Artist Statement

‘Normal Results’ is a self-portrait acrylic painting, a conversational piece on my personal journey with epilepsy.

In 2023, shortly after being diagnosed with epilepsy, I created this self-portrait as a reflection on my experience with the American Healthcare system and the troublesome weariness and depression that resulted after years of dealing with endless hospital visits, tests, and seizures.

Illness took hold of my life and creative career at such a young and pivotal point. With epilepsy being my first condition to develop, I soon developed comorbidities.

The display of emotional intensity is intentional, almost to unsettle my audience.

Epilepsy is uncomfortable, eerie, and in my eyes, it can be ever so controlling, like a puppet and its master. Hence, the movement of the EEG wires is used to show the visceral experience of epilepsy.

My journey hasn’t been daisies and puppy dogs, so there is no reason this painting should be anything but distressing and almost haunting to the viewer.

The imagery portrays a wide variety of opaque and transparent uses of the color wheel. Vibrancy and color are key components of my artwork, as I consider my personality ‘colorful’ and see no reason my artwork shouldn’t reflect that.

 As an experienced artist, I interned at the San Antonio Museum of Art and am interested in education. I currently set up at pop-up galleries on occasion and am finishing my Associate of Arts, with the intention of applying to the UTSA School of Arts program to pursue a BFA in Art. I hope to follow a career in art therapy and help fellow patients with epilepsy with the therapeutic art form of creativity.

Art