Artist Bio

They say you never stop learning and as an artist this statement is as true as can be for many reasons. Firstly, there are so many different areas in art, so many different fields in need of exploration that we can never honestly say we have done it all. Secondly, assuming someone is successful in trying all the different mediums out there, there are so many different ways to alter and apply the skill acquired to the practice of art as a whole that there is an infinite amount of ways to make a work. This has been the driving force and my motivation in my undergraduate program. Throughout my years in school I have experimented with various mediums and techniques, succeeding in some and failing in others. Success made me understand new materials and grow in my knowledge of the art making process. However, it was in failure that I learned the greater lessons. Those materials that did not come easy to me were the ones that pushed me to take a step back and try different approaches. This challenge tapped into my problem solving area of the brain and forced me to put those neurons to work and sometimes change my entire outlook. For me, one of the most important parts of the art making process is where the mind goes and how far it can be pushed. I thrive amidst the challenges of the unknown. 

That being said, for my final project in my Advanced Drawing class I decided to experiment with a medium that is relatively new to me. I have previously worked with ink, but I had never tried to use it in a way other than the conventional ink wash drawings in black. To the right is an image I found online (artist unknown) of portraits done with ink. The work is very linear and does not include much detail but is able to successfully capture the features and personalities of the people. This time, I embraced the quality of the liquid and mixed it with water in order to get a chaotic and spontaneous background for my work.Since I knew I would be relying heavily on water, I wanted to use clay board for this work to ensure that it would not be damaged by the use of liquids. I allowed the water to make its mark as it was placed on the surface while I guided it to where I wanted it to go. There was a good blend of giving and taking in that I allowed the ink to be ink, to move freely, before intervening and moving it about. This allowed for a combination of random spots of color and swipes of a brush. This by no means created a harmonious environment, but one that is more reminiscent and nostalgic, imitating the blurred world in which our memories reside.

For the subject matter I wanted to paint portraits of the four rocks of my family, the four pillars that hold us all up through everything: my grandmother and her three sisters. I have always said that I may not have known my grandfather, but I was blessed with having four grandmothers, something that not many people can say. These four strong women raised me and taught me everything I know about values and my faith, something that is an important part of who I am. I struggled through the process of making this because I came to notice and feel the impact of the lack of documentation. Two out of the four sisters are in Mexico and they do not have any form of technology that would facilitate the exchange of photographs. This is extremely frustrating because looking through my photos of my travels I had the usual ridiculous food and animal pictures but none of my two aunts and unfortunately I do not have the luxury of driving five minutes to their home to capture them as I did with my grandmother and her other sister. More than anything, this project has opened my eyes to what truly matters in life and to appreciate all that I have. I love these women and I sincerely hope that this care and admiration can show through the portraits. Although they are not photorealistic, they capture the blurry memory feeling and even some of my frustration throughout the process. I will one day make portraits that are able to capture the beauty of these women in the future. That isn’t to say that these do not, because I believe that they do, but they capture so much more and that is my own recollection of them and nostalgia. In fact, last week I dreamt that I walked into my home and saw that all four of them were in the same room, that I was able to hold them all at once and nothing else mattered to me because my heart was full. This project focused more on emotion than technique and I am very proud of the result.

As mentioned before, these last four years of undergrad have been the key to opening the door to many different techniques, materials and ideas. I have had highs and lows, but they are all bricks that form the path that I will walk through my life to one day find my voice as an artist and will continue to walk and grow from there because there is so much to learn, this time is mine!