"Onshore" was a theme or a concept that came to me in 2020. Typically when I have a child, I have an intense period of rest for about a year both physically and creatively. In January 2019, I welcomed my daughter into the world. That year was a period of intense rest for me. I was during that year or period of rest, I started to explore how and exactly why my personal life and my paintings overlapped. I began to go through my personal film, our family photos, and noticed at that time that I was always finding photos of me sitting in a bed or a chair nursing. If we were at the beach, it was under the umbrella. As a chronic sun-worshiper growing up, when I first had children staying in the shade to nurse and not swimming or only swimming at the beach when I had someone to hold the baby for me, felt like an immense personal challenge for me. My body ached to be free to bask for hours on end in the sun, to dive into the cold crashing waves and just swim around, to feel the sun on my face with no one pulling me elsewhere. But at the same time, here was this fresh baby in my arms. Needing shade, shelter, my arms specifically. This was new for me and I noticed myself fighting it and spent alot of time reflecting why...
I remember in early 2020, we took a trip to my home state with our family. We took the trip right before the pandemic hit and much of the world slowed to stopped traveling for a few months altogether that year. That spring, I spent alot of time in my studio with my children reflecting on my life. I painted one of my favorite collections ever that spring-boarded me into where I am now in my art practice. Themes of resting, patience and contentment, of balance and beauty. I started a larger collection at that time that I've been drawn back over the last 4 years. When I learned I was pregnant in 2023, I knew I wanted to re-visit this theme, these ideas, this collection with fresh eyes and a fresh heart. The "Onshore" Collection is full of shady umbrellas, restful chairs, and salt-washed shorelines.