Nina Pet Portrait

This painting began as an exercise in light, but it turned into something gentler — a moment of calm between the shepherd and his flock. I wanted the morning to feel new, fragile, and full of quiet purpose. The figures don’t speak, yet their closeness says enough. The shepherd looks at his sheep, and not…

This was a gift for an ex—kind of. We went on a date to the koi pond at Hahn Horticulture Garden, and I was inspired to paint this. It was my first time trying to date seriously, and I did everything “right,” waiting for feelings to show up. They didn’t. He didn’t. I let him…

I painted this as a gift, starting with photobashed references and building out the scene from there. I added water, birds, ruins, and subtle hue shifts throughout to make it feel a little surreal—like a dream you can almost remember. The elephant is the centerpiece, standing calm in the middle of something ancient and overgrown….

I painted this in one sitting—six hours straight—as a birthday gift for my mom. It began with a monochromatic reference, but the colors didn’t stay quiet. They surged forward, unexpected and insistent, like they had their own momentum. It felt less like I was choosing them and more like they were choosing me. This was…

I wanted this piece to feel like a quiet pause… Poppies have a long history of symbolizing remembrance, especially in Europe, and I leaned into that while painting. The figure stands alone in the field, hair blown across the face, eyes hidden. It’s a moment of stillness—just you, the wind, and the red. I felt…