"Dreaming Together" My Newest Commission

For this commission I was contacted by someone who was hoping I could create this beautiful scene as a wedding present for his son and soon to be daughter-in-law. This exact spot on Dream Lake is where the couple got engaged and so he thought this would make for a very meaningful painting for them as they started their lifelong journey together.

I feel so fortunate that I was contacted about this project and that I was trusted to create this special piece on a tight timeline. I hope that this painting will bring joy to the happy couple as it hangs in their home for years to come.

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5X5 Project with Abend Gallery

I’m really happy to announce that I will be participating in the 5x5 Project a show by Abend Gallery in Denver! This group show will only feature paintings that are 5”x5” but there will be plenty of them!

This show will run from June 26th to July 24th and will be available to view online as well as in person with reservations at the gallery. I will be showing three brand new paintings in this show so be sure to follow me on social media to get more frequent updates!

Use the button below to view the Abend Gallery website

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My Latest Commission!

I'm excited to share with you my latest commission! And this piece is extra meaningful because it is for my elementary/ middle school teacher who greatly influenced my passion for art at a young age. And to top it off he plans on hanging it in his classroom! It just warms my heart to think of this painting inspiring other young artists and academics to follow their passions.

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This teacher encouraged me to draw, paint and create whenever I could but most of all he was a kind, respectful and empathetic person for me to look up to during my formative years. I was really excited when he contacted me about this commission especially when he mentioned the the bee imagery serving as the representation of the natural world. Bees are such an important part of our ecosystem that we often take for granted. So the image of gracious hands that appreciate and respect the natural just seemed like a perfect theme to explore.

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I feel so honored to have had the opportunity to make this painting for a teacher and school that did so much for me growing up. And I love imaging this painting hanging in one of the small Waldorf classrooms in Maui inspiring young students who are trying to find their way in this world.

Here is the full description for the painting: In this painting we see humans and nature in complete harmony. We have done the work to understand our role in this world and now seek to preserve the important balance of nature. We now understand that every tiny insect and microscopic creature plays a part in our world and though we as humans are capable of many incredible things this does not diminish the significance of any other life on this planet. When we choose to coexist with and not dominate the natural world we find that it provides so much more than we ever thought. And we can have room in our hearts to give back to the planet that has given us everything we could have every wanted.

Art Crawl and Recent Sales!

Katy and I had such a great time at the Los Alamos Arts and Crafts Crawl this weekend! What amazing day of meeting new people and conversing about my art! 4 originals were sold and another piece was sold separately about a week before. Be sure to scroll down to see which paintings were sold! Thank you to everyone who came out and we look forward to doing more events and shows in the future!

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The following paintings have been sold recently! “Hallett Peak” ,“Fade into Light” ,“Undefined” , “Sequence” and “Unspoken” thank you so much to the Los Alamos community for choosing to invest in my work, I’m incredibly grateful

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New Throwback Posts!

Hi all! I hope you enjoy this new batch of throwback posts from my social media accounts! It’s a little hard to stay super consistent with these posts but I always love putting them together when I can!

Same artist different decade! This is a bit of a wild throwback for me considering that the 2011 photo was from my very first art show in my senior year of high school and the 2021 photo was for my first art show with a gallery as a professional artist. At this time in high school I thought I wanted to be an art teacher because I figured there was no way I could make it as a professional artist and I did enjoyed teaching so why not just compromise. But at the same time I was starting to develop a real and personal passion for art beyond the normal positive reinforcement one gets when they make a pretty picture. I was beginning to experiment and self motivate because I was excited for what I could create. And in the ensuing years I would start to see my art as a skill that I could practice and develop with hard worth and passion.
Honestly I feel like I have changed a lot in the last 10 years and I feel so fortunate to have people in my life that have supported my personal and professional growth with unwavering love. Success is not a race, we all find our own definition of success at our own time and I feel that something this important should not be rushed. Everyday I try to find a balance between patiences and persistence so that I can appreciate this exact moment but also find the motivation to work towards a future that I define for myself.
Thank you for reading!

This is going to be a fun throwback Thursday post! Because believe it or not I’ve been using the same easel for almost 8 years now for many of my major projects and it’s time for a change! In the 2013 photo you will see that this easel came from Katy’s parents garage and they graciously set up a small painting space for me in said garage so that I could continue to develop my skills as an early art major in college. This gave me a space where I could be creative and work on some of my very first commissions and professional projects. Over the years this children’s easel became my primary working easel simply because it was familiar and served it purpose well at the time. This easel has been used in every studio and work space I have ever been in as well as a display easel for most of my festivals over the years. But as I have developed my technique and become more of a detailed painter it has become more difficult to use this easel because of its lack of adjustability and stability. And as you can see in the photo that I recreated in 2021 I’ve always had to hunch and lean in order to obtain those fine details that I love to create.
So it’s safe to say that it’s about time that I get a new easel! You can peep the next photo to see my brand new Richeson Dulce in all of its glory! Thank you @artisansantafe for special ordering this for me and being so communicative during this process. I’ve used this easel for almost a week now and I can’t tell you how nice it has been to adjust and customize it in order to make my painting experience more comfortable and enjoyable! I have no doubt that this will help my posture while painting for hours on end everyday haha! And overall I hope that this story can show that creators will always find a way to create, we don’t need the best tools or materials in order to do what we love, just give us time and encouragement! Thanks for reading!

My Brand New Easel!

For this throwback post I wanted to address a topic that I struggle with and I’m sure many other artists struggle with as well. This topic being our very judgmental minds overly criticizing a piece of artwork too early in the process. This concept of this post may seem simple but trust me when I say that I have to remind myself at the start of every painting to turn off my critical mind and just work. If you start to be too critical of a piece before it even has time to grow you end up restricting yourself and cluttering your mind with unnecessary negative thoughts. Your art will evolve at it’s own pace and its up to you to be kind to yourself and nurture the piece as best as you can. Every piece of art you create will inevitably have an awkward phase and that’s just part of the creation process. Be kind to yourself and trust the process.

New Prints are Available Now!

I’m happy to announce that 5 of my most popular landscape paintings are now available as prints! “Enchantment” “Silent Snow” “Hallett Peak” “Winchester View” and “Dancing Leaves” are all available in 11”x14” and 16”x20” print sizes from Like Minded Productions. You can view each the images for each painting below!

Full Process Video for "Our Gentle Hands"

I hope you enjoy this process video for my painting “Our Gentle Hands” (Original Sold) I worked very hard on this piece and am so happy with how it turned out! Feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you like so you can be updated on new videos when they come out!

New Process Videos!

Hi all! I’m excited to bring you two brand new process videos that show how I painted “Enchantment” and “Silent Snow”. Each of these videos has full audio commentary from me about how I created the piece and what concepts where behind it. Each of these original paintings has been sold but I’m in the process of getting prints available soon!

Newest Painting "Our Gentle Hands" has been SOLD!

I'm really excited to say that my painting "Our Gentle Hands" has been sold! I really appreciate all of your kind words and insights about this painting, I worked extremely hard on it so it makes me really happy to see it go to a new home! And thank you to everyone who expressed interest in this painting, I don't think Ive ever had so many inquires!

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I will have a full process video for this painting soon plus I’m planning on doing a print release as well so stay tuned!

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Two Landscape Paintings Sold!

I'm really happy to say that yesterday both "Silent Snow" and "Enchantment" were SOLD!
I want to give a special shout out to the Los Alamos community for embracing me and the art I love to create I really appreciate your support.
I only have a few landscape paintings left in my inventory and you can see them in my online store by clicking the button below!

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Both of these paintings feature the beautiful Los Alamos landscape that I now get to call home. I feel very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place where I can explore and paint what I see!

Complete Process video for "Through the Leaves"

I hope you enjoy this process video for my painting “Through the Leaves” this piece not only required a lot of technical skill but also a lot of thought and reflection. This original painting is currently available from Abend Gallery in Denver if you are interested! You can click the button below to view this piece on the gallery website.

Complete Process Video for "Interconnection"

I hope you enjoy this process video for my painting “Interconnection” this piece took many hours of planning and prep as well as many more hours of concentrated work. This piece is currently available from Abend Gallery in Denver if you are interested! You can click the button below to view this piece on the gallery website.

Full Process Video for "The Lost Traveler"

I hope you enjoy this process video for my painting “The Lost Traveler”. I worked very hard on this piece everyday for more than a month so I hope you enjoy seeing this process sped up to just a few minutes. This original painting is available from Abend Gallery in Denver, click the button below to view this piece on their website.

Three Paintings Sold to a New Collector!

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Hi everyone! I'm really happy to say "Surrender" "Impending Storm" and "Ghost Ranch" have all sold to a new collector! I always feel so fortunate when someone new finds my work and decides that they just have to have some of it in their home.

I want to give a special shoutout to the Los Alamos community for engaging in my work on facebook and welcoming me as a new small business. Their kind and welcoming words really help me feel like my art is connecting with people. I feel very luck to be a part of such a well-connected and engaging community!

Brand New Terra Human Painting | "Interconnection"

My final brand new painting for the "Contemporary Figuration" show at Abend Gallery is here! Say hello to "Interconnection" This lovely original painting is available on Abend's website. Click the button below to view this piece on the Abend webstite.

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Here is the painting description: The world contained within this painting shows us blending seamlessly with the environments that we love. Every memory, emotion and thought that is contained within us is interwoven with those of the earth to create a single beauty. The immense highs and lows in our lives directly mimic the mountains and valleys in a way that shows the earth understands us to the core. The mountains listen to our thoughts and feelings while the stars comprehend our dreams and aspirations. The trees plants and animals grow and live for decades only to lose their lives and begin again in another form.
As a viewer we are allowed only a momentary glance at this world through a window so that we may contemplate our existence and what we wish to do with our time.

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Newest Terra Human | "Through the Leaves"

Hi everyone, could you do me a favor? Please read my full description for this painting below. I hope that this painting can communicate with you as it has communicated with me during its creation process. Honestly I don't think I have ever put this much thought into a single painting before so I really hope that you can listen to what I have to say and process it as you view the piece.

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This painting shows a trapped man. Ever since he was born into the color of his skin he has only been seen in this way. We choose see him through the leaves, broken, unfinished, and most of all unlike us. We only see him in these leaves as a way to control him rather than trying to understand him. As a society we refuse to see this person and people who look like him in a different light and recognize that all people are complex and multifaceted individuals. Like all of us this man is striving to find success and meaning in his life but he lives in a world that feels the need to put him into a specific box. Even though he is a kind, sensitive and compassionate individual his intent is assumed to be malicious and selfish and so everyday he feels the need be extra accommodating to those who are threatened by him. As he looks out through the leaves he finds a world that is fearful of him and ready to challenge his every move due to the color of his skin rather than the content of his character. He sees a world that is ripe with opportunity for others but these opportunities have conditions and requirements that shut him out.

This man is looking us straight in the eyes and asking us to be better. He is asking to be set free from these leaves so that he can live a life untethered from where we put him.

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New Terra Human Painting Available Now!

Hi everyone! I would like to introduce you to "The Lost Traveler." This is one of three new Terra Human paintings that I will be posting this week as a part of the Abend Gallery "Contemporary Figuration" show! ✅If you are interested in this piece feel free to contact me or use the button below to view the painting on Abend's website.

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Here is my description of the painting: This piece illustrates a man who has been searching for himself. It has taken him so long to get where his is right now and yet has a long way to go from here. He wishes to better himself through self discovery but the road has left him lost and exhausted. But what he doesn’t realize is that he is already learning and changing more than he realizes. His body is staring to crumble and break down to eventually be reformed stronger than before. And the plants and trees are beginning to see him for who he truly is and feel comfortable growing with him and nurturing his heart. After a long night of rest, the morning sunlight is touching the distant peaks soon to awaken this traveler to a new day of opportunity.

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Here is my description of the painting: This piece illustrates a man who has been searching for himself. It has taken him so long to get where his is right now and yet has a long way to go from here. He wishes to better himself through self discovery but the road has left him lost and exhausted. But what he doesn’t realize is that he is already learning and changing more than he realizes. His body is staring to crumble and break down to eventually be reformed stronger than before. And the plants and trees are beginning to see him for who he truly is and feel comfortable growing with him and nurturing his heart. After a long night of rest, the morning sunlight is touching the distant peaks soon to awaken this traveler to a new day of opportunity.

New Throwback Posts!

It's been a while since I've done a throwback post so I hope you enjoy this fun comparison of one of the first faces I painted as a professional artist to my most recent painting of a face!
Believe it or not I used to be terrified of painting people and faces in particular so I often stylized figures or just left their faces blank. The idea of a human face is so engrained into our brains that we can almost always tell if it is illustrated incorrectly by an artist. We can't always vocalize it but we can tell if there is something slightly off in the proportions. So this fear of failure prevented me from even attempting to paint people's faces for a while even though I loved looking at portrait paintings. More and more I was drawn to figurative art but was afraid of painting faces and failing at what I loved to do.
The painting on the right "Terra Firma" was one of my first real attempts at painting a figure while also including the face. I worked on this piece with caution and excitement because I was so entranced with the concept and vision I had in my head. I actually started this piece with the intention of NOT painting her face as to avoid the intimidation factor. But the more I painted the more I felt confident in my abilities and was willing to take the risk of illustrating the face in full.
The painting on this right is my most recent painting of a face. "The Giver" features a seamless double exposure portrait of a woman blended with the leaves, branches and sunlight that surround her. Even now when I am much more confident in my painting abilities I approach every piece with humility because every painting can be a new and unpredictable experience. I just feel thankful that my painting abilities are starting to catch up with the visions I piece together in my head. I truly love painting people because we instinctively connect with the person we see on the canvas and can use it as a way to reflect on ourselves.

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I want to share this throwback image to show that inspiring ideas don't just materialize out of nowhere, they build over your years of hard work, risk-taking and sensitivity to your surroundings. In 2015 as part of my senior thesis as an art major I painted my biggest and boldest painting to date. I had grown into a relatively confident landscape painter but decided to jump into the unknown by incorporating these haunting figures traversing the landscape. This decision would completely shift the narrative of the piece and give me the confidence to create unique and risky paintings for years to come. I often think back to this piece and the distinct moment when I had finished the landscape portion and finally worked up the courage to start painting the figures. It actually felt like jumping off a cliff into the unknown, both terrifying and exhilarating.

So when people ask me how I come up with ideas for my paintings I try to express that I have been accumulating interesting concepts, images and emotions for years in my head without really realizing it. This allows my art to build on itself in a natural progression so that I don't feel lost in a sea of ideas. When you look at these two paintings side-by-side you can clearly see an improvement in technique while also seeing a distinct starting point for the concept. With each new painting I try to take a small but uncomfortable risk so that I always feel like I'm moving forward and trying something new.

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I hope you enjoy this fun comparison between a painting from 2017 vs a painting in 2020.
As I've evolved into a figurative painter over the past few years its been hard to unsee a large disparity in this genre of art. Notably that the majority of figurative art focuses on women rather than men. And even more stunning is that the majority of paintings of women are painted by men. Now this branches into a much larger topic that I've discussed in my blog but I just want to sum it up in saying that as a figurative painter I want to do my best to represent all people. Since I started tentatively painting people several years ago I've made a conscious effort to specifically paint men. I do this even while knowing that these paintings on average don't sell as often as paintings of women. I do this because I hope to shift the norm in this regard and show not only that paintings of men are valuable and interesting but that they don't also have to be hyper masculine or show a "typical" version of strength. Artwork in general has an opportunity to show that men are multifaceted and complex creatures that are allowed to listen to their emotions.
I hope you see what I'm trying to accomplish in a lot of my artwork. In the years to come I am planning on pushing myself to paint more people of color as well as more people in the LGBTQ+ family.

Newest Publication! Shoutout Colorado

I feel very fortunate to have been interviewed by Shoutout Colorado about my art career! They seek out inspiring entrepreneurs and creatives and have them share some insights into their career.
I really appreciate this opportunity to share what I have learned so far and reflect back on what makes me tick as a working creative.

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Please give this article a read if you have the time, I put a lot of thought into my answers so that you can get get to know me better on a professional and personal level. Click the button below to read the full interview!

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3 New Terra Human Paintings for the Holiday Miniatures Show!

I’m really excited to share 3 brand new Terra Human paintings for the 30th Annual Holiday Miniatures Show at Abend Gallery!
These pieces along with many other incredible paintings are now officially available during the virtual opening at AbendGallery.com click the button below to view this amazing show! Scroll down to view all three of my paintings!

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“A Moment of Acceptance”

7”x11'“

Oil on Artefex Panel (Framed)

Available for $775 from Abend Gallery

This piece serves as a reminder of the importance of our self image. How we think of and speak to ourselves greatly influences our mental health and mental well-being and unfortunately we can be our own biggest critics. But if we can choose to give ourselves the grace and patience that we give others we will find ourselves in a healthier mental state. Like many of us, the person in this painting sometimes asks too much of herself and can’t help but speak words of negativity in order to push herself. But these words can do more harm that we know, degrading our self worth and leaving us unbalanced. The moment in this painting is a moment of realization. A moment in which we see ourselves for all of our strengths and weaknesses and decide to give ourselves the grace that we need to stay healthy and balanced.

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“Creator and Creation”

7”x11'“

Oil on Artefex Panel (Framed)

Available for $775 from Abend Gallery

This piece illustrates the innate connection we all have with the natural world that created us. The incredible nature that surrounds us serves many purposes and one of which is the way in which it encourages us to look inward and recalibrate our identity. Often times our fast paced lifestyle causes us to lose sight of who we are and replaces our empathy with malice and judgment that distances us from others and ourselves. Our primal brains are still catching up with the ever changing lives that we live, which are filled with social media, technology and an overwhelming amount of complicated people. 

But when we are able to step out of the day to day chaos and immerse ourselves in the nature that created us we connect with our surroundings and tap into our primal nature. This innate connection we have with nature can help us reestablish what we value in our lives and it can help us grow as individuals to then better serve others.

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“The Giver”

7”x11'“

Oil on Artefex Panel (Framed)

Available for $775 from Abend Gallery

This piece is an ode to those who strive to do good in this world. The people who despite the darkness surrounding them emit a light of empathy, kindness and understanding that inspires others. These people are the helpers, listeners, watchers and hard workers who always seek to help the world even in the most microscopic of moments or gestures and never ask for anything in return. The heart of a giver is one that should be cherished.