Swans

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…

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 painted this while working through a lot of emotion—feeling lost and frustrated. Her gaze carries that weight. She might be looking at you, or just past you, and it’s up to the viewer to decide what she’s thinking. Peaceful? Sad? Something in between? This was an experiment in light and contrast—chiaroscuro with loose, impressionistic…

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…