Connect What is your favorite type of art to create?

I really enjoy acrylic painting, especially when I have a lot to say. The ability to engage color, texture, narrative and defined imagery feels the most open on a canvas to me. The world of painting also has an expansive history to draw motifs from that help add meaning with a subtlety that hasn’t been as explored in mediums like ceramics. It is also easier to engage in mixed media when working on a project focused on painting such as adhering photos or painting on non-traditional surfaces.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find much of my inspiration from various forms of history such as literary, visual, musical, and personal history. History recorded by the arts typically arrive with their own motifs that can be used to inject, potentially, dense meaning with a character’s pose, the use of composition, technique, or a number of other element. From here, personal history tends to be the seed that the stories I tell grow from.

What would you do with $25,000?

First, I’m paying off my student loans and putting half of my remaining earnings into a high-yield savings account to help contribute to my future’s financial stability. Next, I expect to budget what still sits with me into “Art Supplies,” and “Gallery Trips/ Submission Fees.” If I win, I plan to use the connections created by such a blessing to network and secure as many exhibitions and showings as I can. Supporting my ability to create and showcase is where the two mentioned budgets will focus