Olive Painting

I strive for my art to be, first and foremost, emotional. I use expressive brushstrokes not only because it is how I like to paint, but because I hope that the movement and color will speak to something larger than what is seen. I enjoy depicting the human body, typically the female form, in a way that I intend to be playful and relatable. Painting faces is something I also enjoy, and I take great care to convey the essence of an individual, sometimes at the expense of maintaining a likeness. Again, I return to emotion. If the painting is technically good or has nice colors but lacks one specific and strong feeling, then I haven't achieved what I set out to achieve. I draw inspiration from the relationships I observe around me. I created more work than I've ever created in my life at a time when I experienced great romantic loss and longing. Much of my work came as a result of me moving from internalizing my own hopes and fears for my life and for love to becoming a silent observer of other people's hopes and fears, within themselves and within their relationships. For now, I paint exclusively with acrylics. It's a forgiving medium and I find it suits my purposes at a time when I am focusing mostly on telling a story with my work. It allows me to build layers quickly and ferociously as I attempt to express lines and shapes that I hope mean so much more than just lines and shapes.