Oil paint, 8” x 10” 

Artist Statement

"Wildfire" was painted in early 2025, for my AP Art and Design course, which followed the question of humanity's impacts on the world. Due to the subject matter, I wanted to experiment with oil paint for this, as oil paint is highly flammable and known to spontaneously combust, and "Wildfire" is my first full oil painting. When I painted "Wildfire," devastating wildfires were happening in California, destroying lives and homes across the region. Many wildfires, like California's Palisades Fire, are started by human action. As featured in the painting, fireworks are a common cause of wildfires around the world. In this painting, I wanted to show how much damage to the environment is caused by human carelessness, and how human actions often have hidden impacts on the world around us. So much of the damage done to our planet is anthropogenic—originating from human activity. We are treating the world poorly, for all it has given us. "Wildfire" is a message about environmentalism, yes, but it is also a message about humanity itself, and the larger impacts that careless and apathetic actions can have. If we act without respect or care for others, then we will end up accidentally starting a wildfire of hate that will grow out of control until what's left is only ash.