I love any kind of creation from drawing to woodworking but my baby will always be oil painting. The first time I ever saw actual art was oil paintings in a book. For some reason, in my head I was able to connect the doodles I would make as a child to these paintings I was entranced by - that maybe one day my drawings would become these paintings. I've been hooked ever since.

I used to think that I had to find it outside of myself because I did not trust in my own stories and experiences. I've worked hard to reverse this into telling the stories of my own struggles with mental illness & identity so that ANYONE can find connection to my work. But while I look for it in my own experiences I'm definitely not shut off to world around me. If a perspective affects me, I'll reflect it in the work.

I would do several things with $25k. One, of course, is to use it to help grow my career and scope and use it to help the art program of the school I teach at. The second is that I lost my father to a sudden heart attack in 2022 & I would finally be able to purchase his headstone that my family has had difficulty affording. I would also be able to finally take care of lingering medical & dental issues that I've carried for years.