My life as an artist changed when I learned to paint in Photoshop. I'm a meticulous artist who tends to overpaint, overdraw, over do it. I've smudged my way to the finish line on many a charcoal drawing. Digital painting to me is a medium that takes away many of the heartaches of traditional illustration. It is flexible and impermanent. I can zoom in endlessly. I can try variations of the same rendering on different layers, and ultimately combine them all if I want to. Though I love making art by hand, the digital painting medium has become my absolute favorite.

I initially started digital painting using a Wacom tablet and Photoshop. I was already familiar with using the tablet/stylus situation because I had habitually used it during my years working as an apparel designer at Gymboree. Photoshop was great to paint in - it's a beast and is capable of so much. In retrospect, though, it felt like a bulky program to use for painting. I eventually migrated to Procreate, using a combination of my iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil. Procreate is where I've done most of my digital art. It's ultimately more lightweight and flexible than Photoshop (especially on iPad). I still use Photoshop for heavy lifts, but for general painting for fun, I'm in Procreate most of the time.

Though I've done a bit of miscellaneous digital illustration, I think my favorite is portrait painting. I haven't quite figured out my creative style yet, but I've always loved the spooky grandeur of old portrait paintings over the years. I also love fantasy/surrealism and fashion-related art. Portrait painting fits well within these interests for me.