About the Art

I explore the modern day take on Memento Mori, representing the fleeting nature of life through paintings of skulls, insects, flowers, and objects that show the effects of the passage of time. Memento Mori is latin for “be mindful of death.”  It was a frequent theme of Dutch paintings that used symbolism that sent a macabre, but optimistic message: the reminder that life is limited inspires us to live well. I combine the new with the old to represent this timeless theme, mixing a traditional genre and the techniques used to make it with artificial colors and modern symbolism. Trompe L’oeil (“to fool the eye”; illusionistic painting) makes these symbolic objects and memories feel like they’re physically breaking into our world, with deep reds, dramatic contrast, and dark backgrounds fitting to portray this dark subject matter.