Color Blocks

6x6” each, ink, gouache, and watercolor on aqua board.

I’ve been working a new set of cellular drawings that came about pretty spontaneously. Most of the drawings up to this point have consisted with a lot of detailed patterns and line work. Over the last week or so, especially while recovering from Covid, I decided I wanted to go a little simpler and return to a looser line style that I started out with once I returned to painting and drawing.

Originally the plan was just to do black and whites, but who am I kidding? Bright color is my signature and my addiction.

As with my other cellular drawings, the style of each cell is heavily influenced by Mesoamerican art. I definitely soaked up inspiration from my recent trip to the Met and visited their Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Mayan Art exhibition.

As I read and learn more about cellular biology, I see how they are like glyphs; they convery information and tell the stories of our bodies. I’m drawn to creating them on blocks as a metaphor for how cells are the building blocks of life.

Happy 2023?

Green Yellow Organism. Ink on 5x5” aquaboard.

2023 is going to be a year of firsts! I can feel it, literally, because after nearly three years of dodging it, Covid-19 finally caught up to me.

Luckily, it’s been pretty mild, aside from a few hours last night of bad body aches. Thank god for Tylenol.

Obviously this isn’t the way I wanted to ring in the New Year but it could’ve been worse. I think I still might be in denial that I actually have Covid because I’m still holding onto my rapid test result stick as if to really confirm that it’s really the ‘Rona.

Since getting infected, I’ve been thinking even more about cellular biology. What got me through the first night was imagining by little T-cells, trained by the vaccine, going to work to clear out the infection. I imagined how I would interpret them like the rest of my cellular drawings.

That aside, I’m excited by everything that 2023 has to offer. I decided to start the new year by re-designing my website so that it’s more streamlined and easier to navigate. I’ll also be a part of an upcoming group show in NYC, that will feature my large scale Cellular Network drawings.

This will also be the year that I pursue fellowships and art residency programs so that I can make deeper connections within the art community. I gained a lot of confidence from my art show at Zuri,so I feel ready to expand my audience with new body of work. 

Until then, let me go rest on this couch while I work the ‘Rona.