All of my art is created by a driving force of emotion. If you ask me what inspired a piece, nine out of ten times I will tell you about something that means the world to me. Most of this comes from my brain as I’ve come to use art as a therapeutic tool. Other times, my art will speak for those who can’t, such as animals in captivity. I will continue to create art that advocates for those who cannot advocate for themselves as that is important to me as an artist and an art teacher.
"Put on Your Happy Face" took inspiration from my desire to raise awareness of the pressures to be perfect in society. You must always be happy. You must look a certain way. You have to be the picture-perfect person. We will spoon-feed ourselves medications to lose weight, feel happier, and numb everything we feel just to make sure we fit in. As long as we have a smile on, it doesn't matter, right?
"Trapped" took inspiration from my fear of being stuck in New York forever. Depicting a rather unsettling view of the New York subway system instills confusion, dark colors for a sense of despair, and rotten apples to accompany the rats that will grab me to stay with them forever.
“For Your Entertainment” took inspiration from the importance of animal captivity awareness to me. Animals are intelligent creatures that are often mistreated, and with no voice who is left to speak for them? The piece depicts the tanks with orcas in them pedestaled on dying coral to represent the slow death of each whale.
As an artist, I tend to be very critical of myself and find that I try to make everything within a piece as perfect as I can. With this thought process comes the action of changing things around on my canvas, which is why I love oil painting. Oil paints take a longer time to dry than other paints such as acrylic or gouache. This makes it a lot easier for me to change and manipulate a painting I am working on multiple times until I am satisfied. It also reinforces that mistakes are okay and can be fixed without needing to panic. With oil paints, they can be worked with in a more forgiving manner, therefore allowing me to enjoy the creative process rather than stressing over it. This is extremely important when it comes to successfully creating more intimate pieces that focus on themes such as mental health and animal captivity. It’s not always about the end product, but the journey of getting there.
