My Art
In addition to writing, I use art to express the way that I see the world around me. It makes me practice reflecting, understanding my own perspective, drawing parallels, adapting to mediums and then creating something that I hope will make others think about the impact they have on the world.
“Poppy to Pill”
This piece is a reflection of the opioid epidemic, drugs that are mostly derived of the seed of the poppy plant. This one is less interpretive and more a stark representation of the crisis and its origin.
“America, Inc.”
Although it is very much up to interpretation, very bit of this tower is a symbol for the consequences of ethical choices made by corporations around the country. The trees falling show deforestation, the foundation cracking showing instability and corruption, the man standing on a stack of bills ready to jump hints at guilt for his institution’s actions leading to his own mental health deterioration.
“True Beauty”
My mother’s battle against breast cancer in 2020 was my inspiration for this piece. It incorporates various symbols of femininity while also showing the loss of what are considered “feminine features” like breasts and hair to reflect on my mother and thousands of other women’s struggles with this loss of elements of their identity as a result of this disease.
“Lyrical Activism”
Social justice is usually seen as a political agenda, but many movements use art forms like music to encourage participation. In this piece I focused on three artists, each with some of their most influential lyrics, to show the role that hip hop plays in influencing and reflecting their communities.
Summer in Austin
Oil painting of postcard-sized images of some of the most classic Austin summer scenes.
“Puzzle of a Lifetime”
This is graphite-based collage of illustrations of old photographs from both my mom and dad’s childhoods. Their memories sit as a background to the colorful puzzle pieces which, when pieced together, depict one of my own favorite childhood memories of feeding ducks at the lake near where I grew up.
“Cora”
A piece made for my Grandma, whose love story could only be from a telenovela, and who I know is up in the stars, dancing with her “Cora.”
“Mask Up”
To depict the covering that masked all of our faces for nearly two years, I painted on top of the fabric itself.
“Time Stands Still”
If only we could tip the hourglass on its side, to stop the smoke and rubble from tainting the vibrant life of Mother Nature.
“Pandemia”
This is an obvious reflection of the world we have become accustomed to since January of 2020. My goal was to show the virus in a simplistic, animated fashion so that I could incorporate it into every element of the environment, just like it has become a prominent element of every aspect of our world.
“I Can’t Breathe”
This piece was intended to highlight the patterns of police brutality in our country, with the face and protests in the background depicting George Floyd, who was murdered on May 25th, 2020. This piece was also featured as the cover of the first issue of the Break Bread Literacy Project.
Texas Girl Forever
I gifted this series of watercolor bluebonnets to Lizy, my best friend since 1st grade. She now lives in Colorado but the bluebonnets are meant to remind her that she will always be a Texas girl.