Since a young age, I have been interested in classical realism. The atelier style is my favorite out of all other historical art movements. I have dedicated myself to practice and patience when reviewing my work repeatedly.
Having patience was a significant factor and has shaped my identity as an artist because oil painting was a slower process than acrylic. My goal in my artwork is to have my perception of reality of existence and stillness represented in my paintings, such as my personality, cultural values, and even my imperfections. I want to primarily acknowledge life's beauty rather than illustrate life's inevitable shortcomings. The mediums I use are oil paint, beginning with an underpainting, a nearly transparent layer that I build on top with color over time. At times, the background is abstract around the figures. My storytelling involves compassion for my self-love journey from a mental, physical, and emotional perspective.
Harmonia Rosales, an Afro-Cuban artist, repaints black women from the classical ages that are generally focused on white men and women. Her paintings reference African culture and evoke black femininity using the Renaissance classical atelier style. I aspire to be like Rosales in creating dialogue but in my own artistic voice. Unlike her, The subject matter of my work will not necessarily be historical but in the present and will display a variety of human experiences and a representation of ethnic culture.
My artwork introduces themes of identity politics embedded into the storytelling. In addition, it addresses personality, cultural values, and life experiences. My painting's direction is autobiographical. My current goal is to continue my vigorous practice of the technicality of painting, drawing, and even some sculpture. Classical, traditional methods of painting inspire me. My ultimate goal is to evolve my work with mythological and symbolic elements while studying human behavior. The work I produced in my undergrad started with identity and cultural values because I had studied Western art history for a while, and I felt the need to create work that challenged and differed from the Western world. Black womanhood and beauty started my creative process because, like all cultures, a woman's beauty is ever changing, rigid, and conforming. I wanted to pursue the traditional classical painting style with still life's and Western portraiture while introducing the practice of afro hair care usage and simple portraiture of styles of head turbans that are rooted in African culture and America's dark history of bondage against black women's beauty from the tigon laws.
I suffered from health issues in late 2022 and the beginning of 2023. I started to pivot away from beauty and started looking within myself. This is what made me produce work that is about my personality and my lack of wellness that caused stillness. I questioned my existence and the meaning of life when I was diagnosed with thyroid condition Hashimoto's. When my condition caused fatigue in my body, I had a flashback one night. In 2021 of the summer, I witnessed a homicide, a vehicle collision between an SUV and a motorcycle. I was reminded how quickly someone's body can shut down, and the light in their eyes can be gone within a few seconds. As for my thyroid condition, My primary care provider and doctor were shocked because they stated it was the lowest thyroid level they had seen in a patient. I remembered how ill I felt and how it affected my hair and skin. The depression kicked in, and I suffered from deaths in my family at the beginning of 2023. When I was healing, I had to remind myself to pursue my dreams as an artist in academia.
