Early in my art journey, I began noticing an emphasis on movement in my works. I initially explored this with close contouring of Greek architecture (these early works are not shown). I’m fascinated by the way the Greeks used mathematical precision—entasis, closer placement of outer columns, a general absence of right angles—to give the illusion of movement. 

As I painted with this concept in mind, I began noticing a unifying theme in most of my paintings: a central figure distorted within a geometric space. With that, I had a question to guide my investigation: how do we interact with the spaces that we occupy?

Leaning into this question as I painted “Death Waltz Between,” I wanted to mimic the directional texture of the floor to create a push towards the figure. I further experimented with earlier techniques of layering thicker and thinner washes to mimic the “movement” of a wooden floor. I also explored blending and layering to give the figure’s clothes and skin a cohesive appearance, focusing on capturing the figure’s emotional isolation rather than total realism.

I then explored how meaning shifts when the central figure is not a person, challenging the traditional figure-space dynamic evident in my portfolio. In “In All Chaos,” nature is the subject and environment, blending the boundary between the two. The same holds true for the structure atop the stairs in “Final Breaths.” My process in these was intuitive. I focused roughly on lights and shadows, letting my brush haphazardly translate what I saw. I let go of total control and leaned into imperfection, ultimately creating a very organic scene.

Wanting to incorporate this greater ‘flow’ into paintings with people, I began experimenting with techniques to connect my figure to their background: using a similar color palette between the figure and sky, painting the figure so lightly that they appear as part of their surroundings, etc.

With “Pressure” and “Washed,” I began experimenting with color, introducing unnatural reds and purples into the skin tone. These tones contrast the muted and diffused background, emphasizing the figure’s presence within the scene. Through these works, I aimed to combine precision and expressiveness, creating a scene that feels familiar yet dreamlike.

Throughout my portfolio as a whole, my exploration of figures in space has evolved from structured geometric interaction to organic relationships that call on the viewer to consider the blurred boundary between subjects and their environments.