I've grown up loving all things art, from drawing and painting to crafts and sculpture. As I’ve matured, my art has evolved into an exploration of internal thoughts and feelings. I have explored many mediums and techniques, never quite able to find what works for me. This was until recently when I picked up oil paint, inspired by artists like Van Gogh and Monet. I soon realized why so many artists learned to master the medium. It brings a sense of liberation, allowing me to enjoy the patient, detailed process the whole way through.

In my piece “Much too Young to Break Free and Run,” I explore themes of finding the light in the dark. The lantern represents the future, so close but so far, as you try to grasp on. The bright wide reflection of light shining on the lantern's surroundings expresses the feeling of temptation to break free from the past, in order to run to the future. During the process of creating my piece, I learned to leave my comfort zone, finding a way to express a feeling I could never put into words. This ability to express something so familiar to me has encouraged me to continue to explore the unsaid through art.