Throwback artwork -- Awakening from Captivity

I recently had the honor of sending "Awakening from Captivity" to its permanent home! I've grown very attached to this painting over the last three years since it was painted (woah time flies!), and I was ecstatic know that I went to a person on their own journey out of the grips of captivity. I don't always get to know where my paintings end up, so when do I hear those stories, it doesn't just make my day -- it inspires me for months to come! It is a beautiful privilege that my paintings resonate with some people, being able to connect with ann inspire others with my art is my greatest passion.

To me, this painting represents the moment of choosing oneself over the prison that contains them, and leaving behind the version of themselves that was content to be caged. We are all beautiful unicorns, deserving of freedom.

While "Awakening from Captivity" is now sold, I do still have a very small number of 11"x"14"holographic prints still available. Each print is signed and numbered, and once they are gone, I will no longer be producing prints of this painting.

Sketchbook dump

I've been experimenting more with watercolors in my sketchbook in the last week. For now, I only have a cheap palette of basic colors that I've been using on thin sketchbook paper. Even so, I've been enjoying the color payoff, textures, and blendability of watercolor. I have so much to learn in this medium and its been so fun to practice!

Behave (aka Knife Cat), completed acrylic painting

I just finished "Behave", also known as Knife Cat. My goal was to depict a cat in a defensive posture, licking the sharp edge of a kitchen knife. Dangling from the cat's collar is a heart-shaped tag, labelled "Princess". I wanted to give a sense of flash photography with the lighting and shadows, as if you had caught this scene suddenly and accidentally. I chose to go with an overall pink/red/purple color scheme (inspired by Barbie 2023) -- the thought was to draw focus to the cat's mouth, and to solidify the reference the femininity. This image came to me after considering many quotes and poems that resonated with my experience of girlhood (included below). Sometimes, being a little girl felt like being a tiny creature, ravenous for love, who earned it through silently tolerating pain. Created with acrylic paint, glitter, and Swarovski crystals, sealed in epoxy resin on 12"x12" stretched canvas, mounted on a wire.

“When you are not fed love on a silver spoon, you learn to lick it off knives.”

― Lauren Eden

“A woman's first blood doesn't come from between her legs but from biting her tongue.”

― Meggie C. Royer