Mariel Is A Star, 2025

I am exploring the idea of inspiration, finding it, and what it is. I always find unadulterated inspiration from those around me, especially my friends.

In the painting, Mariel is a dark star, yet the light around her is hued like the sun. Dark stars are hypothesized to be the first stars to exist in the universe before normal stars were formed. Although represented as dark, her influence is not meager. She holds the qualities of the sun that radiates heat and light. The yellow and orange hues contrasted with the darker tones of her figure symbolize rays of light.

I depicted her as a star because, at times, she reminds me of a Y2K grunge star; she just has that vibe.

I was also inspired by Sonic 3. Near the resolution of the film, Shadow said, “The light shines, even though the star is gone”.This can be compared to the act of love as someone “may be gone, but [their] love will always remain”. No love is ever lost and continues to shine even though the source is gone.