LOVE STORY

can you ever really love someone else if you don’t love yourself? LOVE STORY is a deep dive into the sensual, exploring the boundaries of self and other and what it means to truly love yourself.

the largest scaled work to date coming in at almost 10 feet across, it’s sexual charge is palpable but it’s also infused with sense of sweetness and playful exploration, an ode to the nuances and quiet subtlety of owning one’s self. notably, the work was produced during one of california’s strictest lockdowns, where the concept of love, desire and sexuality felt more like a fantasy than a reality.

after spending most of my twenties inspired by love, infatuation or lust with an outside other(s), as well as several pieces that capture the aura or feeling of those i love or have loved, i wanted to make a romantically inspired piece that celebrated a love of self, with colors that capture my own center of being. the resulting work is a piece that is a counterpart to DEVOTION, mirroring the linear nature and tonal qualities to celebrate two distinctive elements that speak to one another. both works were directly influenced in concept by the pandemic in terms of story, but mirror each other in parallel with the more literal inspiration of the topa topa mountains in ojai. DEVOTION reflects the golden morning light on the mountains, while LOVE STORY captures the pink moment at the end of the day.