oil Artwork

December 20, 2024

February 26th, 2020. “You’ve grown tired, have’t you dear?”, she reassured. “It was too difficult. I’m so sorry. I failed you”, was my excuse. My stature felt different, like the weighing years had melted off and I was almost floating. She snuck in closer and whispered in my ear with her arms wrapped around me, “I understand. It’s alright now. It’s time to rest.” “Just five more minutes? You know how much I missed this”, I pleaded like an innocent child. “I suppose. Maybe you’ll see me when you awake, but it’s a surprise”, as she somehow wrapped herself around me even more. It was just like her to say something alluring like that. A cold winter wind blew against my neck and creeped throughout the rest of my body, but it felt as though a warmth was melting me asleep. My eyes grew heavy as my head dropped on to her soft shoulder. It was becoming too difficult to fight to stay awake, but I was already asleep. I expelled my last bit of energy to muster up one last, “I really missed you.” Finally closing my eyelids and letting go, drifting off. Was this really her loving hug again, after all these years? Or was this just me, making the rounds in my head, to embrace death?

August 29, 2024

Hallelujah captures a profound and intimate moment between two figures, a woman and a man, bathed in muted, melancholic tones. The woman, with a look of quiet concentration, gently holds the man’s head as she carefully cuts his hair. The tenderness in her touch contrasts with the rough, darkened surroundings, suggesting a setting filled with history and emotional weight. The man, seated with his back to the viewer, seems resigned, his body language conveying a sense of vulnerability. Likely his pose shows signs of trauma. His unruly hair and the scattered clippings on his shoulders evoke a passage of time and perhaps a long period of neglect or hardship.

July 3, 2024

Tiny Football was another quick artwork done on a tiny canvas. A tribute to one of Canton’s large driving parts of their economy, American Football. Since our city hosts the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is the biggest reason for tourism and festivals in our tiny city, I figured it was a good idea to have this sitting out on my studio space as a pick-me-up. Sports!

May 30, 2024

Creepy Clown was a quick artwork done on a tiny canvas, that I did for some stranger, who had an appreciation for creepy clowns and serial killers. Red flags much? While I don’t share those interests, I did my best to try to convey that sense allure on this 4x4in square, making quick work of it. The design was heavily inspired by the first IT Movie’s antagonist clown character. The yellow tinted smiling teeth were captured well, wrapping around the edge of the canvas.

May 26, 2024

Pomona’s Bowl is my practiced attempt to finalize my technique, using abstract vibrant brushwork, to create my own desired style in the realism oil painting realm. With every still life, I use it methodically to refine how I want to improve or change my artwork. This still life opulence in a bowl to me is the overwhelming first step to finally realize my artistic painting style that I want to utilize in the direction of how I want my landscape and narrative pieces to convey from here on out. It is an accomplishment in my own eyes, and what I consider the turning stone to take my work to the next level. Featuring a pomegranate fruit resting in a reflective metal bowl. Split open with it’s glossy seeds spilling out. The red velvet table cloth drapes the cold black table, sitting along in the light of the room. The vibrancy of the hues of red, violet, blue, yellows, purple, pink, and peach; blend together to construct this oil painting that seems reminiscent of scene from the old masters. Looking closely, you can see each section of abstract artwork, slathered on by the soft bristles of my brush to construct something beautifully grand as you step back to take it all in at once.

April 12, 2024

The Massillon Helmet is an oil painting depicting a solitary, black Massillon Tiger’s American football helmet in a three-quarter view, featuring a bold orange Massillon Ohio letter ‘M’ logo, symbolizing the Washington Highschool team’s identity and spirit. I have rendered the subject with a strong attention to detail, from the subtle reflections and shadows on the helmet’s glossy surface to the intricate structure of the face mask and the secure clasps. The background is a neutral, mixing with the multiple light source hues, with gradient shades that throws the focus entirely on the helmet, evoking a sense of nostalgia and Tiger pride, typical of any sports memorabilia. T-I-G!

March 17, 2024

The Cherry Popping painting depicts two cherries with a realistic appearance. The cherries are rich red with subtle hints of darker tones suggesting volume and curvature. A light source is shining from the upper left, casting a soft shadow to the lower right of the cherries and giving a glossy highlight on their surfaces. The cherries are attached to each other by a green stem, which is connected to only one of the cherries at the top right corner of the painting. The background is plain and light-colored, putting the full focus on the vibrancy and detail of the cherries. The technique used provides a sense of texture that one can almost feel, and the attention to detail in the reflections and shadows is a careful study of light on the fruit’s surface.