Bio
I use my art, often portraits, to share a message of love and relationship with others, in the hope that it will bring them joy, purpose, and a sense of belonging.
Befittingly, my favourite artistic subject is, and always has been, people. I enjoy capturing each individual’s essence and unique characteristics as well as their importance to me and our community. I especially appreciate creating artworks of my loved ones, as it allows me to recognize the value of our relationships in a unique way. I hope that the manner in which I depict peoples and relationships brings people together and gives the audience a sense of appreciation for their own individual beauty and identity. Art has always helped me find my own identity, faith, purpose, community, and connection in the midst of grief, doubt, mental health struggles, and the pandemic. In the same way that my art helps me look inwards to these, it prompts the viewers to consider their own identity, journey, and community.
My background in visual arts started as a simple hobby which I primarily taught myself. However, once I got to high school, at Longfield Davidson Heights in Ottawa, I decided that I wanted to be an art teacher and began to focus much more on the fine arts from an academic perspective. This led me to undergraduate studies with a major in fine arts and a minor in classics at the University of Ottawa, where I further developed my fine arts skills. Throughout high school and university, I was given many opportunities to work with various media, including pencil, coloured pencils, pastels, conte, watercolours, acrylics, charcoal, clay, wood, metal, plaster, projection, and both traditional and digital photography.