"DARK" International Juried Online Art Competition

 This piece is the first in my ongoing Zodiac Photography series, where I merge fantasy, photography, and mixed media art to bring the magic of the cosmos to life. Representing the Aries archetype, this image channels boldness, passion, and ignition—the fire of new beginnings. As both a visual artist and professional fire performer, I safely incorporated real fire into the composition to honor Aries authentically as a fire sign. The flames in the model’s eyes and the glowing Aries symbol on her forehead were created using my own photographs—sparked by long-exposure images of her painting with fire.

Fine details and digital enhancements, such as sparkles and elemental textures, help elevate the piece into a realm where fantasy meets reality. My goal with this series is to offer one-of-a-kind fantasy portrait sessions that empower my community to see themselves as the powerful, mythic beings they are. I hope viewers walk away from this image feeling awakened, inspired, and unstoppable—just like Aries.

Photography

Ocala, Florida, USA

"the greatest story that was never told'.

What if everything we know about God and religion are not only wrong, but completely backwards? What if God were the "evil" and Satan were the "good"? What if only one side of the story made it to the surface? What if Mary didn't conceive immaculately? What if the trinity were born and nursed of a much stronger force?

Graphite & chalk on gray peper

  Charlotte, North Carolina , USA

The work presents an inner landscape, where the hills are not merely natural forms but psychic elevations, stratifications of the shadow dwelling within each of us. The canvas is dominated by dark, deep masses rising like reliefs wrapped in mystery. Black here is not emptiness, but density—a reservoir of memories, fears, unspoken desires: what Jung would have called the “shadow,” the hidden counterpart of consciousness.
The sky, crossed by gray and pinkish veils, transforms the scene into a threshold between light and darkness, between thought and the unconscious. From the summit of the hills emerge faint outlines, subtle and almost evanescent presences, evoking what remains invisible yet continues to shape our inner life.
These black hills are not a threat but a revelation: they embody the darkest and most fertile part of the mind, which, if embraced, becomes the source of visions, transformation, and renewed awareness. In their compact silence, they tell us that “dark” is not merely darkness, but the symbolic womb from which arises the possibility of seeing beyond the surface—into the invisible that inhabits us.

The hills of the mind are the dark face that accompanies every consciousness. In their compact silence, darkness reveals itself not as emptiness, but as a womb generating new possibilities.

 Acrylic on canvas 

Naples, Italy

 This bell was made through the lost wax casting process. One concept I am interested in exploring through bell making is the subversion of sonorous tones that have typically been controlled by institutions such as the church to produce harmonious sounds within specific harmonic ranges. Like working with a limited color palette, this institutional control excludes the full spectrum of dissonant and non-harmonious tones that bells can produce. 

 Bronze, Obsidian (Bead), Sterling Silver

Sculpture

Micanopy, Florida, USA

 This mixed media piece explores the final moments of life, capturing the desperation with which many cling to existence while resisting the inevitable return to nature. 

Mixed Media

Ocala, Florida, USA

In this luminous tribute, "Black Fire, Black Light," I honor the revolutionary spirit of Nikki Giovanni—a poet whose words burned with truth and ignited a movement, yet also carried the gentle radiance of wisdom and love. Through the strokes of my brush, I seek to capture the dual essence of her legacy: the fire that refused to be extinguished and the light that guided generations toward liberation, self-love, and artistic empowerment.

Her poetry was both a battle cry and a beacon, demanding justice while illuminating the beauty and resilience of Black life. She spoke to the heart of a people, chronicling our struggles, our triumphs, and our boundless creativity. In this piece, I strive to embody that unbreakable force—Nikki’s fire that still burns, her light that still shines.

Oil on canvas

 Vallejo, California , USA

"the greatest story that was never told'.

What if everything we know about God and religion are not only wrong, but completely backwards? What if God were the "evil" and Satan were the "good"? What if only one side of the story made it to the surface? What if Mary didn't conceive immaculately? What if the trinity were born and nursed of a much stronger force?

Graphite & chalk on gray peper

  Charlotte, North Carolina , USA

Showcasing a girl on a beach dressed in layers of clothes with her face hidden. Feeling lost in the unknown, if my face is hidden then no one will see and maybe I can finally be free. 

Photography

Parkland, Florida, USA

 In Christian tradition, Christ is often described as the “Light of the World” (John 8:12). Since infants cannot express themselves with words, how did his divine knowledge of inevitable crucifixion darken his younger years, if at all? He wails in a highchair, palm nailed to a dark void, as his halo rises chokingly. Expulsions burst from his abdomen where the Spear of Longinus will one day make a claim. 

Oil on canvas

 Guthrie, Oklahoma, USA

 Boredom

Fully Digital (No AI used)  

San Jose, Costa Rica

"the greatest story that was never told'.

What if everything we know about God and religion are not only wrong, but completely backwards? What if God were the "evil" and Satan were the "good"? What if only one side of the story made it to the surface? What if Mary didn't conceive immaculately? What if the trinity were born and nursed of a much stronger force?

Graphite & chalk on gray peper

  Charlotte, North Carolina , USA

 Acrylic on canvas 

Upstate New York, USA 

  I was inspired by the literary process of Katabasis which describes a mythological hero’s descent into the underworld. Faux Paradiso is a reflection of our inner demons viewed through my descent into the subconscious mind paralleling the hero’s perilous journey into the “belly of the beast”. 

Digital Illustration

New York, USA

 "the greatest story that was never told'.

What if everything we know about God and religion are not only wrong, but completely backwards? What if God were the "evil" and Satan were the "good"? What if only one side of the story made it to the surface? What if Mary didn't conceive immaculately? What if the trinity were born and nursed of a much stronger force?

Graphite & chalk on gray peper

  Charlotte, North Carolina , USA

 "the greatest story that was never told'.

What if everything we know about God and religion are not only wrong, but completely backwards? What if God were the "evil" and Satan were the "good"? What if only one side of the story made it to the surface? What if Mary didn't conceive immaculately? What if the trinity were born and nursed of a much stronger force?

Graphite & chalk on gray peper

  Charlotte, North Carolina , USA

We judge those who are different, and at the same time, we pray to them. They themselves seem disfigured deviations from the average. And then we judge and praise their deformities, which are incompatible with the order of the world.

We judge, we praise, but above all, we are the ones who cause suffering to others. 

Mixed Media

 Czech Republic