Ever since my travels to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala in 2014, my work has drastically changed. I switched from still life set ups of pastries to painting landscape. I believe what flipped the switch for me was my exposure to a completely foreign landscape. Growing up I had only ever seen New England forests, which can feel very closed in and restricting. In Mexico and Central America, I encountered new colors, immeasurable fields of view, enormous looming volcanoes, dense jungle made up of a never-ending array of greens, and vast farmlands atop high hills. I was also inspired by the ancient structures at archaeological sites with the extraordinarily large and complex pyramids and cities.
I reacted to these experiences by creating colorful paintings with moving, swirling, tumultuous forms that weave across the canvas. While painting, I have landscape in mind, although they are not depictions of particular places. I create my own spaces out of the inspirations I draw from memories and pictures. Alongside my paintings I have also been working on collages with personal photos from my travels. Through duality and repetition, I create new environments and spaces out of the images of these places.