digital illustration
I do a lot of illustration specifically for work, and yet, I continue to do a lot of illustration outside of work, as well. Since childhood, I did a lot of traditional media illustration, and have found a child-like joy in digital drawing and painting, as well (probably because it removes the anxiety of โruining itโ โ shout out to the undo button).
hype girl studio
Growing up I spent the majority of my spring breaks in San Francisco with my dadโs family. One of my favorite stops of all time was (and continues to be) Japantown. My intense and undying love for stationery was born in multi-hour long trips picking out incredibly fine point pens, the cutest stickers man has ever known, and paper products of a previously-unexperienced quality. It felt like a pretty reasonable next step for me to start making my own stationery when I couldnโt find the exact specific thing I was looking for. I committed hard, and will semi-regularly pop up at different markets around D.C.
shout to to hand model, best friend, and hype girl extraordinaire, sahar
nailing it
hand-painted Japanese and Korean gel manicures
During the pandemic, I got hooked on doing my own gel manicures. Since then I have progressed to doing wildly intricate manicures on my friends whenever I have the opportunity. Tragically, due to having only one hand that can do art, my nails are usually just a plain color (mostly nude, I get weird when the grow out is too obvious), but the time I get to spend doing other peopleโs nails is a perfect mix of taking care of them, being creative, and forced off-device time.
i think i might need thoseโฆ
Most days nail time is after work, as a way for me to unwind and still be creative. I can sometimes make weekends work, but itโll require a little more planning from both of us.
I have a few rules that are mandatory for everyone who gets nails done:
No payment. Iโm not licensed, and cannot accept payment for doing nails! It is illegal! Please stop asking me! It makes me uncomfortable! Most of my friends and I have figured out a bartering system for payment, usually theyโll bring dinner for us to have before we get started.
No replication. If you provide nail inspiration, it cannot be from another nail set. Iโm happy to do things inspired by art, clothing, bedding, plates, really anything but another nail artistโs work.
Timing is super variable, and depends on the art requested. Most of the time it averages around 90 minutes, but I have also done some sets that have taken double that.
I do nails out of my home. Itโs where my partner and I live with our tiny (16 pound) puppy (6 years old). Her name is Poppy, and sheโs a super friendly, super loving baby angel.