Acrylic painting and colored pencil on 18” x 24” canvas, part of the “Hold Me Close” exhibition hosted by SF Ocean Ave (details)

While studying is typically seen as an exercise in diligence, silence and solitude, study sessions with friends provided a temporary cure from loneliness under the impression of “getting stuff done” and “being productive”. While I cared deeply about spending time with friends (and maybe got some studying done…), I also felt that asking people to study together was a blanket solution for rejection sensitivity. It wasn’t hard to ask people for time and friendship in late hours of the night over junk food and overdue assignments because it was something we had to do, and augmented with sugar rushes. While I think of this scene warmly as an invitation to join the picnic, I also hint at the dysfunction that comes with friends of convenience with a character doomscrolling on their phone beside a nearly blank homework assignment. 

💌 For interested buyers, I will reach out to discuss possible local drop off and shipping details. Please note that the listed does not include shipping for the buyer, and will be calculated after purchase as the buyer’s expense.