What started as seeing an ad for a latex lingerie set for Christmas on Instagram, became the source of inspiration for A Very Voyeuristic Christmas (2025). I am not always sure what will spark the idea of a cartoon or comic, but when a vision comes to light I try to nurture it. Subtle unease and tension has become a recurring theme in my artistic practice, whether it be a sense of longing or discomfort, there is always something that lurks beneath the surface of the image.

Creating tension through contrasting elements of the environment or space in which I place the subject in, is vital in setting the tone of the piece. It feels immediately off to have the blonde character, scantily clad, in an empty room in front of a window. We can almost feel the goosebumps, elevated by the voyeur right outside her home.

Use of color is of utmost importance, but is not always predetermined. I had an idea in mind of what our subject’s palette would be, but the black and magenta wall and the color-penciled floorboards went through many stages before the drawing felt completed. The first layer of color on the wall was a bright pink, but I adjusted it to feel moodier. I was really interested in playing with light and shadow when it came to the wooden floor. I put down my lightest colors before darkening it up with purples, blues, and browns — which also helped create the wooden groove effect on the floor.

Symbols sneak their way into my drawings, reflective of personal relics and artworks I admire and aspire to, ie: Tim Burton drawings, Kate Skelly comics, and horror graphic novels like E.M. Carroll’s A Guest in the House. A Very Voyeuristic Christmas uses animal symbolism in more than one way; The cat on the left side of our subject adds a playfulness to the composition, but also acts as a potential protector, warning our subject of outside danger. While drawing this, I could hear the bells chime as the cat used her claw to weigh down our subject’s garland. Voyeurism as a symbol in artwork is a point of interest for me, also explored in Unwanted Guest (2025). Adding this unease to the artwork helps contrast the bright colors and exaggerated proportions of my characters. On a deeper note, I have not been able to get Margaret Atwood’s “Male fantasies, male fantasies..” quote from The Robber Bride out of my head since the day I read it in 2023. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Creating these cartoons feels like a story coming to life, I tend to feel more and more satisfied as the drawing progresses. During the time it takes me to create a cartoon, it feels like I am in a small bubble where I can focus on this one thing and that is enough; My ideas feel nourished. What started as just inspo from an advertisement, became a mischievously playful story with a dark turn, reflective of artwork and literature that I enjoy. The most special aspect, and my personal goal, is to see my style develop as an artist through each piece. The starting point of a project may seem silly or farfetched, but following it can lead to bigger explorations and breakthroughs as a creative.

FEATURED ARTWORK