When a conflict takes place in my stories, big or small, the solution will be found through healthy communication and problem-solving. Tropes, like one character misunderstanding something and never asking for clarification or just assuming another character is in the wrong, feel frustrating to me as a viewer. I want my stories to be a model for healthy connections as well as a model for forming them: be it with parents, partners, or friends.

I express these feelings through my stories, which I explore in a number of mediums. Most of my art is digital, but I also work with alcohol markers, acrylic paints, watercolor, etc. as well as 3D mediums like clay, needle felting, and sewing. I take a lot of inspiration from medieval manuscripts, comics, nature, and cartoons. I try to adapt my mediums of interest and inspirations into the piece.

Arlo is a character I’ve created who isolated himself, living alone in the woods and visiting town as little as possible. Through the course of the story, his quiet life is interrupted by people who help him learn that it's important to form connections with others. The sunflower and the marigold (as seen on the border of the painting) represent Maude, in his rather puerile reverence for Arlo. Arlo, represented with symbols of innocence—such as the snowdrop and the white lily—is rather blind to Maude’s feelings. Though Arlo does not see them, Sorelle does. She recognizes Maude’s feelings and decides to play Cupid, acting as the catalyst for change in Arlo’s life. This is why she is portrayed in this piece. By forming these connections he finds new joys and comforts in life: be it cuddling, being cooked for, receiving gifts, or the joy of being near a loved one.