My work incorporates actual textures from nature into three dimensional paintings. Using herbs like Spearmint and Yerba Mate, combined with found plants and dried flowers, I am able to bring my work to life by painting the natural materials onto the canvas.
The figurative work has been an exploration of myself through illness. My senior year of college ended abruptly once admitted to the hospital with Type 1 Diabetes (along with a variety of other disorders and complications). After a few years of medical hardship and self re-discovery, a figurative body of work emerged combining multiple elements of my previous work. This series combines figurative drawing, acrylic painting, and sculpture using clay and found materials.
I have been drawing and painting since I was a little girl, growing up in an agricultural area of Western New York State. After high school, I spent a few years at the State University of New York at Fredonia. From there, I moved to the mountains of Boone, NC where I attended Appalachian State University. After graduation in 2011, I settled in Asheville, NC where I currently have a working studio in the River Arts District.
Growing up in such a small town allowed me to grow a great appreciation for nature. Still today, I find myself most content while walking through the woods, sitting under a tree, and feeling the sunlight on my face. If I am not working in the studio, I am usually out collecting pieces of nature to bring back and use in my paintings.
One of my greatest pleasures is seeing how much people love my work. This is why I do not only create work for myself, but for everyone else to enjoy on a personal level. So, if you have a certain portrait, picture or landscape that you would love incorporated into my style of work, please contact me and let me help you.