"Things Left Behind"

Mixed Media

18"x24" unframed

2021

ARTIST STATEMENT

The work I have been doing for the past four years have been paintings of my life since Covid. I paint landscapes, cityscapes, people, and still lives of the things and people around me. There is a saying, " write what you know," and that is what I like to do. I paint what I know. During Covid I was in the last few years of my undergrad program in York College of Pennsylvania. Being looked at in my parents house with four other people, two who are in online classes, and one who was fighting for their life was stressful to say the least. It is through painting that I was able to find some normalcy. Then in 2020 my mother lost her battle with cancer. I used my art to cope, and painted all the medical things in the house, her portrait, and things that told my story of dealing with that pain.

I love to experiment with media and for a lot of my larger work especially during the height of Covid I used a lot of house paint and whatever medium I can get my hands on. I used different objects to create strokes, I used sponges from the hospital in a lot of my work regarding my mothers cancer, and I used the back of a lotion bottle as a squeegee during most of my Covid pieces. I love the texture that some found objects create in the paint on the canvas.

I find inspiration all around me from the environment I am in, to the people I meet, and even the cites I see everyday. The artist I find inspiration from is Danielle Orchard from Instagram, and how she simplifies the human form and depicts women in her work. Gerhard Ritcher is another artist I take inspiration from as he uses squeegees to spread paint across canvas. I continue to find new ways to create art and even know my students are inspiring me to try new things.