Acrylic Paintings

Unplugged - 2021

19" x 24"

Acrylic on canvas

This piece represents the feeling of paranoia, emptiness, and distress we feel when separated or "unplugged" from social media. The withdrawal and struggle is shown in the eyes. The blue figure represents a sense of losing yourself, since it's so abstract and flat. I was inspired to create this piece from my own experience. My phone broke for a day, and I couldn't use the social media apps that I'm used to using every day. I felt detached and left out from other people's lives. I realized how much I really do depend on social media, and how often it's actually used throughout my day.

Coded by Society - 2019

12" x 16"

Acrylic on canvas

We tend to alter our personalities and suppress our true characteristics in order to conform to the social norms portrayed on social media. A girl filled with colors, representing all of her different personality traits, is "coded" by society. This is shown through her eyes not being present; the eyes are the window to a person's soul, so the fact that they are missing shows that her true identity is hidden, while the "coding" takes over.

Validation - 2021

10" x 10"

Acrylic on canvas

We feel validation through notifications. We've started to feel like our only value is in our likes/comments/attention on a post. The figure is missing their eyes (representing their personality, emotions, feelings) and their mouth (representing their voice, ideas, opinions). The absence of these two shows that the value of their personality and opinions is erased if their like count isn't high enough. Everything about them seems unworthy and ignored because their 'like' count has more value than who they really are as a person.

Endless Cycle - 2022

8" x 10"

Acrylic on canvas

During the first semester of my freshman year of college, the faculty at my school went on a month long strike. It was a hard time for everyone involved, and I wanted to portray my point of view through this painting. Not having class took away any motivation or sense of productiveness that I had previously felt. I went from waking up early every morning to going to sleep without setting an alarm or having any plan for the next day. It seemed like there was no purpose for me or goal that I had to achieve, so I found myself in bed most of the time. I feel that this piece captures the loneliness, laziness, and exhaustion that took over me during this time period.

What You Don't See - 2021

15" x 20"

Acrylic on illustration board

We have the ability to choose which parts of our lives we want to show on social media. The woman's selfie is only showing her upper half, which is intact, classy, beautiful, and "wealthy" looking. She's choosing to hide her lower half, which is falling apart and disheveled.

How Do I Feel? - 2022

8" x 10"

Acrylic on canvas

My goal with this piece was to capture the confusion and mixed emotions that I felt during the month-long faculty strike during my first semester of college. My friends in other schools would constantly tell me how lucky I've gotten to have a month off, but I felt the complete opposite about the situation. My emotions were all over the place.