artist's statement
My illustrations depict characters that delight in the fictional aspects of life: dreams, imaginations, and myths. Using gouache, watercolor, acrylic, and ink, I create colorful and harmonious depictions of these characters in a style that is design-minded and elegant. I embrace patterns, stylization, and especially the symbolism of monsters and divinity to create a sense of whimsy.
Last year, I was working on a series of characters based on heavenly bodies; I called the series, “From the Eye of Hubble.” They personified their respective counterpart in ways of personality and symbolism. For example, the main character is Stella Stargazer who is based on the stars, and she is commonly depicted with her eyes closed and a slight smile to show how she prefers the world of dreams to the real world. She is very wishful, and wonderful to others, but very distant. She hardly follows through on her wishes and wants only to make those wishes come true. Only when she awakens and is put through a set of challenges does she actually realize that she can make her dreams come true, but only by working to make them true. I have since progressed to other fictional situations, now I work more towards how the imagination works. I’m interested in creating characters that are the spinners of their individual tales, myths, and worlds. I will go beyond the initial conception and focus additionally on developing the stories, environments, and worlds that go along with them. I plan on making a setting for these characters to exist in, deepening their back-stories and ultimately humanizing them.