Peonies

This was the biggest canvas I’d ever worked on back in high school, and I went all in. I wanted to paint a sunbeam—one of those quiet, golden ones that slips into a dark room and makes everything feel like magic. The dust in the light was key: I painted it like specks of gold,…

I started this piece knowing I wanted a gathering—ducks, geese, something with glow and contrast and a little chaos, and ended up being one of my happiest pieces. It took years. I kept adding details, then pulling them back, chasing a feeling I couldn’t quite name. Eventually, it clicked: the lineup felt alive, like they…

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 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…