Title: Upstream
Year: 2024 Medium: Ink, black and gold Size: 30 x 15 in
Upstream is a gold embellished ink illustration featuring freshwater fish who live or migrate through Illinois, accompanied by a border of fossils and ferns. Trout, gar, bass, and sturgeons all swim together in rich and delicate patterns. The piece is a detailed celebration of native ecology and biodiversity. By partially exposing the skeletons of the fish, the work reveals the structure beneath living organisms and invites viewers to consider the inner workings of nature.
Title: Invertebrada
Year: 2023 Medium: Paper & Digital Media Size: 12 x 8 in each
Holding true to my fascination with insects, this trio of bugs was a further exploration into paper sculpture. Taking my previously established process to the next level, I completed three illustrations digitally, transferring each color layer to a file that could be cut out by a Cricut machine. Once I calibrated the scale, cutting many reproductions of the same illustration was easy, allowing me to quickly construct more than one in many color variations. Elements were assembled with mod podge and mat board, giving them dimension. The final collection features a Hercules beetle, caterpillar, and praying mantis.
Title: 3D Form
Materials: Cardboard, Hot Glue Dimensions: 5 ft x 2 ft x 7 ft Date: February 2025
3D foundation w Jack Risley
The sleek, asymmetrical cardboard form was an empirical process based loosely on an oblong loop. The corners were constructed independently in two sizes, providing an engaging contrast in curve radius, scale ratio, and silhouette. The connecting joints share no matching measurements, ensuring a subtle asymmetric slant between visually similar corner modules. The balanced curve holds itself up without internal supports and allows the form to be arranged on many planes. Displayed in the gallery, the piece looks cleanly futuristic and encouraged viewing from all sides.
Title: “Ashes” Experimental Comic Pages
Year: 2022 Medium: Ink Pen & Digital Media Size: 8.5 x 11 pages
Based loosely on my original story concept, a pirate crew cursed to be transformed into birds after a battle, the panels read like a montage animatic to the song “Ashes” by the Longest Johns. These pages allowed me to experiment with sequential paneling and text within images. Inked traditionally and then colored digitally, I played with halftone values and textures. I also continued my arched panel motifs for a stained glass, fairytale vibe. I’m interested in making more dramatic scenes and adapting characters to suit their narratives.
Title: Color Studies
Year: 2025 Medium: Oil Paint Size: 5 x 5 in each
Intro Painting w Joe DeVera
A selection from a series of small paintings, these were each done using only burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, and white, while mixing for purples and blacks. I was really surprised at how much range and contrast can come out of so few pigments. It was an excellent exercise in color and the first steps to getting to know painting. Working from both still life and photo, I learned a lot about light and shadow, how to simplify forms, and how effective subtle color shifts can be.
Title: Coyote Tales
Year: 2025 Medium: Ink and improvised tools
Size: 19 x 24 in
Class: Drawing Foundations w Joe DeVera
This illustrated piece features Coyote, a common trickster character in Native American folktales, accompanied by Meadowlark and Bison. Cloaked in dense pattern and silhouette, the figures nestle together harmoniously. The broken frame is inspired by Navajo spirit lines in woven textiles, which never closed a border to avoid trapping spirits in the patterning.
This assignment was drawn with experimental tools crafted from sticks, seed pods, and dried flowers dipped in ink. I enjoyed drawing flora and fauna shapes with natural, found materials.
Title: Stolen Knowledge
Year: 2022 Medium: Digital Media Size: 5 x 10.5 in
American History Class
Inspired by the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, this illustration’s goal was to capture a single scene. Depicted is the shadowy scene of young Fredrick Douglass hunched over a smuggled book behind his mistress’s back. The comic style uses halftones, dotted ink without the use of gray, further reinforcing the idea of a dichotomy between Black and White. Character design and clothing were inspired by American women and boys fashion from the period as well as many photographs of Douglass throughout his life.
Title: Brambleberry Ballad
Year: 2023 Medium: Paper & Digital Media Size: 20 x 10 x 2 in
A brilliant parade of colors and critters strikes up a tune! This assignment tasked us to create a piece of artwork from music. Illustrated digitally with a limited palette, this band stretched my character design skills in a vibrant and whimsical way. To capture a folk tune, I fell into the albums 'Woodland' by The Paper Kites and 'Dear Wormwood' by The Oh Hellos. I also pulled inspiration from short films with creative mashup designs and bold linework. The final lineup dresses our sextet of forest animals in frivolous 18th century frocks.
Title: Peel
Year: 2025 Medium: Construction paper stop motion
Size: 9 x 12 in 25 seconds 2D foundation w Sage Dawson
A short paper animation applied skills learned in 2D: pattern, color, and composition. We also were to include a transition and transformation, which I created in layers that could peel and fold away to change scenes. I constructed the scene and puppet to be playful and bright, using simple shapes and colors to highlight readability and focal point. The patterns are meant to establish a homey kitchen tile/stitched quilt feel. The frames were photographed on a doc cam and fed into Premiere to come to life!
Title: Woodland Playing Cards
Year: 2021 Medium: Ink Pen & Digital Size: 2.5 x 3.5 in each
The Woodlands Deck is a passion project of 54 custom cards featuring ink illustrations of woodland insects, tree leaves, flowers, and fungi. Two embellished key cards identify every organism on cards A - 10 and animal skulls on each face card. Each drawing was originally 5.2 x 8.5 in then digitally formatted to 2.5 x 3.5 in numbered cards. Elaborate card backs and tuckbox were also designed to complete the project. A run of 100 decks were professionally printed and quickly sold. This was a wonderful journey that combined inking, graphic design, and digital media. They’re an excellent tool for sharing the lush variety of life in our forests and an engaging spinoff from an age-old object. Independently planning, documenting, and executing the Woodland deck will always be a monumental achievement.