Culmination of “Conrayitos”

Here is a compillation of some of my college and personal works post pandemic ranging from sketches to collages, illustrations, acrylic painting, oil paintings, mixed media, ceramics and print making.

To continue the story of Conrayitos, it took me seven years of honing my craft to finally understand why painting sometimes felt so empty. Like a suffocating loneliness paired with an overcrowded mind, it was the kind of noise that made finishing any piece feel unbearable.

Eventually, I realized that beneath all the precision and control lived so much fear, hesitation, and resistance to passion. I owe this epiphany to my art professors, who endured my anger, my cynicism, and my complete disregard for the curriculum. They pushed me hard. Tearing through my resentment and my desperate grip on the things I thought I knew, they forced me to experiment, to stretch, to fail and to evolve.

Still, I thank the masochist in me who insisted on becoming a diamond under pressure. After finally finding the courage to let go, I feel almost invincible with a brush in my hand. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this, it’s that as an older sibling and innate rebel, I love learning things the hard way.