Art By Zen
About Me
Hi, I'm Zen! I'm from Santa Cruz, California born and raised. I am a soul-searching, interdisciplinary artist comprehending different perspectives and continuously learning. I have a background in psychology with a Bachelor of Arts from California State University Sacramento and a Masters of Science from Palo Alto University. I strongly advocate for racial justice and provide a culturally inclusive, safe environment through my art, research, academics, and personal activities.
While we continue to confront racial injustices, I turn to art as my outlet and as my form of protest to highlight the bravery and strength of key historical figures. Social justice is not only important to me, but for our future generations and I'm eager to continue promoting racial equity through an artistic lens.
Growing up, without fail, I had a passion for creating and experimenting through different mediums including ceramics, stained glass, figure drawing, and painting. Painting stuck out to me the most and I have always enjoyed how fluid it can be, cultivating precision and detail.
Medium
I work with acrylic and oil paint on canvas and immerse heavily in depth of color. I study the emotions of the individual I choose to work on to determine the mood of whether I want to create my pieces lustrous and shadowy or radiant and saturated. Channeling the emotions that my subjects give off are methodically evoked into my portraits. I prefer to work on canvas with acrylic or oil as they portray powerful expressive visuals.
Inspirations
My biggest inspirations are social activists and positive political leaders focusing on freedom and real social change. In my art, I express my inclination through heroes and world leaders who have impacted us today. My work is inspired by my energies and my disposition to empower and educate my audience in a captivating way that reels interest. Pensive, constructive people in my life who allow themselves to be educated, challenge themselves and permit openness to learning keep me going.