Singing in all Seasons. I created this piece for the last pages in my children’s poetry book, Discovering the Garden. I chose each bird to represent a different season— a cardinal for winter, and a bluebird for summer. Life is full of seasons. I’ve personally struggled through seasons of fear or loneliness, and wanted to remind people that there is beauty to be found in every season of life, and that every dawn brings fresh hope.
Digital, finished 3.8.25.
Sipping the Sunshine. This is one of my favorite artworks from my book. I drew from my fondness for afternoon tea, and made sure to include scrumptious goodies for the four friends to enjoy.
Digital. Completed 28.7.25.
Snowdrop. This was a project I started just for fun, to make a creative social media profile picture for myself. I looked at other artists’ profiles for reference, and drew inspiration from things I love: a delicious cup of tea, and some of my favorite flowers. You’ll notice the snowdrop flowers— Snowdrop was my mama’s nickname for me as a young girl.
Digital. Completed July 2025.
Aventura. This artwork is the back cover illustration for my book. I wanted to create an adventurous scene that would appeal to boys and girls alike, and decided to draw the four friends in a Jeep. In 2024, I purchased my first car: a green Jeep that I named Aventura (meaning adventure in Spanish). If you look closely, you’ll see the name inscribed on the license plate! I love including fun details in my art. I illustrated the car using a reference photo, customizing some parts to fit how I wanted the vehicle to look.
Digital. Completed 25.9.25.
Laughing in the Field. I was inspired by my camping trips with my dad when creating this piece. I love my memories of sitting around the campfire with him, roasting s’mores and listening to his stories. I included a fun detail: if you zoom in on the hot chocolate, you can see minuscule specks of spice. My dad always makes his with cayenne.
Digital. Completed summer 2025.
Map of Contents. I’ve loved creating maps since I was little, and I wanted to do something unique for a table of contents in my book. I designed this map to display the poems like chapters in a story, following a path through a fantasy land. All the details took many hours to complete! I thought about what images in each poem would work for a drawing, and arranged the elements into a cohesive imaginary land. The idea worked well, especially because the poems are inspired by places in the world or experiences in nature.
Digital. Completed August 2025.
Dancing in the Rain. I’ve included some of the notes and concept sketches for this piece. While creating my book, I developed many of my drawings by writing out core words and ideas from the poems. I then created concept sketches, and played with different variations before landing on the final idea. Sometimes I got far along with an idea, and then totally reworked it! The final piece includes a weeping willow, one of my favorite trees. I’ve always loved these trees— they’re so graceful and seem poetic. I draw most details in my drawings by hand, with minimal copying and pasting— each leaf in this piece was drawn individually.
Digital. Summer 2025.
Cover Design. The cover probably took the most time out of any piece in my book. I wanted to explore the garden theme, but it took a long time to find an idea that felt right. These unfinished drafts show several stages along the way— rough concept sketches, an early rough cover sketch, and the progress of the final cover. These digital sketches were created throughout 2025, and I completed the cover in early fall of that year. I reworked the cover again several times to fit the parameters for publishing. I love how it turned out!
Marveling at the Stars. This timelapse shows my process in Procreate from sketch to final illustration. I started the concept sketches on paper, and used those as inspiration for the final piece. This character, Davy, is a little shorter than the rest of my characters in the book, so it was tricky drawing him to be the right size! I decided to go with a black background for contrast and impact, and a genuine space look. I had fun designing the patches on Davy’s astronaut suit (notice the smiley face)!
Discovering the Garden. I’ve included a flip through of the hardcover edition of my book. The concept began in the spring of 2021, and I held the product in my hands about 4 ½ years later. This book was a labor of love, and I’m proud of how it turned out. Here’s a fun note: the company I used for publishing, Bookvault, is based in Peterborough, UK— my books were printed in England.
Observations at La Esquina Café. I recently moved with my family to Montevideo, Uruguay, and one of my favorite pastimes here has been exploring all the local cafés. My favorite is called La Esquina— my mom and I love to sit there for hours, often working on art together. This collection of sketches was inspired by some of my observations… I love this travel-journal style of illustrating. I’ve also included a photo of the gate I drew.
Fountain pen and India ink markers. 20.12.25
Medialuna Study. During one of our coffeeshop art days, I created this form study inspired by the café’s logo. The logo depicts a medialuna— Uruguay’s signature croissant, and one of our favorite treats!
Fountain pen and graphite pencil. 8.1.26.
Selva. Can you tell I love coffee shops? I created this piece while sitting at Selva, a local café. I drew the characters based on my observations of people and their outfits. I love drawing fashion— I’ve always enjoyed dressing my characters in all sorts of outfits. I also drew the food I ordered :)
Fountain pen and India ink markers. 18.1.26.
재료 (Ingredients). I was inspired to create this sketch after a family trip to a local Asian market. My mom and I were inspired to buy some of these special ingredients after watching K-dramas together— it sparked a new love for Korean culture for me! I’ve been having fun as I learn the Korean alphabet (and cook with new ingredients).
Graphite pencil. 8.1.26.
Character Sketches. I recently took an online course by an artist named Flor Kaneshiro, and created these sketches for an exercise exploring character design. These sketches explored some fun character ideas, and different positions and sizing.
Fountain pen and graphite pencil. 30.1.26.
Korea Kitties. I sketched these characters just for fun, while riding in the car. Designing characters is one of my favorite parts of illustration— I like to imagine different outfits and looks.
Fountain pen. 31.1.26
바 람 (Ba-ram). I love drawing the layers of an outfit and the process of a character putting them on. When I was little, I loved drawing outfits from around the world, and I still do. I created this drawing in my sketchbook just for fun.
Fountain pen and India ink markers. 31.1.26.
비밀 우주 카페 (Secret Space Café). I’ve always enjoyed drawing architecture— as a kid, I did a project where I drew buildings from different cities around the world. I wanted to show my architectural drawing skills, so I chose this coffee shop in South Korea. Using reference photos, I sketched the building out in pencil and then finished it with a pen. I didn’t use any rulers during the process.
Micron pen. 20.2.26-24.2.26.
Horti et Lumen. I drew this piece for a personal project. I wanted to create some stickers for family friends for a Christmas gift, and decided to design a crest reflecting our family names. I thought about what our respective family names meant, and drew inspiration from what our families love to do together, as well as who we are as people. I created my own Latin motto based on this. One of my favorite memories together is when we had a “Hobbit Thanksgiving”— we cooked an abundance of food and watched the Lord of the Rings series together. Inspired by this memory, I drew the motto in a Hobbit-ish font. It was a special project that I enjoyed putting together.
Digital. December 2024.
After thinking about art and visual communication, I chose an illustration by Flor Kaneshiro, one of my favorite artists. I discovered one of her books recently in a local bookstore, and was immediately drawn to her whimsical, delicate style— her illustrations are sweet and imaginative. I’ve always been fond of books with animals, so I love her cozy, cute animal characters. I love how her drawings pull you into a world of imagination. I recently took one of her watercolor and illustration classes online.
A Little Princess is a favorite book of mine from childhood. I love how the main character, Sara, goes through hard times, but uses her imagination to escape into another world of beauty, magic and color. Although Sara loses most everything she loves, she is determined to be kind, and keeps inventing stories to bring comfort and joy to people’s lives. I especially love the scene where Sara and Becky are living in the dark attic, and Sara imagines a delicious feast is set before them. When the neighbor’s servant overhears, he sneaks in all sorts of cozy and colorful delights for the girls. The story is redemptive, and I love how the author describes settings and people— her writing is charming, and it draws you into the story.
Bwthyn Adar (Bird Cottage). I created this piece after coming across a photo of a Welsh cottage that inspired me. The reference photo is of a real cottage in Llanidloes, Wales named Bird Cottage. I created the scene based on the photo, but created a story from my imagination. I researched traditional Welsh farmers and the outfits they used to wear, and the kinds of products they farmed. I decided to set my scene in the 1800s, and make my characters chicken farmers. I researched the traditional dress of Wales, and designed my own outfits for the characters.
Gouache, watercolor, colored pencil and India ink markers.
“Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it…”
A Little Princess