Oil Paintings

Before I began ALYHO in 2020, I was a college student studying drawing & painting. I made a deal with my dad that I would dual-major because being an artist wasn’t a sustainable career plan in his eyes (for which, I can’t blame him. I launched into oil paintings and portrait work, always weaving written words into the paintings. Always leaving bold marks, unfinished edges, and bright colors.

I look back on these paintings and think — she was fearless. She wasn’t painting for social media likes or fanfare. She was just painting. And that was a beautiful time in life.