I call myself a ‘gendered-surrealist’ because my identity as a woman greatly affects the perspective that drives the narratives in my work. It affects my inner monologue, what I fear, what I love, how I want to be perceived, and how I carry conflict or grief. My art is often an ache of a story inside me that I wish I could tell pertaining to any of those things. In my life I cannot be my art, but my art can be me.

I paint nocturnes because they make me feel closer to myself and the sensation of ‘other.’ Our most profound reflections about our lives happen in the dead of night. The turmoils of past & present coil together and take on physical forms in dreams. Things beyond our comprehension turn into barely perceivable mists & maybes. I think this is a great vehicle for understanding between me and my audience. 

Those mental unwindings are represented by surreal elements, text, or shadow-y figures in my work. Made otherworldly through the shift to different media (often colored pencil). My art is a way for me to speak truth, yes; but it is also a way for me to remember & validate myself too. As I paint my goal is to self-soothe, but once I finish painting it then shifts to hoping to soothe others with similar aches to mine.