Lookin’ at Stuff
Pen and watercolor on paper
An astronaut, a deep-sea diver, and a robot walk into a bar… just kidding, they walked out of my pen. These are some of my very first drawings, when I picked up the pen during lockdown in 2020 and painted in parts with watercolor.
Looking at space clouds, a forest, or hydrothermal vents, I made each of these characters pause to look at something. I like the perspective that they are looking at a beautiful part of creation, but they’re also looking at you, the viewer. It feels like a reminder that we, too, are a part of this colorful, peaceful, powerful world.
Space Travel
Acrylic on canvas + watercolor on paper
Driving on I-5 N through Oregon or looking out the plane window, there’s a lot of wonder in the world. I started the space travel series to reflect the feeling of looking outside and being in awe of what’s in front of you.
This ‘spaceship’ was inspired partly by the movie, Treasure Planet, and the love of adventure my siblings and I shared growing up. I originally designed it for my brother as a reminder of the stories, art, and imagination that connected us.
Parallel Scenes
Acrylic on Canvas
In my deep sea biology classes, we talked about the connection between space and the deep ocean…. My professor even collaborated with NASA to make equipment.
A bit whimsical and fantastical, I started this series with the painting of the spacescape on 3 separate canvases- imagining that I could lie out on the hood and stare at the galaxy. I tried to make each canvas its own stand-alone painting, but also connected to create a single scene- like short stories spilling over the lines of their canvases to create a full picture. Although, admittedly, I like the spaceship painting the most. The design of the ship was inspired by my favorite video game growing up, Ratchet and Clank.
I liked the initial spacescape so much that I wanted to make an ocean series with a similar structure. Like the space side, I tried to make each ocean canvas contain it’s own scene, containing the exciting, colorful parts of sea life.
I have a memory of visiting an aquarium when I was young, and a hammerhead shark swam above my head. It was one of those moments that I remember being in love with the ocean and all the cool, weird creatures that live in it. In my painting, a shadowy hammerhead makes a cameo above the coral as a nod to the marine animals that captured my imagination