I'm a New York City–based oil painter, currently a resident artist at a gallery on the Lower East Side. I started oil painting in 2025, after years of drawing and working with acrylics.

My work starts with images I can't stop thinking about: a flower, a memory, something scrolled past and saved. I pull from whatever I find equally beautiful and memorable, and combine it until it feels complete. Color is the most important aspect — I paint in bright, saturated color because it's how I see my surroundings, and because I like to reimagine the muted, dull colors with vibrancy.

Most of what I make is in pursuit of beauty and occasionally something more pointed: World on a String, built from collage, is a commentary on patriarchy dressed up as something pretty. I like work that can be both — beautiful and thought-provoking — without explicitly announcing which one it is.

I go by Resident Art Friend, a name a friend gave me almost as a joke, implying I was the one people turned to for creativity. It stuck, and then it became literal. I've shown in group exhibitions across New York City and have taken on commissioned work. I am always looking for the next image that will inspire me.