Life Happens.

And this my friends, is what happens when your brother moves out and you have the house to yourself. It becomes a giant studio. haha

"The Delicacy of Dreams" 2013

This piece is an abstract self-portrait. It is also based on a photo I took in Paris. My reflection can be seen in the glass. It is also 50"x42.5".

This is before I added the bubbles. It just seemed a little empty and I thought the bubbles added to the delicate dream-like idea.
This is the photo I used-

I took this photo of a dress I was sure I would wear on my wedding day. I had such an unrealistic, simplistically, beautiful idea of love at the raw age of 15. My artist statement for this piece is in the form of a poem:

A little girl in the backseat of a car-

“Mom, what if I don’t get married?”

The mom smiled at the baby she’d carried,

“Someone will love who you are.”

If only it were that easy…

If only she could be satisfied

If only she could have complied.

But giving in made her queasy.

So she pulled them in

And pushed them away

Only able to love halfway

Discontent in their pin.

A girl strolled down a Parisian street

A shop window held a white dress

Simple elegance free of stress

It matched her dreams pure and sweet

Never been kissed, never been hurt

Never been scarred, never been bruised

She didn’t know she could be used.

Love was only an idea with which to flirt.

“I’ll wear this one day,” she dreamed.

A perfect fairytale played in her head,

Mimicking every book she’d ever read.

Surely love was as pure as it seemed…

That was the first lie she believed,

But not her last time to be deceived.

“You can make him happy again.”

“You don’t need to be loved in return.”

“His lack of interest doesn’t burn.”

“You’re the reason his interest began to wane.”

Her first kiss told her what used meant

She thought she was being selfless

In actuality she was being helpless

To that she would never again consent.

“If I kiss him he won’t love me.”

“He can’t love and want simultaneously.”

“My feelings should be treated extraneously.”

“If I kiss him my obligations are free.”

Her second kiss taught her to disconnect,

Because if she didn’t care,

Then maybe the pain wasn’t there.

All she had to do was be ok with neglect.

“He is my everything.”

“I don’t mind being what he wants.”

“I can ignore what my past haunts.”

“I can spend forever making him king.”

Her third kiss taught her to be more

That she was not made to serve,

 That was not what she wanted to deserve.

And it was not what she was made for.

“He wouldn’t kiss me if he didn’t like me.”

“This must mean something to him.”

“Its ok to kiss on a whim.”

“Surely, this wont leave in my heart debris.”

Her third kiss taught her what emptiness was

The feeling far worse than her ex’s hate

Was to feel like you’re presence was idle prate.

Emptiness is to be unwanted without cause.

So where was her white dress?

Who was going to love what she had become?

Maybe this wasn’t the only song for her to hum…

Maybe there are other ways to success

Maybe love isn’t a dress we put on

Maybe love isn’t always happily ever after

Maybe love is a collection of tears and laughter

Love isn’t something we stumble upon.

Love could be what we choose

Love could be what we see in our reflection

Love could be what we see in a connection

Love happens when we allow our hearts and life to fuse.

"Silence" 2013

I did this piece as a tribute to the marginalization of artists. I worked from this picture I took in Paris and the dimensions are 50"x42.5"

The assignment for this piece was to combine two different styles in one painting. I see little purpose in making decisions in a painting without a conceptual reason. I chose to use Egon Schiele's contour line expressionism and Pierre Auguste Renoir's impressionism. Schiele focused on the self-imposed suffering of an artist and Renoir focused on the gluttonous joys of an artist. This is the introduction and conclusion of my artist statement:

"Impressionism and Expressionism both convey the world through a biased view. Impressionists smile at the world they wish to convey through light and splashes of color. The world is a dream-like playground in many Impressionistic works. Impressionist’s bohemian life style disregarded the socially driven norms. They believed art was a pleasure in life to seek unapologetically. Egon Schiele’s expressionism conveys a darker cynical view. Through his view the world was a tormented nightmare released in his artwork. He believed art was best created from miserable anguish. Life was suffering and art was to portray this visually for Schiele. Two philosophies could not be more different, yet both share an undeniable talent for conveying the viewer’s state of mind.My piece is a combination of these two ideas and styles. The image was based upon a photograph I took in Paris of a poor, possibly homeless man playing an accordion. He watches a man in a business suit walk right past him without so much as an acknowledgment of his existence. This fragile moment is a picturesque snapshot of society’s marginalization of artists. The man on the street sees the world in color and beauty. He is in the foreground of the piece and the background holds an impressionist style as if to be his viewpoint. However, we see him and the businessman painted in Schiele’s contour lines and sketch like appearance. The figures are given this style because of the pain the accordion-player feels from upper class rejection and the businessman’s own skewed view of the accordion-player. Life and art are all to be taken in perspective. Life is not to be viewed as a blissful neglect of reality, or a miserable embrace of pain.  Art is the articulation of the human struggle to find this balance."

Still Life #1 2013

This is just a still life I did in about an hour in class (well, they were suppose to take an hour. I probably did this in less). I ended up giving it to my mom for her kitchen.

"To Her" 2013

First, I would like to apologize for the lack of professionalism in these photos. I will have better pictures later on, I just love this piece and had to post something. This is my strongest piece so far. I did it over the women in my family who have fought similar struggles as I have. We are connected in blood and spirit whether I knew them personally or not. This is my tribute to all of those beautiful, strong women that are a part of who I am. My professor, Wale has this work up on his website.

"Breath of Life" 2013

This piece was exhibited in the TTU art gallery this week. I titled it the "Breath of Life" as satire to my coffee addiction. I do love coffee. In fact, in the picture I am in with the piece I am wearing my work shirt for the coffee shop I am a barista at.

"Reflection" 2013

Admittedly, I did this piece during a time when I was really struggling with depression and keeping my head above water. I think that is obvious by my expression. I did not intend for this piece to convey that . However, art has a funny way of speaking for me when I am afraid to. The background is filled with journal entries from my college years. I chose this as a background because that makes this piece an inverted self-portrait. Most portraits simply display the exterior. This piece also gives the viewer the interior thoughts as well.

"Ballet in Motion" 2013

I worked from the photograph above. I was experimenting with Cubism in this project. I incorporated some of the earlier analytical cubism by working mostly monochromatic and multiple view points to convey motion. I incorporated text like the later synthetic cubists to flatten the space. I was aiming to convey the chaotic yet organized atmosphere of dancing.