The Archive
2023- Beginnings
Pet Portraits- 2023
Reverse Glass Paintings, Mixed Media— 2023
The first reverse glass paintings I ever created. Painted in 2023, they were made as memorial portraits of my dad and stepmoms beloved pets after they passed.
Each piece is hand painted in reverse on glass, layering detail from front to back before being flipped to reveal the final image.
At the time, I was still learning the medium, figuring out techniques, order of layers, and how to trust the process without seeing the full picture until the very end.
These works mark the beginning of my journey with reverse glass painting. These were created from a place of grief, love and remembrance and became the foundation for everything that followed.
2024- Finding Form
Duality-2024
Reverse Glass Painting, Mixed Media— 2024
This was a year of experimentation and refinement. Linework grew sharper, contrast became bolder and the subject matter expanded beyond memorial portraiture into symbolism and character driven work.
Created as a gift for someone deeply connected to theater and performance, this piece explores contrast and identity through a split mask composition. Inspired by stage symbolism, the two faces reflect opposing emotional states… light and shadow, presence and concealment, comedy and tragedy.
Bearded Dragon Memorial- 2024
Reverse Glass Painting, Mixed Media— 2024
A memorial portrait created for my mother after the loss of her first bearded dragon, Bubba-Louie.
This piece continued my exploration of reverse glass art, with a deeper focus on texture and detail that captured the scales, posture and personality of a beloved pet.
The background was intentionally painted to feel like looking up through the trees in a forest with soft light filtering through leaves, blurred and unfocused as if seen through a camera lens. The watercolor leaves and diffused sky were layered to create depth and atmosphere rather than a literal setting.
It was during the creation of this background that something in me shifted. As I painted the leaves and light, the process stopped feeling like a deadline and instead felt immersive, intentional and natural.
This piece marks the moment where reverse glass painting stopped feeling like an assignment and began to feel like something I was meant to do.
2025- Resurrection
He Loved Me Back to Art- 2025
Reverse Glass Painting, Mixed Media— 2025
In February 2025, I almost didn’t survive.
My body shut down in ways that changed me forever. Recovery wasn’t just physical… it was grief, anger, fear, weakness. I had to learn how to live inside a body that fought harder than I ever knew it could. Recovery stripped me down to something raw and unfamiliar and this piece holds the aftermath, the anger, the blood, the beauty and the bloom.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, I met someone who loved me gently but fiercely. He didn’t try to erase what happened. He didn’t rush my healing. He simply reminded me that I was still here. Still capable. Still creative. Still powerful.
Art the Clown just made sense… cracked and smiling through blood, chaos barely contained. Rage softened by love.
This painting isn’t about pretending everything is okay. It’s about choosing to create anyway.
He loved me back to art.
The Moon Guy- 2025
Reverse Glass Painting, Mixed Media— 2025
We call him “The Moon Guy”.
Inspired by Moondrop from Five Nights at Freddy’s, this piece marked a shift for me. It was less about survival and more about patience. I experimented with fine line work, color shifting paint, and some glow in the dark details (not all of the experiments worked according to plan, which is why the Moon Guy lives on my wall).
This one tested me, it steadied me, and helped me learn control again.
Not everything in 2025 was heavy, I had fun with this one, and I continue to play with new materials and ideas because of it.
Olivia (11 Years of Love)-2025
Reverse Glass Painting, Mixed Media— 2025
This piece was created in memory of our cat, Olivia. She was our baby for 11 years. After I became an adult and moved out, she stayed in the only home she had ever known with my mom and stepdad. She was really their baby. One morning, she was simply gone. The kind of loss that just seems unreal.
This was my first deeply detailed pet portrait. Every layer painted in reverse, every strand of fur intentional, the little bit of her tongue sticking out. I focused on capturing her expression exactly as she was… alert, curious, and full of personality. The soft pink and violet background features color shifting shimmer that almost make it feel like it’s glowing. I didn’t want this piece to feel heavy, I wanted it to feel like peace and light, like the kind of love that doesn’t disappear.
This piece was gifted to my mom and stepdad for Christmas. It was difficult to complete emotionally and technically. It became something more than just a portrait, it became a way for them to hold her again.