The Beginnings

Before expression, there was precision. The beginnings of my formal training, from 10th to 12th grade, these pieces reflect a time when art was not yet a voice, but a refuge and honing my talent was the obsession. I owe my teacher Annie Fernández everything I am today, she believed and challenged my limits constantly, giving me tasks I never refused yet didn’t fully trust I could accomplish until they were done.

Here I include the pieces I submitted for my college portfolio which got me accepted into all of my favorite art universities with presidential and dean scholarships (MICA, SCAD, RISD, Calarts, etc.). Before this, everything I created was self-taught or shaped in the school’s art class, where I was always among the top students.

These early works were shaped by a need for control and validation manifested as a fixation over perfection and a constant desire to escape reality.

I talk more about this inner conflict on my blog post “I gotta be honest”.