I rely on the ideas of beauty and death to create a balanced composition. None of my work is very realistic or obvious and a simple explanation is that I myself have felt lost and moving at a different pace than the rest of the world. A lot of my subject matters show unusual flow and movement to reiterate the time that has undeniably passed even though I’ve felt stuck in place.

I like to warp and distort my subjects to connect to the ways I’ve lost myself or rather changed overtime. My portfolio really emphasizes an identity crisis that happens when your whole world is turned upside down. In many situations I depict a breakdown functioning in reverse. Instead of deteriorating, subjects become more complex. This represents the obligations and responsibilities that have piled on my shoulders while I silently take life in day by day. I have slowly introduced more color, which is an encouraging realization. I believe that the sadness conquered all happiness in this timeline that my art creates. Sometimes it seems so impossible to talk about sufferings so all I could do was churn those emotions into art.

What resources do you use for your ideas?

Although I am unsurprisingly inspired by other artists and their works, I find that most of my art comes from within. I like to keep most of my ideas very organic and original. Rarely do I see something, like it and then want to reproduce it. I find that I produce my best artwork when it connects to my emotions and whatever is happening in my life. My artwork feels the most real when it is something that is entirely derived from my experiences.

What motivates you to make art?

Art has always been so special to me because it lets me embrace my individualism. It is so easy for me to get lost in my work because I am creating something from scratch that immortalizes my feelings and story. The freedom that comes with crafting art is endless and entirely in my own hands. I always have a constant urge to design something new because it’s the purest way I can express myself without any rules.

How do you use color, space, form, and other dynamics in your work?

I like using color to help create the mood in my compositions. Sometimes this process begins with picking an unorthodox colored material to draw on or by limiting my color palette to two colors. For the most part, I see the colors I want to see and communicate them in an unrealistic and exaggerated way. I tend to use colors in a way that creates a new perception of a subject. I play with space by playing with layers in my artwork. I like the subjects to be bold in comparison to whatever is going on in the background. One of my favorite visual effects provided by space is when a piece appears to be coming out of the paper.  I focus a lot on defining my forms to create emphasis on the subject. When I first started experimenting in watercolor, it took major self-control to not go in and detail with bolder mediums. I like using dynamics in an unconventional way to help create more eccentric art.

How do you view your craftsmanship?

I feel like I am an overachiever when it comes to craftsmanship because I was raised that way. I always had the coolest posters and crafts throughout grade school because my mom was a perfectionist and it definitely rubbed off on me. I can’t stand when lines don’t match up or when things are put together incorrectly. My work has to look clean and crisp or else I want to burn it and bury the ashes. I stress about anything and everything that has affect on my presentation.

What do you consider to be your strengths?

I believe that I excel in creating a balanced and interesting composition. I think that some people are born with a creative eye that dictates artistic potential. Even if I start out with a completely different idea in the beginning, I feel like my ending results are almost always satisfying. I feel confident enough to “go with the flow” when it comes to making art because I trust my taste even if it runs in multiple directions. The artistic process has always come easy to me and happy accidents usually take place.

Are there skills you feel need further development?

Time. I am such a slow worker that it makes finishing pieces the hardest part of the process. I have not determined if it is because I am a perfectionist or because I like to see the piece grow as my feelings grow which takes time. If I lose interest in a piece, it is really hard for me to go back and reconnect with it. I have to be excited and invested in my work if I expect to finish it. Eventually, I hope I can turn anything into something worth finishing without even considering scrapping it or “coming back to it.” Also, I am happy to see my painting skills develop because they need much practice. I took Watercolor last semester and am currently in Painting 1, which are my first stabs at painting.

How does your work relate to art historical precedents and contemporary trends?

I like to distort my images and subjects to represent my outlook on life like seen before with artists such as Frida Kahlo and Francis Bacon. My work is more abstract than realistic and I like my pieces to make the audience wonder rather than see something they have seen before in life. I like to use economy, especially in mixed media, like the contemporary street artist Shepard Fairey.

What are your expectations for yourself over the next five years?

I graduated from high school a year early and came straight to college. I feel like once I graduate, I will want to take a breather and gain some new perspective by traveling. I have a giant list of concentration ideas I’ve compiled over the past few years and having time to complete multiple portfolios would be ideal. I am still unsure about where I see myself working for the rest of my life. I would almost prefer to keep my artwork to myself as a hobby and start learning the craft of designing jewelry.  In five years, I hope to of seen more of the world and document all of my experiences through artwork. Just like anybody else, I also hope to have a decent paying job doing something I love and artistically based.

Why do you want to be an artist?

Art has always been and will always be “my thing.” I realized as a young child that art was my forte and my passion. I knew coming to college that I could not see myself doing anything else. It is impossible for me to invest myself in something that I don’t truly feel for. I feel like I was born to create and would be simply miserable and unsuccessful doing anything else. I want to be an artist because that’s what I’ve always felt confident calling myself.