About Me
Early Years
Sketching was something that came quite naturally to me at a young age. I was not the type of kid to draw random items or realistic images; my early sketches were of more simplistic works, my favorite cartoons. Loony Toons, Disney characters, and the Powder Puff Girls were my favorite images to draw. By referencing images that I enjoyed, I learned spacing and line work, which helped me down the road when I took art classes in school. Art classes are where my style and subject matter started to emerge. I enjoyed the simplicity of cartoons, but I still very much so enjoyed realistic imagery. As a kid, I strayed far from realism. I did not yet have this skill and in turn, focused on it more in high school for my portfolio.
Realism and nature have always had an influence on me from a young age. My parents took me camping every summer since I was 7. I loved being outdoors with the smells and the sights. It’s incredible how breathtaking nature can be to a viewer. This is where my connection with nature began and has followed me ever since.
I graduated from high school and decided that art was not just going to be a hobby for myself, but, hopefully, a career one day. I enrolled in Rock Valley College to work towards my Associate of Arts degree that I completed in two years. At the time, I was planning to become an Art Educator, so my classes consisted of mostly drawing and art history subjects. My community college courses challenged me and allowed me to work on perfecting my abilities as an artist. So, of course, my art classes had a considerable influence on me during these two years, but so did my general ed courses. I learned about subjects that were an interest of mine but never would have gotten the chance to take otherwise. Psychology allowed me to learn more about the human mind and, in turn, myself. I have social anxiety, and it wasn’t until this course that I realized that some of my anti-socialness was due to this. My world religions course was another gen ed. that surprisingly was one of the best classes I ever took. Because of this class, I now consider myself a Buddhist and have a vast interest in religions and cultures.
When I transferred to Northern Illinois University to complete my schooling, I began to develop more of my concept and imagery. As I mentioned, when I was at my community college, I planned to become an art educator. It wasn’t till after completing my elementary clinical’s did I realize that, as much as I enjoyed working with kids, I just wasn’t able to work on my art like I wanted to. I had a slue of education courses and no real art courses; over time, I decided to leave the program and go for a general art degree. The capstone class that I was required to take for my bachelor’s is where I was challenged to find a subject matter, something I had struggled with for a very long time. I realized that my new interests in spirituality and culture had opened doors for myself that I could never have had before. Spirituality and dharmic religions also are highly influenced by nature, which allowed me to meld the two. I then started my tarot card series “Spiritual Goddesses” for my senior showcase, and the underlying meaning from this series has still influenced my work today. Click the button below to learn more about this work.
Education
Digital Media
When it comes to traditional mediums, I am quite skilled. Most of my portfolio is filled with works consisting of charcoal, colored pencil, graphite, acrylic, etc. Mediums such as these are the fundamentals of being an artist, but I realized that my digital work was severely lacking in this ever-progressing world of electronic media. I am currently working towards completing a post-baccalaureate certificate in graphic design, online, with Lesley University. This program allows me to learn more about digital media and typography to be a successful graphic designer. I have been working hard towards learning to create my art on an online platform to reach a broader audience and have more flexibility with my designs. To read more about the story behind my current work, please click the button below.