From an early age, I sought to replicate what I saw with my eyes with little more than pencil and paper. My grandparents greatly fostered these aspirations by providing me with encouraging compliments and tools for my artistic ventures.

Bobby (2011) - A sketch of my eldest sister at my grandmothers house

Over the years my artistic abilities have grown exponentially. A large portion of that growth can be correlated to mentors who have assisted me along the way. Not only have I been blessed with physical support, but my teachers, peers, friends, and family have always given me generous words of encouragement regarding my work. My paternal grandmother is an artist who has donated her time and abilities to our shared smalltown community of Lincolnton for years. Over the course of my life, she has never failed to give me helpful tips, tricks, and ideas for my artwork. My maternal grandparents would often surprise me with fresh crayons and empty sketchbooks from Sams Club trips in the heat of past southern summers. I learned from an early age that art could be an outlet for my thoughts and emotions, as a relatively shy girl. The older I get, the more I realize that while I am proud of the development I can see in my art, the biggest satisfaction I gain from it comes from the familiar peace it gives me upon completion of a work. A peace that replicates that of my early childhood summers spending long hours imagining up creations in empty sketchbooks.

“Every artist was first an amateur.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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