Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time… that’s how all adventures begin and where I find myself today. Whether it is the start of a brand-new story or a turn to the next chapter, I know not which. But I do know that it feels like a fresh start. As an artist, I am continually reinventing myself and I am familiar with the constancy of change. This new part of the story, however, feels strangely familiar—almost like I’ve heard it before. More than likely, I have.
Throughout my life, fairy tales have always been a source of comfort and hope, and they have provided me with an explanation for the Unexplainable. I have viewed my own life events and hardships through the lens of symbolism and storytelling, drawing parallels to the lessons embedded in each fantasy. The memorable characters that we all grew up to know, love, and fear appeared in my own life’s story, too—the stepmother, the stepsisters, the prince(s), and the evil always seeking for ways to ruin the happily ever after. Though I undoubtedly believe in the fairy tale ending, I know that the road is first often wrought with trials, challenges, and many things to overcome. The dark origins of the Disney-fied stories that we all grew up with were not always so pleasant, and neither was mine. This is what convinced me that I must in fact be living in a fairy tale. One can only deduce that if bad things have happened, then the good things in fairy tales must be real, too.
I find it only natural that my fairy tale view of the world should once again make its way into my artwork. For years, snippets of fantasy have woven in and out of my paintings, drawings, and writings. In college, the make-believe imagery was bashed out of me for not being representational enough (though I am forever grateful for my five years of foundational studies). As a budding artist, I made the common mistake of painting what I thought my audience wanted to see—not what I wanted to create. It wasn’t until the untimely death of one of my youngest brothers that I was finally pushed toward painting a series of work that I called, “Down the Rabbit Hole.” Derived from deep feelings of grief and loss, it was the first time that I felt entirely emerged in my idea of real life enmeshed with fantasy, for that is what my life had become. Without the pressure of a timeline, I felt free to push the exploration of the concept I had in my mind through various perspectives. Lately, I have thought of that same creative process as I try to revive myself once again out of the Pit of Despair. Life has come full circle many times over since my “Down the Rabbit Hole” series. Images and stories have been building up in my mind, waiting to burst from the depths of my subconscious if I would just supply it a brush, pen, and blank canvas.
And that is the part of the story I find myself in today: with an eagerness to explore both the visual arts and the written word in an entire context that is in true alignment with myself. I’ve been wanting to start this blog for a very long time (as I feel it complements the artwork I am about to make), and I’ve finally the courage to do so. Within the pages of this blog, it is my hope to share with you, dear reader, the inspirations, parallel influences, explanations, and perhaps at times even the dark origins of my own life and work. Like yourself, I am unaware of the twists and turns this new chapter will reveal, but I know that it will be an exciting adventure and I am glad to have the pleasure of your company. If life is a fairy tale, then let my writings and paintings be a testament to the beginning of creating my happily ever after.
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“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.””