I’ve always leaned towards realism in my art, even as a little girl. I loved drawing from reference photos and trying to capture all the little details. I consider myself to be a portrait artist, as my favorite subjects are people and animals. Thinking about my art and its connection to art history, I have always admired detailed and realistic artwork. Drawing and painting in a chiaroscuro style is my favorite technique because I am fascinated by how it creates moodiness and drama. My work is sentimental and has not changed much over time as far as the subject matter: people and animals. In my art, representation is important to me, having grown up and married into a multi-racial and multi-ethnic family, so I like to draw a diverse range of people. I love making art for others, especially pet portraits. As a very sentimental person, pets and loved ones are among my favorite subjects to draw and paint because they elicit a strong emotional response. My work fits in with contemporary art mostly in the digital art that I make, I like minimalistic line art and simple backgrounds and telling a story with my art. My favorite mediums are graphite, charcoal and digital art. These mediums allow me to work in black and gray, which is my preference. I also like that I can work with my hands directly on the surface where I’m drawing because I feel this gives me a special connection to the piece I’m working on. In digital art, it is the ability to experiment and be able to erase and start over, I enjoy the freedom of it. As an art teacher, teaching foundational drawing and painting techniques is what I love. Overtime I like to work with my students to develop their confidence and artistic voice by introducing them to many art styles and media, so that they can ultimately branch out and find their own style.