ART

Fish Nudie Suit

I created this Nudie style suit with Bekah Dubose of Fort Lonesome. I wanted to have a suit to perform in, but also a way to honor my little brother who I lost in 2021. He was an avid fisherman, so I adorned each sleeve and pant leg with fish that he had caught.

I have been practicing a Japanese Indigo Dyeing technique for the past few years. Using rice paste, I draw the fish onto cotton fabric, it dries and then is dipped in indigo. The dye is unable to penetrate areas of the fabric covered by the paste. It took 8 dips to achieve this shade of blue, with 14 individual pieces of fabric, that’s 112 dips. After the paste is washed away, the design remains, a ghost of the drawing that came before it. It was such a poignant way to memorialize my brother and to process grief.

F-150 Series

Growing up in Austin, our family vehicle was a champagne 1996 F-150 with an extended cab. I can still remember sticking to the vinyl seats in the back on a summer day, all six of us crammed inside driving through the Texas Hill Country out to the river. I began painting F-150s on the back of Lone Star Beer boxes to channel this nostalgia, and friends began collecting my paintings. It seems most people in Texas have a truck that is near and dear to them. Here are a few commissions I did for friends. I made one small exception for Zach Weiland—he wanted a portrait of his beloved Mustang.

I recently began painting trucks on ceramics with local artist Lorin Bryce.

NASCAR PAINTINGS

On the day before the stay-at-home orders began in L.A., I rushed to the art supply store. With an indefinite lockdown period beginning, I channeled all my anxiety into these crashing NASCAR paintings. The idea has since expanded into a zine that will be released in 2021.

MINHWA

Ink and traditional Korean paint on Korean paper. Mounted on scrolls.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles I found the K-Art Center, a small group of traditional Korean painters in K-Town. Sofia Kim, the founder, welcomed me into this tight knit group and I’ve been practicing this art form since January 2018. At that time, I was suffering from reverse culture shock and found solace quietly painting as they gave me painting instruction in broken English and Korean. We were able to overcome language barriers through a love of art. I’ve completed many Minhwa paintings now, but these scrolls are what I’m most proud of.

UNSANCTIONED ART IN KOREA

While teaching English in Korea, I discovered a massive tunnel system nobody had ever painted before. I spent quite a few weekends here with local and international graffiti writers. Inspired by Minhwa, a traditional Korean art form, I tried something other than letters. There’s also a graffiti production I did with 3 friends, our names busting out of the wall.