Archives

A focus on the uncanny valley and merging digital technology with analog materials.

First year as a painting major and an investigation in using Blender as a sketchbook for compositions.

After a long break from education, 2022 was the year I started art school at Virginia Commonwealth University. During this period my art reflects an openness to experimentation in media, abstraction and conceptual meaning.

An emergence in using digital compositing apps such as photoshop and blender to create abstraction. During this time I was working at an Artist-in-residence at the gallery and restaurant Palette 22.

This year was dominated by the pandemic and marked my first year out of high school. During this time, I turned to creating pet portraits as a way to earn money through commissions and as a way to distract myself from the world around me.

During my senior year of high school and after graduation, I decided not to apply for college. My art during this period focused on self-portraiture, hyperrealism, and grotesque details. I was going through a heavy depressive period since 2016, and my art from this time reflects that experience.

In 2018, much like in 2019, a significant portion of my artwork consisted of hyperrealistic, unflattering self-portraits. At that time, due to my young age and lack of critical thinking skills, I was heavily influenced by hustle culture and anti-education videos. These sources shaped my beliefs about work ethic, art, and the education system, inevitably impacting how I approached my artwork, high school studies, and mental health at the time.

I was heavily influenced by art channels on YouTube while growing up. I developed a social media presence through YouTube and Instagram by posting time-lapses of my artwork and tutorials, and collaborating with other young artists online. During this time and earlier, much of my work featured a lot of appropriation and pop culture references, which were influenced by my online presence in the age of online "art influencers".

During this time, I based most of my artwork on images I found on Instagram or Pinterest. Many young artists on Instagram would draw trendy topics and use hashtags to get noticed by other artists. At the time getting noticed on Instagram was more about visual appeal than concept. Social media had a strong influence on my art for years, as I prioritized "good" art based on skill and aesthetics rather than conceptual or emotional value.

After recovering from a major spinal fusion I received in 2014, I spent the rest of my time in 8th grade focusing on how to make an online presence with my art.

I chose to start this archive in 2014 when I was 12. I was a 7th grader in middle school and I began taking art more seriously. Although it's tough to revisit some of my past pieces and life decisions, I believe it's important to document an artist's journey. An artist's imperfections, mistakes, beliefs, and values all change over time. As an artist's identity evolves, so does their work.