Project: Still Life Drawing
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24, 2023
Project: Landscape Drawing
Color pencil on paper, 18 × 24, on paper, 2023
Description: I encouraged the student to perceive landscape not as a static representation but as a dynamic scene. We discussed techniques to convey sense of motion and vitality, such as using bold, expressive brushstrokes and varying textures.
Project: Perspective
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24 on Paper, 2023
Project: Color Intervention
Acrylic paint on canvas, 16 × 20, 2024
Description: Students worked in groups to create a full-spectrum still life in a public space, documented it, and then produced paintings from their intervention.
Project: Still Life Drawing
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24, 2023
Project: Still Life Drawing
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24, 2023
Project: Still Life Drawing
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24, 2022
Project: Still Life Drawing
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24, 2023
Project: Self-portrait
Graphite pencil on paper, 18× 24, 2023
Project: Self-portrait
Charcoal on paper, 18 × 24, 2023
Project: Landscape Drawing
Charcoal on paper, 18 × 24, 2023
Project: Triptych Drawing
Fine tip black Ink pen on paper, 18 ×24, 2023
Description: Students will develop a three‑panel piece that explores one unifying theme, practicing composition and spatial design in each panel.
Project: Triptych Drawing 2023
Fine tip black ink pen on paper, 18× 24, 2023
Project: Color Intervention
Acrylic paint on canvas, 16 × 20, 2024
Description: Students worked in groups to create a full-spectrum still life in a public space, documented it, and then produced paintings from their intervention.
The project encouraged collaboration and experimentation and challenge traditional color theories.
Final Project
Acrylic paint on canvas, 16 × 20, 2023
Description: Student chose subject, medium and style. To enhance their understanding of light and shadow, I directed the student to study the works of surrealism.
Final Project
Acrylic paint on wood panel, 16 × 28, 2023
Description: The student expressed interest in surrealistic painting. I encouraged them to visit Speed museum to observe their several prominent surrealist works. This visit was intended to provide the student with firsthand exposure to the diverse approaches and techniques employed by surreal artists. I urged the student to carefully consider the myriad decisions each artist made in transforming conceptual ideas into compelling visual imagery.
Project: Painting by Removal
Acrylic paint on canvas, 16 × 20, 2024
Description: Students created two panel paintings using layered stenciling and removal techniques to explore how subtraction and layering can generate images that shift between realism and abstraction.
Objective: The project introduced students to alternative methods of applying paint, emphasizing planning, transparency, and the balance between addition and removal. It challenged them to experiment with moving between expressive abstraction and realistic rendering.
Project: Warm and Cool Underpainting
Acrylic paint on canvas each, 16 × 20, 2024
Description: Students created two paintings of one object— one with a warm underpainting and one with a cool underpainting — working on both simultaneously to compare how underpainting influences color perception.
The project taught students how temperature, translucency, and pigment mixing affect the final image, helping them understand underpainting as a foundation for realized color and hue.
Final Project
Acrylic paint on canvas, 18 × 24, 2023
Description: The student aimed to convey how human relationships are often sacrificed in the competition for resources and the prevailing mindset of scarcity. I encouraged the student to consider how composition could help express their sense of fatality and the perceived insignificance of individual lives. The student incorporated multiple scales, ranging from the small human figure to the large forces, represented by the hand descending seemingly from beyond the canvas, that seem to govern everything. They included elements such as a crescent moon or Earth held like a sickle with the background as the vast scale of the universe. This use of scale and composition made the violent image carry a symbolic meaning.
Final Project
Acrylic paint mixed media on canvas, 24 × 32, 2023
Description: The student aimed to express the intrinsic connection between life and death, emphasizing their inseparability. This work represents the cyclical nature of existence. Having previously focused on creating flat, 2D anime-style artworks, the student was well-versed in Japanese anime. For this final project, I challenged the student to explore their concept from a new perspective by creating a three-dimensional piece. This approach was intended to deepen their understanding, allowing for a more nuanced and multifaceted exploration of the life-death continuum.
Final Project
Acrylic paint mixed media book cover rabit skin, 8 ×11, 12 pages, 2023
Description: The student expressed a desire to create a zine, and we engaged in conversation about layout and design principles. We discussed how to effectively balance text and images, the strategic use of negative space to enhance readability and visual appeal, and various binding methods such as stapling, sewing, or folding. After considering these options, the student chose to use Japanese book stitching, incorporating rabbit fur for a unique and tactile finish.
I encouraged the student to sketch different concepts to test and refine their ideas, emphasizing the importance of iterative design. We also explored the notion that the medium itself conveys a message, considering how the choice of materials and binding techniques could reflect and enhance the zine’s thematic content. This holistic approach aimed to deepen the student’s understanding of how form and content interact to create a cohesive and impactful artistic work.
Final Project
Acrylic paint dry modeling clay on canvas, 24 × 32, 2023
Description: The student expressed a desire to create a mixed media artwork. Student wanted to paint a Beta fish in a monochromatic blue to express sadness and struggle for freedom. So I encouraged them to incorporate at least three different mediums even while keeping a single pallet. We discussed how each medium creates interesting and different tones and experience of blue, even deepens the emotional impact of the blue. This multi-media approach expanded their conceptual understanding and enhanced the symbolic power and the tactile experience of their piece.
Final Project
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 22 × 28 inches, 2023.
Description: The student chose to explore her identity through the medium of portrait, aiming to expand and express various facets of her identity through art. I encouraged her to adopt a mixed media approach, which would allow for a richer and more nuanced exploration of her personal narrative. When student shared her philosophy of identity, and importance of the symbol of heart as the emotional center of human person, I advised using embroidery to depict the heart. This combination was intended to provide diverse textures and layers, symbolizing the complexity and multifaceted nature of identities.