Imagine (single panel 1)

Watercolor on panels, varied dimensions Artist’s Statement: Life is all about relationships and we live in a world that is consists of layer upon layer of human interaction; shared memories across time, space and culture. My paintings capture this sense of interconnectivity we experience through relationships in our daily lives. This can manifest as love between mother and child, the intimacy between a couple, the trust between a lifelong friendship that spans across continents, the joy of sharing a talent with underprivileged children, or even the unspeakable hurt and loss we experience in broken relationships, and for some of us, the uncertainties of faith in God. In our world of brokenness, emotions and experience are perhaps the only common shared identity that unify humanity despite our diversity. As different as our background, upbringing, personality, and beliefs may be, we can relate to one another because of our shared experience of joy, depression, love, hurt, and loss at different stages in life. All of these are emotions that unify humanity beyond race, ethnicity, nationality, and religion. Assembled with small watercolor paintings, this expansive image of colors, shapes, and forms is a symbol of unity achieved through harmony and dissonance. The small­scale aqua boards allow me to take a more meditative approach to reflect and contemplate on the emotional, physical and spiritual ties I share with others. I choose to work with the watercolor medium because of its genuine and unpretentious character. It is transparent, luminous, formless and shapeless. This quality of the paint allows me to fully immerse myself in the subtle changes in color, as well as the intricate relationship between form and line. The painting usually begins in one shape or another, but I choose not to set it in one particular form, not to manipulate it but to set it free and let it become something unexpected and extraordinary. By laying down each brushstroke and each coat of paint, I discover the essence and joy of acceptance and of letting go. What happens when two human beings or two colors collide into each other? They flow into each other and that act creates something beautiful.https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/enigma/1053/thumbnail.jp