Artist Statement

My illustrations are heavily influenced by my passion for imaginative realism and the desire to make fantasy believable.

Growing up with my brothers: exploring the outdoors, playing pretend, watching 90s cartoons and anime, and playing video games ignited my love for fantasy. Anime, particularly the magical girl genre, inspired me with its powerful female protagonists, which were uncommon at the time. As a young girl navigating a difficult family situation, I found empowerment in my imagination: a world where magic and powers could transform my life for the better. This experience shaped my commitment to portraying strong, magical women in my own work.

As I matured, I discovered League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering which reinforced my interest in fantasy illustration. These games use illustration to convey engaging stories and complex characters, with players selecting specific art that best represents them. This was my first time experiencing the desire for illustration as its own product and not just a marketing device, which motivated my dream of creating splash art for Riot Games and cards for Wizards of the Coast.

In my creative career, I have spent the last ten years working as a graphic designer while also making a continuous effort to practice illustration in pursuit of those dreams. Although my passion was illustration, graphic design was a strategic and stable career choice which taught me a lot about creating compelling visuals, working across many brands and my love for teaching. With the goal of teaching in mind I started my pursuit for my MFA and decided to focus on Illustration as a way to “pay myself back” for not following my heart. This gave me the opportunity to explore these themes and motivations behind my illustrations and better understand myself as a creative individual. 

During my time at the Fashion Institute of Technology I discovered new outlets of fantasy illustration and entirely new areas within the field of illustration that reinforced my desire to fully commit to becoming an illustrator. Beyond fantasy illustration, I am also interested in editorial illustration and reportage as a way to express the importance of real life issues in the world in hopes of bringing them to light. 

I aspire to use my illustration to bring both fantasy and real life stories into reality and inspire others to embrace their imagination and to feel empowered to take their life in their own hands.