Artist Statement

The feeling of the brush gliding across the canvas takes me on an adventure of creating a painting, and the layers of unknowingness and back and forths somehow generate something beautiful. When creating a painting, the physical experience of painting, the feeling of the brush on the canvas, the smell of the paint, and the sound of the music (or podcast) create a full sensory experience that keeps bringing me back to my work.  My art constantly reflects the present: current emotions and the physical experience of feeling them. There’s never a plan, as each painting derails from the vague idea I had from the start. My understanding of my artwork changes at every glance. What was I trying to accomplish? I have come to terms with trying to pull people into what is happening in my head. What does the present moment feel like, and how can I represent the physical aspects of the emotions I have? 

Recently, I have seen Klimpt’s paintings everywhere and have been heavily inspired by his immersion of the figure into an abstract space. His color pallet of gold and green teal has inserted itself into my artwork. Subconsciously, I have taken to a reinterpretation of his abstract shapes and space cooperation with the figure. I am currently exploring how one is perceived on the outside compared to the constant chaos in one’s mind even in the most mundane of moments. The strokes and shapes surrounding the character are my representation of what I have been calling the “mindscape.” This “mindscape” idea is somewhat influenced by the videogame Omori (despite not having played it) I have seen how the style of the artwork (by Omocat, Charlene Lu, and Emily Shaw) becomes more scribble-like and abstract when entering the mind of the main character. This method has been my answer to the question of how I can display what is happening on the outside and the inside at the same time. My brush strokes and scribbles are representations of the figure’s emotions and head space in the painting.