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.

Mixed media portrait by Seattle artist TJ featuring fragmented facial forms and layered reclaimed materials.

"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