Art Gallery
Art has always been an important way for me to channel my creativity. Below is a collection of some of the works I've completed between 2018 and today.
In high school, I was part of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) Visions program, which selects a small group of students from Scottsdale high schools to train with artists before creating a piece to hang in SMoCA’s gallery as a final project. My AP art portfolio focused on our impact on the environment, represented through the use of big cats. As such, many of the pieces below incorporate climate change and tigers, lions, leopards, and panthers.
The gallery also includes some of my smaller exploratory works, including some from college classes. Because I majored in engineering, not art, most of the pieces from my college time have been on a smaller scale, but they still show refinement of my painting skills and my continuation for my love of art.
Pride Goeth
Acrylic on Canvas 2020
This piece, standing at 2’ x 4’ is one of the largest pieces I’ve completed to date. The title is meant to draw ties to the phrase “Pride Goes Before a Fall” with the idea that our pride as a species is finally catching up. The drowning lion clawing toward survival represents the rising sea levels that continue to threaten lives across the world.
"Pride Goeth" was completed as a part of the 2020 Visions program with Scottsdale Arts Learning and Innovation. As the final project in the program, each student would complete one museum-quality piece, which would hang in Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art for several months.
The piece is acrylic paint on hand-stretched canvas, finished with a layer of clear resin.
Breaking Point
Oil on Canvas 2019
"Breaking Point," another 2’ x 4’ piece, is meant to draw attention to the effect of deforestation on animals such as the black panther. The many layers of the collage, including data, book pages, and news articles, represent the complicated relationship we have with our environment, and emphasize the changes we need to make to survive.
The piece was completed as a part of the 2019 Visions program with Scottsdale Arts Learning and Innovation. As the final project in the program, each student would complete one museum-quality piece, which would hang in Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art for several months.
The piece is collage, mono-prints, shellac, and oil paint on hand-stretched canvas.
This trio of pieces tells a story of climate change through different types of leopards, always referring to Mother Nature. Each piece employs a different color scheme, with the first representing the ignorance of impending danger. The second shows a giant snow leopard in the mountains as a representation of how far away our problems feel until they look us in the eye. The final piece, a clouded leopard stalking through a human city, can represent several aspects of climate change, from the rising severity of natural disasters, to our own fight against the issue, to the increasing environmental issues in our own cities.
With Vengeance of Millennia She Comes
Acrylic on Canvas Pad 2018
Above the Changing Air She Breathes
Acrylic on Canvas Pad 2018
Upon a Golden Throne She Sleeps
Acrylic on Canvas Pad 2018
Rising Tides
Acrylic on Canvas 2020
"Rising Tides" was one of the final pieces contributed to my AP portfolio, and directly addresses the issues of pollution, global warming, and sea-level rise. The tiger is the most realistic piece of the painting, and is shown in grey wading through rising water to represent all living things coming closer to the point of extinction through figurative drowning.
The painting style for the human aspect of the work is intentionally very geometric, dark, and brooding, highlighted with a powerful sunset. These aspects represent the separation of humanity from nature, as well as how close we are to a complete crisis for ourselves and all life on Earth. The ocean, on the other hand, is vibrant to demonstrate the juxtaposition of beauty and danger in the tides.
Tears for the People
Gouache on Paper, Acrylic on Board 2020
These two pieces served as exploration pieces. They play with the emotions behind big cats and their expressions. By looking the viewer in the eye, these pieces directly speak to the observer, boldly demanding straight eye contact. The tiger's expression is melancholy and somber. The leopard, on the other hand, has two different expressions. One eye (left) defiantly challenges the viewer while the other (right) pleads through a look of suffering. I really enjoyed the specificity of these pieces, and the way that the fur around cat eyes emulate a look of tears.
Through Yesterday’s Eyes (Trio)
Acrylic on Canvas Pad 2021
"Through Yesterday's Eyes" is a three-part project done for my Intro to Painting Continued course. Each painting is a photo from my camera roll, overlayed at the end with a re-creation of a drawing done by me when I was a child. The idea behind these pieces is to consider how our perceptions and depictions of the world change over time.