My Art Journey
In the early 2000s, I didn’t have many distractions to fill my time - no games or technology to speak of. I wasn’t even aware those things existed, but what I did have was a lot of printer paper and more pens than I could count. I grew up with my mom who was an artist. She painted tornadoes, flowers, and things in nature, which intrigued me. I would draw beside her while she painted, and I quickly learned to love drawing. In December 2001, I saw Lord of the Rings for the first time. It opened the world of visual media and storytelling. My love for illustrating skyrocketed as my love for visual media and storytelling multiplied. Very specific things caught my attention - the vastness of the armies, the armor they wore, the material it was made of, and the immense amount of detail packed into every scene of the movies. Even as a kid who was just figuring out how to implement basic shapes in an attempt to capture what was in my head, these things were on my mind. I just didn’t have the skills or experience at the time to implement these techniques. I try to channel visual storytelling from a practical point of view to create something that I can call my own. This is why I have stuck with my love for art today.
My inspirations through the years have been illustrators like John Howe and Alan Lee and their illustrations that brought Middle Earth to life. I was introduced to Studio Ghibli films later, and my love for painting backgrounds flourished. The studio’s ability to transport you into a world of color, form, and emotion is truly something special that I try to implement in my own work. Now I’ve made it my life’s purpose to translate my love of imaginative storytelling and visuals into digital painting and design. My primary love is 2D design while implementing traditional painting techniques in a digital form.
