About TJ
Art That Invites a Second Look
I'm TJ, a Seattle-based mixed media artist creating original artwork that explores identity, connection, and the beauty found in unexpected places. While I'm also a software developer, college instructor, and mother, art has always been the place where I make sense of the world.
Most of my work begins without a fixed destination. I start with materials, color, and curiosity, allowing each piece to evolve one layer at a time.
Through layers of paint, texture, and found materials, I create pieces that invite viewers to slow down, look closer, and discover something new with each viewing.
"Many of my pieces are built from fragments—repurposed canvas, paint skins, and found materials—because I believe broken pieces can come together to create something meaningful."
Finding Wholeness Through Fragments
As both a technologist and an artist, I often feel fragmented by the many roles life asks us to play. Rather than resisting that feeling, I've come to embrace it.
Many of my portraits are built from individual pieces—paint skins, repurposed canvas, collage, and layered geometric forms—that come together to create something whole. That process mirrors the way I see people: complex, imperfect, and beautifully assembled from countless experiences.
Whether abstract or representational, my work is an exploration of how separate pieces can become something stronger together.
A Love of Materials
Experimentation has always been at the heart of my creative process. I enjoy discovering new ways to combine materials and letting each one influence the direction of a piece.
Many of my paintings incorporate dried paint skins, repurposed sections of earlier paintings, botanical elements, handmade textures, and found objects gathered over time. Giving discarded or overlooked materials a second life has become an important part of my practice, adding history, texture, and individuality that can't be replicated.
Always Exploring
Although I'm best known for my mixed media portraits, I enjoy working across a wide range of subjects and styles. My portfolio includes abstract paintings, botanical compositions, assemblage, sculpture, and experimental mixed media pieces that continue to evolve as I discover new materials and techniques.
I rarely create the same thing twice. Curiosity is one of my strongest creative tools, and I hope that sense of exploration comes through in every piece I make.
Let's Create Something Meaningful
Whether you're looking for an original piece, a commission, or simply enjoy following my creative journey, I'm grateful you're here.
My hope is that my work encourages you to pause for a moment, look a little closer, and find your own story within it.
If you'd like to learn more about a piece or discuss a commission, I'd love to hear from you.
Shows & Exhibitions
Fogue Studios, Seattle, Jan 2026-present
Phyllis Lamphere Gallery, Seattle Convention Center, May-Aug 2026
Federal Way Arts Explosion
May 2026
May 2025
May 2024
SlipStitch Studio, Seattle
Vital Structures, Feb-Mar 2026
Sanctuary, Nov-Dec 2025
Gallery B612, Seattle
Fauna Aquatica, Sep-Oct 2026
She: Narrative Art on the the Feminine Experience, Jul-Aug 2026
Wonderland, Nov-Dec 2025
WOMEN, Jun-Jul 2025
UNTITLED, Jan-Feb 2025
Abstraction in Blue, Nov-Dec 2024
When We Were Young, Oct-Dec 2024
Landscape/Dreamscape, Aug-Oct 2024
WOMEN, May-Jun 2024
Knutzen Gallery, Federal Way, Aug 2025 - Jan 2026
Ghost Gallery, Seattle, Nov-Dec 2025
Side Rail Gallery, Seattle
Big Show of Small Works, Oct-Dec 2025
Off the Wall, Nov-Dec 2024
Holiday Show, Nov-Dec 2023
Redmond Arts Festival
Jul 2025
Jul 2024
Jul 2023
VALA Eastside Gallery, Redmond, Nov-Dec 2024
Anacortes Arts Festival Juried Show, Jul-Aug 2024
Postmark Gallery Giftshop, Auburn, Jun-Jul 2024
Gallery Q4, Bremerton, Mar-Jul 2024
Mt. Si Artist Guild Juried Show, Snoqualmie, Apr 2024
CVG Juried Show, Bremerton, Feb 2024
Rusty Raven Gallery, Kent, 2022-2024
Skagit Artists Fall Juried Show, Mount Vernon, Nov 2023
Helen S. Smith Gallery Presents: Art of the Quarantine, Auburn WA 2021
Black Diamond Art Alliance Virtual Exhibition, 2020