Inspired by Wander and Wonder.
Featured Work
This piece will be available for purchase at Gallery B612 in Pioneer Square, Seattle for their aquatic-themed show running September 3 through October 28.
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12x12x1.5in, painted edges, ready to hang
Acrylic on canvas
From the series Under the Surface
This painting was inspired by the corporate phrase “sharp elbows,” a term often used to describe individuals perceived as difficult, aggressive, or challenging to work with. In practice, the phrase frequently operates as a subtle form of social correction — particularly toward people whose confidence, directness, competence, or conviction disrupt established power dynamics.
The puffer fish became a natural metaphor for this tension. Beneath its defensive exterior is a vulnerable creature whose spikes emerge only under pressure. What appears threatening is, in many cases, a survival response.
The work reflects on the emotional consequences of modern workplace environments where individuals are encouraged to be bold, strategic, and high-performing, while simultaneously being punished when those qualities become too visible, especially in ways that challenge hierarchy, consensus, or comfort.
Inspired by the artist’s experience witnessing a respected leader quietly reduced to a dismissive characterization after being laid off, Sharp Elbows explores the disconnect between corporate language and lived reality. Contributions, loyalty, sacrifice, and institutional knowledge can be collapsed into vague personality critiques once someone is no longer considered useful to the system.
Within the series Under the Surface, the painting examines the adaptive traits people develop inside professional ecosystems and the ways defensive behaviors are often mistaken for inherent character flaws rather than responses to pressure, instability, and repeated invalidation.
30in x 30in x 1.5in
Acrylic on linen canvas
From the series Under the Surface
This painting explores the seductive psychology of startup culture through the lens of the anglerfish — a deep-sea predator that survives by attracting prey with light.
Named after a stage of venture capital funding associated with rapid growth and expansion, Series B examines the emotional economy of ambition, hope, and speculative reward within modern corporate environments. Employees are often drawn toward promises of ownership, flexibility, future wealth, unlimited PTO, meaningful impact, and the possibility of “building something big.” The lure glows with aspiration.
But beneath the surface, the dynamics can become extractive. Personal identity merges with company identity. Boundaries dissolve in the name of passion, urgency, and shared mission. Stability is deferred in exchange for potential. The future itself becomes compensation.
The anglerfish functions as both predator and ecosystem — a symbol of workplaces that sustain themselves through attraction, optimism, and the constant pursuit of growth, even in conditions where exhaustion, instability, and disposability quietly persist.
Within Under the Surface, the work reflects on the survival traits that emerge inside contemporary professional culture and the unseen emotional adaptations required to endure it.
12in x 12in x 1.5in, painted edges, ready-to-hang
Acrylic on canvas
From the series Under the Surface
This painting explores the tension between individuality and assimilation within modern workplace culture. Inspired by the corporate phrase “culture fit,” the piece reflects on the often unspoken pressure to perform compatibility rather than embody authenticity.
Rendered in muted Payne’s grey rather than the clownfish’s familiar bright orange, the fish appears subtly desaturated — a visual reference to the gradual softening, masking, and editing of self that can occur inside professional environments. The work questions what is actually meant by “fit” when organizations simultaneously celebrate diversity, innovation, and disruptive thinking while rewarding behavioral sameness, social comfort, and ideological alignment.
The phrase “culture fit” is frequently presented as evidence of shared values and belonging. Yet workplace culture itself can function as performance: aspirational language displayed through mission statements, leadership principles, and company values that employees are expected to embody more consistently than the institutions themselves.
Drawing from personal experiences within corporate environments, the painting reflects on the emotional labor of learning how to mirror expectations in order to succeed — speaking the right language, signaling the right attitudes, and suppressing the parts of oneself that might create friction, discomfort, or unpredictability.
Within Under the Surface, Culture Fit examines adaptation not as natural evolution, but as a survival strategy within controlled ecosystems where belonging is often conditional and authenticity can quietly become negotiable.
Welcome to my Art site
I’m inspired by wander and wonder—by following curiosity wherever it leads and creating from instinct rather than rules. My work is an exploration of what brings me joy in the moment, often shaped by solo travel, music, and the unexpected visuals that surface when I let go.
I paint to capture how something feels more than how it looks. Each piece is a balance of experimentation and intuition—an invitation to discover something new, both for myself and for the viewer.
For a long time, art was something I told myself I’d return to “someday.” Now, I’ve stopped waiting. Now, I make art.
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