Where were you born and raised?
Kitty Hawk, NC. A small beach town on the Outer Banks.
What do you make/create? What's your medium?
I began in fine arts. I majored in painting at The Savannah College of Art and Design. While being a freelance painter, working in acrylic on canvas and panel, I decided to expand into apparel and other mediums. This month I'm releasing the first collection of my brand "Fuck, I think I love you" and I hope to release my second book of confessional poetry this fall. However, all of my work is so personal and connected that I've started to consider myself as a brand.
Who was your inspiration growing up? Was it an artist? Actor? Musician?
My inspiration was my father; he was my hero in every aspect. My dad is an architect, but an artist at heart. I grew up in his office watching him meet with clients and design these amazing homes which I could only dream about living in one day. As I grew, I fell in love with many artists: Jenny Saville, Tracey Emin, and Cy Twombly being a few of them. Tracey Emin is by far the biggest inspiration to my own work; everything that she does is shockingly raw and intimate. I can only hope to create the same type of feeling with my paintings and writing.
Who is your audience/ideal eyes for your work?
Honestly, anyone who wants to fall in love. I consider my work romantic; I paint/write about people I love, people I adore, people who make me whole.
What is your mission/ what do you try to achieve or tell your audience with your art?
I never really figured out how to separate my personal life and my art; honestly I don't think it's possible. My hope is that my work makes you feel uncomfortable in the best way possible. Intimacy amongst strangers is a lovely thing - the world could use a little more of it.
When did you begin your art journey? What led you to where you are now?
I believe I started far before I was even aware of it; writing and creating art has been my outlet for as long as I can remember. Like everyone else, I experienced some terrible things throughout my life - instead of trying therapy, I just started writing about it. Art has always been my coping mechanism and the older I get, the more I embrace that it's the best way to heal. It's quite lovely to look back on every piece of work I've made and have the opportunity to relive what I was going through - or to choose to leave those feelings within the pieces and move forward.
Advice for up and coming artists and young creatives?
No one has to like your work and to be completely honest - most people won't. That's really the beauty of it. Just keep creating what you love, what feels honest to you, and never stop. The success and praise will come on it's own. It takes vulnerability to be an artist, you're giving away a piece of yourself to the world with everything you create; not everyone has the courage to do that so cheers to you.
What is your go-to music while you create?
This changes an absurd amount depending what I'm working on. My junior year of college I made an entire 16 piece collection of paintings while listening to nothing but Avril Lavigne; I still have no idea why but I loved how the collection turned out. While writing, I tend to listen to more subdued music like Sylvan Esso. When painting or working on my brand it could range from Don Toliver, to Nao, Banks, Litany, and back to Machine Gun Kelly. But regardless of what it is, I like it as loud as possible so I can just get lost.
What are you most comfortable in while you create? What are you wearing? Jeans?!
This is going to sound incredibly strange but lingerie, jeans and sneakers. My New York apartment is my studio so I like to be comfortable, but also confident and that's what I feel my best most authentic self in.
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