Occipital

My Featured Work:

My Story

“I use body language and the human form to express emotion and feeling in each piece of art.”

My name is Occipital and I create visual artwork. 

I started my fine art business in 2015. At the time, I was working as an assistant shoe designer when a friend saw a sketchbook of my drawings. The drawings were centered around my aunt, with whom I was very close. They illustrated the embodiment of her and I and the practice of drawing our relationship was  kind of a grieving process for me. I studied fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York City and worked in the fashion industry for three years after graduating. During this period, I had to draw LOTS croquis—quick drawings of a live model. The figures in my work are created using the same technique learned while getting my degree.  

My artist name, Occipital, exists for a few reasons. When I started this work, I knew that I did not want to focus solely on myself. The work captured my aunt, as well as our relationship, so I felt that my name should go beyond myself, just as the art does. I first encountered this idea when I did a mural on the side of a building in Brooklyn, NY. I desired a name that was striking and bold and chose “Occipital.” The occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the brain; a part of the brain necessary to enjoy visual art. The name not only relates to my work but it also gives me the nonsingular presence I hoped for. 

I use body language and the human form to express emotion and feeling in each piece of art.    Initially my art began with depicting my aunt and painting our memories across pages and pages of paper. More recently I have used the same technique of using body language and interpret different themes and inspiration. This can be seen in commissioned paintings, collaborations, and a few of my collections. My latest themes are inspired by the current world. I have always used current culture as inspiration, but I noticed this especially during the pandemic in New York City. During quarantine, I created a collection titled “During Q” revolving around the community’s collective thoughts.The motivation for the collection was to help my immediate community express their possibly confusing emotions. As an artist I am able to release through art and realize how powerful that feels.

I categorize my artwork into collections—that organization certainly comes from my fashion background. As an artist, it is easier for me to take one theme and develop a whole collection of paintings based on that theme. Currently, my paintings are all in black and white. I plan to continue using black and white for a while; I love the contrast, neutrality, and discernable look of the pieces. There are countless other ideas I have for the black and white style, and I imagine I will keep experimenting with it until I exhaust the color scheme. 

Though my work began in New York City, I am a Rhode Island native and recently moved back to Rhode Island. My work space is neat and orderly and the background is typically filled with music or the sounds of my favorite comedy series. My work is spotlit when I am creating but when I am not painting, I keep the lighting cozy and warm. The studio always smells like coffee—I probably consume a bit too much caffeine—and I tend to do my best work in the late afternoon. 

The greatest obstacle in regards to my work is balancing a professional business with creative time. The creative part is, of course, the most fun. However, I still have to manage the marketing, shipping, website, and other administrative tasks for my business. Getting time to actually sit and create becomes a challenge while trying to manage the other moving parts. Though the struggling artist stereotype does not bother me, I can get frustrated with the assumption that my art is just a hobby. I have been creating art my whole life and I have always known that art would be a part of my life or career in some way. So, I have never understood the sentiment behind questions like, “What are you going to do if this does not work?” I have always believed in my art because it is what I do and what I love to do. Being taken seriously can be a bit of an obstacle.

One goal of my art is to become more internationally known. I have shipped a few pieces internationally, but I would love to see a full exhibition break geographical and cultural borders. More broadly, I want my art to always be seen positively by the viewer. A wonderful aspect of art is that viewers connect differently with certain pieces of mine. I try not to title my work too specifically or provide a detailed backstory because I would like other people to relate to it their own way. I feel that people will treasure the art more if they find their own story in the piece.  I am excited to continue to create and share this type of artwork publicly and keep the vibes of one of the coolest humans alive through this work.

Love Always!

Occipital