Laguna College of Art + Design

In the basin of a hidden valley, a skewed rock pile breaks the silhouette of distant blue mountains. The already-fallen sun leaves a green sky in its wake. Without the heat of day to hold it back, a brisk chill quickly rises from the sandy ground. This kind of moment is my artistic muse—the sublime beauty of Earth. This body of work follows my artistic journey of distilling these sublime experiences in landscape paintings. I focus on representing moments of transcendent awe specifically among the boulders in Joshua Tree National Park. Between the low-atmospheric light and the mazes of monolithic rocks, I have come to associate this landscape with a deep personal symbolism. My late father advised me to build my life on a rock-solid foundation. So, with this body of work, I have created a reliable foundation where my passion for painting meets my love for experiencing the sublime beauty of the Earth. The massive rocks in Joshua Tree physically represent this metaphorical foundation. I intend to create images that evoke the same powerful experience I felt out on location and to share a sense of stillness and peace that I found out in the desert.