As a young child my grandmother, Nani, influenced my love of the arts, and drawing—she gave me my first set of drawing pencils, lighting my creative spark. Aside from this, she was a very talented painter, and a gifted artist. Nani has encouraged creativity within me all my life, but it wasn’t until I studied under Nancy Jay, a local Orlando artist and art professor, that I realized how much I love drawing. Nancy Jay changed the way I observe life, and how to approach drawing the world around me. Most of my artwork is an exploration into the more macabre aspects of life. I enjoy depicting elaborate facial expressions, or the more obscure of subject matters. In my work, I attempt to accomplish a cohesive level of skill, regardless the medium, in order to depict the world in which I live as accurately as possible. My first love is drawing, and I strive to achieve the highest level of realism possible. Everyday I work towards further evolving my craft; to be the best artist that I can be. While I primarily use graphite, I utilize a variety of materials and processes to create artworks—watercolor, colored pencil, charcoal, ink, acrylic, oil, and mixed media. Though my works may not appear to be connected by theme, they are essentially connected by the level of quality that I attempt to uphold.

 

I have received various merits over the course of my life as an artist:

• Best in show, Heathrow student art show—2003

• First place, Heathrow student art show—2004

• Valencia College Drawing Award—2010

• Anita S. Wooten Art Grant-2010

• First place cover art at the Florida Community College Press Association Magazine Competition—2010

• Runner-up, Faber-Castell National Art Competition—2011