ARTIST STATEMENT

I do the work I do in order to get emotions out of my system and explore different concepts that I have been thinking about. It is a very good emotional and creative release for me. It is not strictly the piece I create itself but rather the process that is therapeutic to me. I place a lot of value on the piece being both aesthetically pleasing / technically well done as well as portrayed a certain mood. While I find it harder to do in practice, I really value making work with some sort of social commentary and aspire to focus on effectively doing so in the future.

There are so many artistic choices to consider before creating a piece of artwork. I choose my medium usually based on what kind of mood or type of image I am looking to portray. For example, something with darker or more mysterious subject matter I will usually follow through with charcoal or similar mediums that show high contrast and can be a little dramatic. I usually use watercolour or a combination of watercolour and pen for things that are lighter, more playful subjects. In these instances I tend to use thin, fine lines to portray the delicacy of the situation and/or content being portrayed. When I am upset I tend to lean towards the watercolour/pen combination as these usually hold a lot more emotional significance to me as opposed to charcoal which I would use in situations that I am feeling more confident and self assured. That being said, I love to experiment with different mediums as well like cloth/stitching or mixed media with magazine clippings, etc. Usually the content of what I am creating dictates the medium I am drawn to.

My current work focuses a lot on layering of images/themes or exploring different sides to people. In my sketchbook I have been experimenting a lot with polar opposites and having a range of conflicting sides within one person. I have experimented with this by comparing things like temperature and colour in the pieces. In one piece I painted a flaming hand beside an icy looking girl in which I was trying to play around with the idea of being cold and fragile but also having the potential to be destructive and melt others and/or yourself. I am very interested in the use of colours and the significance of these in paintings, especially surrounding people, and I have tried changing different variables in pieces like colour and seeing how this affects the mood and interpretation of the piece. I am also very interested in the relationships between individuals and presenting the give and take and balance or lack thereof. This has expanded from my old work that was a lot darker themed with charcoal and somewhat of a darker more curious mood.