Connecting with people is difficult. This was apparent during my time in the 5th grade where not only was I finding making friends hard, but I had an anger problem keeping me company. It wasn’t until I was caught making a sketch of Spider-Man, during an after school program where a spark was lit. I was ambushed with the question, “Did you draw that?”. I was caught off guard that they noticed and a little embarrassed, but after I told them I drew it I was relieved and excited that they were impressed by my artwork. Word of my “talent” would get around and kids began asking, borderline begging, for me to draw something for them. While this should have been a sign of a lucrative business opportunity, I was just happy to not be alone. Therefore, I spent the back-end of my 5th grade career drawing and flexing my creative muscles for the people around me. Finally I was bonding with others and at the same time falling in love with art. Over time, sketching cartoon characters and random animals wasn’t enough anymore. I wanted more from myself, I wanted my art to mean something. At 10 years old I saw, “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and this movie changed the trajectory of my life by giving me something to shoot for. After seeing that movie I learned about how it was made and all of the artists involved and I knew that I wanted to be a part of something huge like that. Making movies that inspire that type of self-belief is what I want to give to the world. I’ve been blessed enough to be surrounded by the idea that I can do what I want with my life and that movie made it clear. During my junior year of high school I was taking Art 2, which was the highest art class I could take for that grade. We were given the assignment to combine two famous artists' art styles into one piece. This is where I discovered Käthe Kollwitz. She was a German socially driven artist who mainly worked with charcoal and printmaking. Her work consists of the struggling working class and many self portraits. She is my favorite artist because I love her technique and the darkness that lingers in many of her works. I find her work to be extremely raw and real. Many artworks tend to copy reality but with Kollwitz it’s like I’m seeing the world through her eyes. It showed me how expressive art can be and led to me creating art that reflects my own thoughts and feelings. My love for art is forever growing. It shaped my path through high school. As Vice President of my school's National Arts Honors Society, I was able to use art to organize events in the community. I contributed to the school paper by writing articles about the artists in my school to highlight their art processes, goals and message that drove them. I continuously look for opportunities to develop my focus and exposure to art. Through independent studies in Philadelphia at Fleisher Art Memorial, I connected with fellow artists and participated in art exhibitions. These experiences and connections have grown my creativity and it guides me today to Savannah College of Art and Design where I will continue to pursue the dream I realized at 10 years old.

In my life, I have seen how much of an influence art and film have had throughout history. I find the creativity and passion that goes into animation enticing and motivating. My educational goals are to improve my technical ability and find new, creative ways to communicate ideas with people on a meaningful level. I’m pursuing a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in animation at Savannah College of Art and Design, so I can develop a strong understanding of drawing, storyboarding, directing, and animation techniques. Additionally, I would learn to master how to use art as a language to evoke emotion. My career goal is to become a professional director and/or animator. I want to work in film, joining a studio where I will continue to take away new skills and build connections with various artists. Over time, I want to begin my own animation studio. Through my own studio, I would create deeply thought-provoking films that center around profound characters and connect with audiences across the world. I am an advocate for promoting artists and their art. Owning a studio would allow me to employ other artists, giving them stability to work in an imaginative and innovative space. I want to collaborate with many artists, combining various ideas and beliefs into projects, pushing the boundaries of our artistic abilities. I hope to continue painting as well, learning new techniques and stepping outside of my comfort zone to sharpen my skills, using them to push personal themes to people. I’ve considered at the back-end of my career becoming an art professor, passing on the knowledge and experience I’ve accumulated to guide up-and-coming artists. Ultimately, I view art as a way to have an impact on the world. My educational and career goals are rooted in pushing myself to produce the best visual artworks that I can. Seeking out opportunities to learn from other artists and teachers will allow me to build a strong foundation and develop as an artist. In my eyes, art is something that lives on forever, so I have every intention of creating expressive, influential work that will have a lasting impact.

The insecurity I have felt throughout my life is something I pull from when creating artworks. In my works, the subjects are alone and surrounded by patterns or darkness, which reflects a feeling of isolation. Vincent Van Gogh, who has done many self-portraits but implemented different techniques into each one, is an inspiration to me. Every time I reference myself or a subject in my work, I choose different color tones, angles, or mediums that keep it from feeling dull and repetitive. In my freshman year of high school, I struggled severely in painting, but though I disliked painting as a freshman, it wasn’t because I was ignorant of how impactful and beautiful it was; it was because I could not make it myself. At the time, it was intimidating; art had become a part of who I thought I was, so hitting a wall was scary. Consequently, I avoided painting like the plague. It wasn’t until later that same freshman year that everything changed. I give all credit to the art teacher I had in high school. The potential she saw in me led me to want to learn and grow. As I was developing as a painter, my perspective was changing as I made art in other media. Through painting, I stopped being so fixated on the finished work and was focused on the process of creating the work. The hundreds of brushstrokes and various layers of paint applied to the canvas, for the sake of communicating something to the viewer, were rewarding. Painting with intention, instead of seeking perfection, is something I continued to carry through my high school years. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that painting has changed my life. As someone who chronically overthinks, painting has given me an outlet. The thoughts and feelings trapped within me can be broken down and translated onto a canvas in the way I want. I can use symbols and colors to shift the tone, experiment with what I’m trying to say. It creates a visual for the things I can only imagine in my mind. While it’s not immune to miscommunication, I see painting as greater than words. The conversations that occur in the paintings I make are between myself and me. My passion for painting stems from the attempt to learn more about myself through the artwork. In my future, I want to own a production studio that would allow me to employ other artists, giving them stability to work in an imaginative and innovative space. I want to collaborate with many artists, combining various ideas and beliefs into projects. I hope to continue painting as well, learning new techniques and stepping outside of my comfort zone to sharpen my skills, using them to push personal themes to people. I’ve considered at the back-end of my career becoming an art professor, passing on the knowledge and experience I’ve accumulated to guide up-and-coming artists. Ultimately, I view art as a way for me to have an impact on the world. My educational and career goals are rooted in pushing myself to produce the best visual artworks that I can create. Seeking out opportunities to learn from other artists and teachers will allow me to build a strong foundation and develop as an artist. In my eyes, art is something that lives on forever, so I have every intention of creating expressive, influential work that will have a lasting impact.

In my life, I have seen how much of an influence art and film has had throughout history. I find the creativity and passion that goes into animation enticing and motivating. My educational goals are to improve my technical ability and finding new creative ways to communicate ideas with people on a meaningful level. I’m pursuing a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in animation, so I can develop a strong understanding in drawing, story-boarding, directing, and animation techniques. Additionally, I would learn to master how to use art as a language to evoke emotion. My career goal is to become a professional director and/or animator. I want to work in film, joining a studio where I will continue to take away new skills and build connections with various artists. Over time, I want to begin my own animation studio. Through my own studio I would create deeply thought provoking films that center around profound characters and connect with audiences across the world. I am an advocate for promoting artists and their art. In my future, owning a studio would allow me to employ other artists, giving them stability to work in an imaginative and innovative space. I want to collaborate with many artists, combining various ideas and beliefs into projects pushing the boundaries of our artistic abilities. I hope to continue painting as well, learning new techniques and stepping outside of my comfort zone to sharpen my skills, using them to push personal themes to people. I’ve considered at the back-end of my career becoming an art professor, passing on the knowledge and experience I’ve accumulated to guide up-and-coming artists. As a way to bring attention to the artists in my high school I wrote articles about them for my school’s newspaper. The school was learning about the great work their fellow students had been making for months. I found it important to use art as a way to connect people together. Becoming the Vice President of my school's National Arts Honor Society served as a way for me to act on this. The position has led to me organizing special art related events for middle school students and students with special needs. These events bridge the gap between students of different backgrounds and ages through being creative and working on a common interest. Art. Ultimately, I view art as a way for me to have an impact on the world. My educational and career goals are rooted in pushing myself to produce the best visual artworks that I can create. Seeking out opportunities to learn through other artists and teachers will allow me to build a strong foundation and develop as an artist. In my eyes, art is something that lives on forever, so I have every intention of creating expressive, influential work that will have a lasting impact.

Raising a child and making an animated film have one thing in common. It takes a village to do it right. There are so many moving parts when it comes to executing a film's vision. From what I’ve learned, I know that having a team behind you is not only a privilege but also essential. I want to become a professional director and animator. To make this goal a reality, I’ve interned at an animation studio, Studio YGKrow, allowing me to work with industry-level professionals. It was revealed to me that animation is a pipeline of multiple artists working together to attain one goal. I found this fascinating, and it deepened my interest and love for animation. Attending classes for the last 3 years at Fleisher Art Memorial, gaining instruction, focused hours of experimentation, and critique on my artwork, has built confidence in my craft. Having other skilled artists take an interest in and critique my work helped me see art in a new way. I am taking film-making classes this year to polish my storytelling ability and collaborate with more artists. Advocating for artists and their art is very important to me. As a way to bring attention to the artists in my high school, I wrote articles about them for my school’s newspaper. The school was learning about the great work their fellow students had been doing for months. Through setting up interviews, I was able to work with the artists in my school and help them reach more people. Becoming the Vice President of my school's National Arts Honor Society served as a way for me to work with a larger group of artists. The position has led me to organize special art-related events for middle school students and students with special needs. These events bridge the gap between students of different backgrounds and ages through creativity and the common interest of art. Ultimately, I view art as a way for me to have an impact on the world. My educational and career goals are rooted in pushing myself to produce the best visual artworks that I can create. Seeking out opportunities to learn from other artists and teachers will allow me to build a strong foundation and develop as an artist. In my eyes, art is something that lives on forever, so I have every intention of creating expressive, influential work that will have a lasting impact.

If in my freshman year of high school, you told me I would be writing about my passion for painting as a senior, I would’ve believed you. As much as I disliked painting as a freshman, it wasn’t because I was ignorant of how impactful and beautiful it was; it was because I could not make it myself. At the time, it was intimidating; art had become a part of who I thought I was, so hitting a wall was scary. Consequently, I avoided painting like the plague. It wasn’t until that freshman year of high school that everything changed. I give all credit to the art teacher I had in high school; if not for her, I wouldn’t have had the courage to be a beginner as a painter. The potential she saw in me led me to want to learn and grow. As I was developing as a painter, my perspective was changing in making art in other media. Through painting, I stopped being so fixated on the finished work and was cultivated in the process of creating the work. The hundreds of brushstrokes and various layers of paint applied to the canvas, for the sake of communicating something to the viewer, were rewarding. Painting with intention, instead of seeking perfection, is something I continued to carry through my high school years. By senior year, I’d be taking an AP-level art class where my concentration happens to be painting. At this point, I knew expectations would be higher, but this rise in pressure shifted the way I created. Being around people who took art as seriously as I had for years was refreshing, and I owe it to the deep interest I took in painting, which allowed me to connect with new people. Meeting fellow artists informed my work even further, showing me techniques and points of view that I wouldn’t have found on my own. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that painting has changed my life. As someone who chronically intellectualizes his own thoughts, painting has given me an outlet. The thoughts and feelings trapped within me can be broken down and translated onto a canvas in the way I want. I can use symbols and colors to shift the tone, experiment with what I’m trying to say. It creates a visual for the things I can only imagine in my mind. While it’s not immune to miscommunication, I see painting as greater than words. Selfishly, I paint for myself; the conversations that occur in the paintings I make are between myself and I. My passion for painting stems from the attempt to learn more about myself through the artwork. My desire to be a better painter goes hand and hand with the desire to be a better person. Art has always enhanced my way of life and how I see the world. Since I have the privilege to pursue art as a career, I know I will continue to make work that expresses my feelings, regardless of the medium.

The insecurity I have felt throughout my life is something I pull from when creating artworks. In my works, the subjects are alone and surrounded by patterns or darkness, which reflects a feeling of isolation. Vincent Van Gogh, who has done many self - portraits but implemented different techniques into each one, is an inspiration to me. Every time I reference myself or a subject in my work, I choose different color tones, angles, or mediums that keep it from feeling dull and repetitive. Exploring a variety of mediums has allowed me to develop different skills and techniques in each work. Painting in acrylic gave me a greater understanding of blending tones and shades when working with colored pencils. Thinking from a filmic perspective when setting up shots in my animations made me apply the same logic in my paintings. This approach caused me to think of what I was painting more as a scene than just a subject on a canvas. I always see the potential to improve further in each of my projects, and this pushes me to expand my knowledge of mediums, thus building on the progress I’ve made. Regardless of the medium, having a narrative in my work is essential. I find that using the human face and figure significantly helps communicate what I want to portray, which is why I tend to gravitate towards them in most of my work. At the same time, I tend to keep my artwork broad so that the viewer is still able to interpret it in their own way. What I find to be truly important is that people find a unique and personal connection to my work. Khinde Wiley is another inspiration; he centers his life-like paintings around black people to show dignity and the black experience in America, but doesn’t force a single message or event at first glance. Similarly, I use realism to my advantage and find new ways to create artwork that connects people. My goal is to become a professional director and/or animator, so I can continue to reach more people at a high level. I want to work in film, joining a studio where I will continue to take away new skills and build connections with various artists. Over time, I want to begin my own animation studio. Through my own studio I would create deeply thought provoking films that center around profound characters and connect with audiences across the world. Ultimately, I view art as a way for me to have an impact on the world. My educational and career goals are rooted in pushing myself to produce the best visual artworks that I can create. Seeking out opportunities to learn through other artists and teachers will allow me to build a strong foundation and develop as an artist. In my eyes, art is something that lives on forever, so I have every intention of creating expressive, influential work that will have a lasting impact.