Narrative
This is a portrait of Lady K, a member of the Tuplets. She is the royal archer of the Cosmic Womb army (you can see her performing archery in the paintings Paracosmic Alchemy and Big Time Rescue.
Lady K lives in the forest with Albeir the Miracle Bear, she is responsible for studying and caring for the animals who live in the Cosmic Womb. Many animals that people on Earth think are extinct have actually decided to migrate to the Cosmic Womb. One of Lady K's responsibilities is welcoming all the animals who have immigrated from Earth or other planets. Lady K also is the official healer, zoologist and translator for the animals who live in the Cosmic Womb.
Biographical Inspiration
This painting belongs to a series of pieces that celebrate my heritage as a Korean American adoptee, who was raised by a family of German and French descent.
For this painting, I referenced compositions by Frida Kahlo, an artist of the Americas who also shares a bicultural identity (Kahlo is of Mexican and German background). To represent my adoptive mother's heritage I looked to the rich stylistic flora of French painter Henri Rousseau, and to celebrate my own identity as an Asian American, I referenced the face an Asian American child.
I like the fact that in painting you can capture the parts of the self that reside deep within a person. Art and narrative allow for me to reflect upon the many identities that make me who I am. It brings together East, West and my own inner land of creativity and wonder.