Work
Embracing my memories
1
MEmories
i tend to revisit the past a lot. not in a regretful way, but more...
2
From Idea to Design
my design process usually starts with painting...
3
THE PHOTOGRAPH
the blurred figures from Shoo Mars Rae’s photograph became...
4
THE title
the title of the piece...
5
The tattoo
when the design finally became a tattoo...
Embracing my memories
the path
1
MEmories
i tend to revisit the past a lot. not in a regretful way, but more...
2
From Idea to Design
my design process usually starts with painting...
3
THE PHOTOGRAPH
the blurred figures from Shoo Mars Rae’s photograph became...
4
THE title
the title of the piece...
5
The tattoo
when the design finally became a tattoo...
Work
Embracing my memories
1 | 6
EMBRACING MY MEMORIES
i tend to revisit the past a lot. not in a regretful way, but more out of curiosity. i often think about those small crossroads in life where one decision quietly changes the direction everything takes. things that felt minor at the time but later turned out to matter more than expected. sometimes even things i didn’t do.
a sentence i said, a place i moved to.
a moment where i decided to try something or let it pass.
at the same time, i’m very aware that i’ve changed a lot over the years. i’ve been different versions of myself at different points in my life. but none of those earlier versions disappear completely. they’re still part of who i am now.
Work
Embracing my memories
2 | 6
TRANSLATING THE IDEA INTO A DESIGN
my design process usually starts with painting. before i build anything digitally, i make a large number of watercolor paintings. sometimes twenty, sometimes closer to forty. these aren’t finished artworks. they are experiments with texture, movement, and atmosphere. out of all of them, usually only one or two contain something that feels right for a design.
for this piece i found a watercolor texture that worked perfectly for the lower part of the composition. it had a softness and depth that matched the feeling i was trying to capture. once i find these elements, i photograph the paintings and start assembling the design digitally on my tablet. i often combine fragments from several paintings. a texture from one piece, a light brush movement from another, sometimes just a small section that helps balance the composition. it’s less about drawing something from scratch and more about building an image out of pieces that already carry the right atmosphere.
in this design, the watercolor textures create the surrounding space for the figures. they give the image movement and keep it from feeling static.
Work
THE PHOTOGRAPH
he blurred figures from Shoo Mars Rae’s photograph became the center of the design.
before using the image, i contacted the artist and asked for permission to incorporate it into my work. the photograph already had the exact quality i was looking for: the blur makes the figures feel slightly undefined, which fits well with the way memories behave.
memories rarely stay perfectly clear. they change over time. details fade or shift, but the overall feeling of a moment often stays.
that’s what the figures represent for me. different versions of the same person, connected through time.
Embracing my memories
3 | 6
Work
Embracing my memories
2 | 6
TRANSLATING THE IDEA INTO A DESIGN
my design process usually starts with painting. before i build anything digitally, i make a large number of watercolor paintings. sometimes twenty, sometimes closer to forty. these aren’t finished artworks. they are experiments with texture, movement, and atmosphere. out of all of them, usually only one or two contain something that feels right for a design.
for this piece i found a watercolor texture that worked perfectly for the lower part of the composition. it had a softness and depth that matched the feeling i was trying to capture. once i find these elements, i photograph the paintings and start assembling the design digitally on my tablet. i often combine fragments from several paintings. a texture from one piece, a light brush movement from another, sometimes just a small section that helps balance the composition. it’s less about drawing something from scratch and more about building an image out of pieces that already carry the right atmosphere.
in this design, the watercolor textures create the surrounding space for the figures. they give the image movement and keep it from feeling static.
Work
THE PHOTOGRAPH
he blurred figures from Shoo Mars Rae’s photograph became the center of the design.
before using the image, i contacted the artist and asked for permission to incorporate it into my work. the photograph already had the exact quality i was looking for: the blur makes the figures feel slightly undefined, which fits well with the way memories behave.
memories rarely stay perfectly clear. they change over time. details fade or shift, but the overall feeling of a moment often stays.
that’s what the figures represent for me. different versions of the same person, connected through time.
Embracing my memories
3 | 6
Work
Embracing my memories
2 | 6
TRANSLATING THE IDEA INTO A DESIGN
my design process usually starts with painting. before i build anything digitally, i make a large number of watercolor paintings. sometimes twenty, sometimes closer to forty. these aren’t finished artworks. they are experiments with texture, movement, and atmosphere. out of all of them, usually only one or two contain something that feels right for a design.
for this piece i found a watercolor texture that worked perfectly for the lower part of the composition. it had a softness and depth that matched the feeling i was trying to capture. once i find these elements, i photograph the paintings and start assembling the design digitally on my tablet. i often combine fragments from several paintings. a texture from one piece, a light brush movement from another, sometimes just a small section that helps balance the composition. it’s less about drawing something from scratch and more about building an image out of pieces that already carry the right atmosphere.
in this design, the watercolor textures create the surrounding space for the figures. they give the image movement and keep it from feeling static.
Work
Embracing my memories
3 | 6
THE PHOTOGRAPH
he blurred figures from Shoo Mars Rae’s photograph became the center of the design.
before using the image, i contacted the artist and asked for permission to incorporate it into my work. the photograph already had the exact quality i was looking for: the blur makes the figures feel slightly undefined, which fits well with the way memories behave.
memories rarely stay perfectly clear. they change over time. details fade or shift, but the overall feeling of a moment often stays.
that’s what the figures represent for me. different versions of the same person, connected through time.
Work
Embracing my memories
4 | 6
Embracing my memories
4 | 6
nothing really disappears. it simply becomes another layer of the person we are becoming.
WHY I CHOSE THE TITLE
the title of the piece is embracing my memories.
the key word here is embracing. the design isn’t about trying to fix the past or wishing things had been different. it’s about accepting that every experience becomes part of who we are.
some memories are joyful, some are difficult. some are simply small moments that stayed with us for reasons we can’t fully explain.
i tend to revisit my memories quite often because i’m slightly afraid of losing them. going back to them keeps them present.
for me, they are not something to move away from. they are something to carry with me.
Embracing my memories
5 | 6
THE TATTOO
when the design finally became a tattoo, the idea felt complete.
tattooing always has a connection to memory. people choose to place something permanent on their body because it represents something meaningful to them. in that sense, tattoos themselves are a form of remembering.