fruits of labor

June 19th, 2026 | Bold Bean Coffee Roasters @Jax Beach

Recently, I have been working on a body of work that started with a portrait of one of my students. I was creating an example for my 9th graders to use as inspo for their final project: create a portrait of someone you know utilizing references from art history. This project was meant to push them to think about the artist they love and discover how they could use that admiration to motivate their own work. Long story short, I left feeling more inspired by my students. What started as a demo morphed into a self-exploration of creativity and the battle of fighting off imposter syndrome and burnout.

Each piece highlights a different fruit that represents the struggles artist go through to create. There is something inately human about creation and how we yield that energy (represented by the graphic elements that swirl/move around the subject). This is an ongoing series so at the moment there are 7 pieces that are tied to each other but more will come as I pursuit the search for understanding why we create. There are other pieces in the space that also tie in with fruit that tie in with my thesis from my college days where I was reshaping the way that watermelon has become a negative stereotype. I aimed to reshape that language by exposing its history and how it represents financial freedom (i.e. enslaved Americans cultivated and sold watermelon which in turn gave them the funds to buy their freedom).

My artwork is on display at a local coffee shop based in Jacksonville and will only be up until mid-August. Listed below are the titles of the art pieces featured in the show:

(11×14 bristol paper framed)

1. “The Symbols of Resilience” watercolor and mixed media, $250

2. “The Symbols of Joy” watercolor and mixed media, $250

3. “Dreams of Resilience” watercolor and relief print, $300

(14×14 canvases)

1. “Melon-chasm” acrylic on canvas, $350

2. “It had to Start Somewhere” acrylic on canvas, $350

3. “Pom-tastic” acrylic on canvas, $350

4. “The Size of a Mustard Seed” acrylic on canvas, $350

5. “The Struggle is just Peachy” acrylic on canvas, $350

(20×26 wood panel)

1. “When you Give an Artist Lemons” acrylic on wood panel, NFS

2. “What if I fail? Make it Anyway” acrylic on wood panel, $500

**please feel free to reach out if you would like to purchase any of the above , make sure to include the name of the art peice

 

"What if I fail? Make it Anyway" 2026

Here is one of my portrait pieces on display in the front window of the coffee shop.

"Pom-tastic" and "The Struggle is just Peachy" 2026

Here is a preview of some of the pieces on display at Bold Bean.

"Melon-chasm" 2026

Each painting has graphic elements that represent creativity, harsh objects that represent obstacles, written statements of reflection, and fruit that shows the evidence of human interaction.

"It had to Start Somewhere" 2026

"The Size of a Mustard Seed" 2026

Sneak Peek

How I processed my ideas to prepare for this show