Portfolio Highlights
They Will Be Us
Watercolor on paper, 22x30 in. 2022
. A line from the 2007 Sci-Fi TV seres TERMINATOR: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, reads as follows:
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“They say when a person dies, their soul lives on. The soul, the thing that separates
us from the machines…We all have weak moments, moments we lose faith. But it’s
our flaws that make us human. [Science performs miracles like gods of old. Creating
life from blood cells or bacteria or a spark of metal. but*] they are perfect creatures,
and in that way they cannot be less human. There are things machines will never do.
They cannot possess faith. They cannot commune with God. they cannot appreciate
beauty. They cannot create art. If they ever learn these things, they will not have to destroy us.
They will be us”.
In reality, this whole story started back in February when I participated in an "AI and Art" discussion as a panelist. This topic had long facinated me, after catching my attention when a wave of my felow artists on social media began to speak out about their artwork being stolen to train the AI engines that would steal their business. As a sci-fi loving Catholic artist, this issue runs deeper than simple AI engines creating images of cats with 7 fingers. As we humans march ever closer to the thrilling advancements in technology that will eventually render us obsolete, we also continue to blur the line between truth and fiction, as well as lose sight of what truly sets humanity apart.
And that thing is...well, humanity. It's creativity, empathy, the capacity to feel and love and forgive, the life of the soul.
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So, why ballet?
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This particular imagry is from the ballet Giselle. An epic story about love, betrayal, sacrifice, revenge, redemption and loving forgiveness. At this moment in the ballet, the title character Giselle stands in protection of her love, Albrecht, protecting him from the fatal touch of the ghostly queen of the Wilis, Myrtha. She stands guarding him, her arms draped across his in a cruciform position, a religious symbolic of sacrificial love. This scene and these figures represent the purest forms of humanity. Not only the theme of the characters, but the concept of dance and music as well, which are human creations, and powerful methods of human expression.
And so, the figures of humanity stand, bracing themselves against the cascading darkness, covered in falling binary code, which tranlaes to the quote featured above from Sarah Connor.
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I Only Have Eyes For You
Pen on charcoal paper, 24x18 in. 2023
I've often heard new mothers talk about the great shift in priorities that occurs upon the arrival of their child. Suddenly, there is a narrowing of vision and this little person suddenly takes presedence over things that used to seem so important. I've experienced a taste of this myself. While I've not myself entered into motherhood, in my extesive time nanying for families of young children I experienced my own form of that tranfixation, and the captivation of watching a little one grow and experience the world. It's distracting. I wanted to convey that feeling in this piece, wth the busy composition, bright engaging colors and wacky subjects. Everyone is focused outwards, towards the viewer or out towards a "stranger". But sitting in the center, is a mother with her child, focused solely on one thing. In the close ups, you may notice The Mother and Child are the only figures containing all the colors of the piece, as well as the only two figures sharing a connected color value, representing their connection. The contrast against the other figures also implies they are just out of step with the rhythms of the crowd... the piece gets it's title from the song of the same name "I Only Have Eyes For You" by the Flamingos. Some lyrics are as follows;
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"My love must be a kind of blind love. I can't see anyone but you.
Are the stars out tonight? I don't know if it's cloudy or bright.
I only have eyes for you dear.
The moon may be high, But I can't see a thing in the sky
I only have eyes for you
I don't know if we're in a garden, Or on a crowded avenue.
You are here, And so am I. Maybe millions of people go by.
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you".
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The reference image for this piece is actually a photo taken at a comic con in Perth, Austrailia. The figures are all comic con guests, to the best of my knowledge. I had found this image online months (perhaps even a year) before I created this piece, and I had actually lost track of the reference. The image suddenly re-entered my mind recently, and after outsourcing the search to members of a shared facebook group, I was finally reunited with the image and set to work.
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Candle Light
Willow charcoal on charcoal paper, 18x24 in. 2023
Not all of my pieces have such a grand origin story. This piece came to be simply due to the fact I needed another charcoal piece to finish the decor in my bedroom. This is the first time I've brought my signature cartoon style to my preffered 18x24 format. The initial idea was to have a piece with emphasis on gesture and value. The way my figures are build are generally fairly gestural and fluid, prioritizing pleasing lines while keeping in mind general anatomy. I generally work in higher key value ranges, but for this piece I wanted to experiement with keeping the composition dark, with only one small lightsource. From there, the subject begsn to form. A warm, intimate image of a young girl, lit by candle light.
For What Greater Love
Willow Charcoal on drawing paper, 18x24 in. 2023
The soft lighting, the texture of the veil, the subtleness of the expression...these were the main challenges I faced when creative this piece. This piece was originally created as an exercise for a course. The objective was "create a piece that tells a story". I drew inspiration from iconic imagery from (you guessed it,) the classical ballet Giselle (sensing a theme, are you?). Using props and a strategically placed phone flahlight, I was able to create a still life as reference and set to work, emphasizing the soft, delicate textures of the veil and face.
River's Dance
Digital Art, 2022
Description coming soon...
Self Portrait
Willow Charcoal on drawing paper, 18x24 in. 2023
Description coming soon...