Artist Statement

Little Escapes

Escapism is defined by the dictionary as “The tendency to seek, or the practice of seeking, distraction from what normally has to be endured” This practice is supported by author J.R.R. Tolkien as a valid form of “creative expression of reality within a secondary (imaginative) world”.

The fantasy genre has brought me a lot of comfort and distraction – an escape one could say – from the constant barrage of worrying news and information about the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, the style of my work has slowly evolved to a place in which I am finally happy with and my work is mainly directed towards concept art, environments illustration. I have found a lot of inspiration and comfort in medieval history, especially its architecture and fashions and so I have been combining those topics with medieval and fantasy elements into my pieces. In my series, I take the places in my home, where I have been cooped up for more than a year and reimagine them in a new way. I wanted to keep my environments simple, keeping them open to only be improved and expanded upon.

My series focuses on the places that have brought me solace though such times. I found that little things: Sitting on my porch in the summertime having a hot cup of coffee, spending time outside underneath my mulberry tree, spending as much time in my art-room, or just hanging out in my room were my own little escapes from the stressful reality I have been through. Shifting from one reality to another and free of modern-day stresses and instead replaced by a fantasy world full of hope and adventure.