The first time I can remember picking up a paint brush, my dad was teaching me how to use oils. He taught me how to layer and create texture. He taught me about light and depth. I was 4 or 5 at the time and my painting ended up in the children’s art museum. I remember being fascinated with Van Gogh and his use of color and strokes; his evocative portrayal of emotion. I went on to learn other mediums and picked up makeup during my childhood pageant and commercial days. I grew up in LA and beauty has always been a thing for me. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that makeup became a way to create art; another medium where I could develop a style and tell a story. 

I attended cosmetology school in the Midwest where I lived for a short time. I learned nothing useful by way of makeup or art. I started working weddings, doing udo’s and painting pretty faces for brides and bridesmaids. This was years before “contouring” was mainstream. Techniques such as these were cult secrets that were mostly self-taught through the study of painting and fine art. Understanding high planes, shadows, and color theory. However, the “Instagram” makeup artist changed the game and cult secrets have become the consumer marketers dream. 

I ended up back in college studying business and marketing and began to apply my knowledge to my art. Networking, branding, and all of these words we hear thrown around so often. I was introduced to fashion through a close wardrobe stylist friend and swore I would never work another wedding in my life. My passion for art and creating fine art was awakened as I began to learn the industry and meet the incredible and inspirational people in fashion. People who have something powerful to say and say it by creating magical stuff.

When I’m applying makeup for an editorial or a campaign or whatever the project, I draw inspiration from classical art. I focus on blending, layering, strokes, and color. Capturing light in the perfect place. I want to draw your eye to something pretty, something that takes your mind to a heavenly place or something the provokes thought. I use my style to tell the story of a brand and to capture the brand’s essence. I use product in the most elegant and raw form to create something beautiful or to create the perfect complement to high fashion pieces.