I paint and draw surreal, abstract landscapes inspired by nature, mountains, trees, and abstract like figures. My work often begins with something familiar but quickly shifts into something irrational or dreamlike. I like when things stop making sense, when a painting starts to lead me instead of the other way around. I’m interested in creating from the subconscious to create a piece that transforms into something surreal. My pieces aren’t meant to be understood, they're meant to be experienced, to hold that strange, in-between space where imagination takes over and reason slips away. By allowing myself to work subconsciously, a spiral of emotions tends to take place in the composition I’m working on. My work is a way for me to make sense of what is going on in my head.
I create paintings and drawings that combine the real and the imaginary. I work with various different mediums, but acrylic, oil pastels, and clay are my most frequent. My work often begins with landscapes. I work with mountains, trees, bodies of water, and figures, but I rarely try to capture them as they appear. Instead, I let the scene shift into something surreal or abstract, where form and color take on their own strange logic. I’m drawn to the feeling of unpredictability, when a painting starts to move in directions I didn’t plan. I often work with my hands as much as with brushes. There’s something about the physical act of smudging, scraping, and blending that feels like part of the conversation between myself and the image. I tend to be very messy with my process which is usually in those moments that the most interesting things happen. Much of my process is about letting go and letting my subconscious take control. I like when my work doesn’t entirely make sense, when it leaves room for irrationality or dreamlike movement. These abstract spaces allow me to explore how my mind wanders. My paintings are not meant to explain anything, but they hold space for curiosity.