ARTIST STATEMENT

Art has been part of my life since I can remember. The largest drawing I have ever done is  the ballpoint pen portrait that covered the wall when I was 1 year old. Art has always been my comfort, my escape, and my obsession. I would draw anywhere, anytime, and on any surface. I would sometimes get weird looks walking home from school because the drawing I did with a sharpie on my arm, people would think me, a middle schooler, had a whole sleeve tattoo. 
I enjoy realism to illustrations, bold and bright colors to black and white. I enjoy making dense and detailed artwork because I like to look at a piece and find something new every time I look at it. I am inspired by many things when I create art, but mostly I am inspired by the Japanese culture. I lived in Japan since I was 7 years old until I graduated highschool. When I first moved to Japan, my mother made me read Manga (Japanese comic books) to help me study Japanese. “One Piece” written by Eiichiro Oda was the first ever comic that I have read, and still to this day, is my favorite Manga. That opened up a whole new world of art for me, and made me fall in love with illustration. I found it so fascinating to see how simple repetitive ink lines could look like they are moving in these illustrations. 
I enjoy making art in many forms. I love using traditional media such as paper and pencil, pens, markers, colored pencils, paint, ink and more. Not only on paper or canvas, but I also paint custom art on sneakers and guitars. Painting commissioned pieces for people is an amazing experience, and I enjoy it a lot. I also have painted digitally in Photoshop to create book covers, and used Illustrator and InDesign to create magazine covers and historical layout articles. 
I create art because it is my passion. At the end of the day, I want my art and designs to inspire people and make an impact. I would like my art to be something that people cannot forget.