Traditional Artwork
This gallery features an array of wet and dry media including chalk pastel, colored pencil, charcoal, micron, watercolor, oil paint, and more.
Dancing Color
2021, Colored pencil on paper, 9 x 12,
This piece was a study of colored light and how it visually reacts with different shapes and forms. The reference for this piece is actually curled strips of paper hung onto a wall and lit with red and green lights. I chose a complementary color scheme for the lights because I was curious about the colors produced in the shadows. I was amazed by the array of hues and I wanted to take care in capturing each one. In order to do this successfully, I tried a softer approach with the colored pencils and took care in blending the colors with many light-handed layers. Although it took a lot of time, attention, and patience, I am very pleased with the final product.
Time of Day
2021, Watercolor on paper
For this series, I wanted to show the passing of time as well as a deeper feeling of beauty and nostalgia through the objects within each painting.
Every object in each scene is special to me in some way and includes a personal story behind it. The main subject, the teacup itself, is a one-of-a-kind object which I came across in a small thrift shop in my hometown while shopping with my best friend. It reminds me of my close friendship with her as well as my hometown and the adventures
we had there. This teacup and its contents, such as coffee or tea, is one of the main ways I indicated the different times of the day. The cloth underneath the cup in the morning setting is my favorite dress: a blue linen handmade sundress with lace details which I received as a Christmas gift. In the afternoon setting, the mirror underneath was given to me by my grandmother. The necklace hanging off the handle of the cup was a present from my parents for my nineteenth birthday. For the evening setup, I incorporated objects that remind me of my at-the-time significant other. The first letter he wrote me, the wax-sealed menu from a restaurant we went to on one of our earliest dates, and a necklace which I wore every day for him.
Live Portrait Study
2021, Chalk Pastel on paper, 18 x 24
I created this piece while completing my Illustration minor at SCAD. I decided to explore a new technique by layering the chalk pastels and blending the pigment with a dry paintbrush. I believe this approach was very successful and I plan to experiment more with it in the future.
Life in Death
2021, Colored pencil and ink on paper, 9 x 12
The concept for this piece was a dramatic juxtaposition of life and death through the depiction of flowers bursting out of a human skull.
I used a cool-temperature, low-saturation color palette and I focused a lot on contrast and value to create depth within the drawing.
This piece was inspired by the themes of Marco Mazzoni's work. He is an incredible artist who illustrates dramatic subject matter using high contrast, cool tones, and the media choice of colored pencil and ink.
"Modern Hero"
2020, Graphite on paper, 7 x 7
This piece is in honor of the front-line workers who risked their lives every day to help others during the start of the pandemic. They represent bravery, selflessness, and all of the other qualities that make up a hero. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
Reference photo credited to @bostonmedicalcenter on Instagram
"Household Replica," Study of Joseph Ducreax's "Suprise en Terror"
2020, Charcoal on paper, 8.5 x 11
This piece was for my Life Drawing class where we had to take a famous piece of art and recreate it using household objects and friends/family members. This is my older brother, Nicholas, who was kind enough to help me recreate Joseph Ducreaux's "Suprise en Terror" by wearing a hand towel on his head with a hat and a very oversized jacket.
Study
2019, White charcoal on black paper, 8.5 x 11
Skeleton Study
2019, Pen & ink on paper, 11 x 14
This piece was a simple study of a skeleton, but I decided to challenge myself by stippling it with a micron pen. This piece took me a long time as it was a bit bigger than the average size paper. This piece was chosen by my professor to be archived in the Savannah College of Art and Design Archives Catalog of Fall 2019, incidentally my first quarter at SCAD.
"Temptation"
2019, Chalk pastel on paper, 14 x 18
This was a simple still-life study using chalk pastels. At the time, I didn't have much experience with chalk pastels, so this piece was a good challenge for me. I call it "temptation" because the random objects that were assembled happened to reference aspects of the story of Adam and Eve with the snake, apple/fruit, and wine.
"Looking to the Future"
2018, Watercolor on paper, 8.5 x 11
I wanted to take a step into the realm of portraiture since I never had much experience with it in the past. My goal was to capture human emotion, specifically through the eyes and body language. Much like my painting of the Elderly Man, this piece combines a study of texture and expression in order to convey an emotion. Whereas the Elderly Man had a sentimental and nostalgic expression looking to the past, this young girl looks up and out towards the future, conveying youth in a contrasting portrait.
Reference photo "Mean Shadows" on Unsplash
"Thumbs Up"
2018, Oil on canvas paper, 8.5 x 11
While in high school, I decided to try a more traditional style of art by using oil paint to study realism, texture, and saturation in the everyday world. This particular piece took three weeks to do. From the folds of the old shirt to the white facial fuzz on the chin and wrinkles in his smiling, sentimental eyes, I believe I succeeded in capturing the feeling and beauty of growing old.
Reference photo credited to Aziz Acharki on Unsplash
Maryland Blue Crabs
2018, Oil on canvas, 22 x 22
In the same study of texture during my time in high school, I made this piece as a tribute to the state that I was born and raised in. Blue crabs are a staple of Maryland, and since I was doing a texture and saturation study, I figured they would be a perfect subject. Their vibrant colors and contrasting textures in the smoothness of their shells and the pointiness of their spikes and claws were all very exciting to capture. This piece took me a little over two weeks and was entered into the Jamie Raskin Congressional Art Exhibition in 2019 where it earned an Honorable Mention and was displayed in the US Senate for one year.
Reference photo credited to Adam Wyman on Unsplash
"Close-Up"
2018, Oil on canvas, 6 x 6
This piece was a step further into my study of texture. I decided to challenge myself further by making the canvas smaller, the image extremely zoomed in, and an animal as the subject. This piece did prove to be more difficult to complete since the fur had to be layered and every brushstroke had to be small and precise, but it gave me a newfound appreciation for animal portraiture.
Reference photo credited to Kevin Knezic on Unsplash
"Blossoming Emotion"
2018, Pen & ink with marker on paper, 8.5 x 6
This piece is of my dad, my biggest supporter and role model. I had taken a candid photo of him as we went on a beautiful spring walk. The photo immediately spoke to me because he looked so genuinely happy, so I wanted to capture that emotion in art form. This drawing was created directly prior to a serious surgery that my dad was undergoing and was a gift to show how much I love him and how important he is to me.
"Jennifer" Live Portrait
2018, Vine charcoal on paper, 18 x 24
This piece was the first time using vine charcoal and my first life study. This is of my friend, Jennifer, hence the name. This piece was chosen to represent my county in the First Lady Exhibition at the Maryland House of Delegates and was displayed in the Maryland House of Delegates for six months.
Foreshortening Study
2017, Pen and ink on paper.
Grapefruit
2017, Oil on board
This was my first attempt at oil painting.