I really love doing drawings in my sketchbook.

That's where I started in paintings.

So murals were just kind of like a step above that.

And that happened at a young age, probably around like high school.

I started getting more into street art and graffiti, and that's how I got into murals in that way.

My multicultural background is I am half Filipino and half American, and so that has like a huge influence on who I am as a person and artist, because I traveled a lot because of my dad being in the military.

So I was exposed to a lot of street art and art in general at a young age.

I really love anime color.

Folklore is like so interesting to me.

Um, being half Filipino, I grew up with a lot of different stories my mom would tell me, um, from her country.

And so it really influenced how I drew and like the things that I like to draw.

the story of the Bamboo Princess.

It's like a really cool Japanese folklore of a princess that was born in like a bamboo shoot to these two, like older couple that was trying to have a kid and I thought like, her story was like so cool because she grew up to be a moon princess and I thought that was so beautiful.

I try to bring that, like, whimsical ness from that story because it was so whimsical in its own way, very like beautiful.

So that's how I try to incorporate it in all of my pieces.

[light music] So with my art, I like to convey messages of joy.

Um, happiness.

Colorfulness just something to invoke, like someone walking by and it brightens up their day.

That's like my biggest goal is to make someone's day happier and brighter with my art.

My favorite one is the one I did for Shine Fest.

It's called the Aquatic Forest, and it was the first time where I did a large scale scale mural where I had a scissor lift, and I had a lot of support from the community over there in St. Pete, and they let me do whatever I wanted.

And it kind of broke all of the barriers on how to do large scale murals.

And that was my biggest turning point for me.

So it's my favorite.

I'm hoping that people that look like me or identify with me in some way want to do art in their own shape, way, and capacity.

I feel like if there's more of us in numbers, we can foster more of, like a larger art community.

And I think that it brings a lot of value to the area.

So I'm hoping people see my story and they want to do more art.

Public art is really important to a city because it enriches the community.

It brings a sense of pride to all of the passerbys, and especially the young people that look at these walls and they can see a different future for themselves.

So I think it's really important to have more community art.

Glazer Museum was really fun.

I actually have an old friend of mine that does a lot of fun graphic design work for them, and she's been a big champion for me in that sphere, and was the one that suggested to bring in a local artist and bring in someone to have a new, uh, vision for the museum.

Cheryl's artwork is such a good fit for what we do here, because it's playful and whimsical, and it's not at all literal.

So she really takes things that might even be kind of normal concepts, and really makes them as whimsical and over the top as possible.

And that's what we do here at the museum, because it's all about a child's imagination.

So we recently hired Cheryl to do a mural for us outside for Gasparilla, and it was so much fun.

It was one of those temporary window murals.

But I came out during Gasparilla weekend and saw all the families enjoying, I guess children's parade was when the families were there, but then also during the adult parade, the museum was closed, but adults were outside taking pictures in front of the mural.

So it's a fun way to activate our space and to bring the outside in and to bring a little bit of our playfulness out there to the community.

It has been really exciting to watch the growth of the art community in Tampa Bay.

One of the things that makes me really excited about it is that the downtown partnership has really worked to brand the different neighborhoods of downtown and bring in artists to kind of give that neighborhood a special flair.

We're in the River Arts District, which is really exciting because not only are we an arts and culture institution, as are many of the other attractions around us, but now the neighborhood actually feels artistic when you're just walking through the streets because of all the murals around.

Investing more into my art community and getting more involved with other artists and collaborating with them.

I'm always interested in what they're doing and how they're reaching out to others.

So I think that just collaborating with more artists and more art organizations in the area is something that I'm really invested in for my future.

So I just want to kind of give back to those that have given so much opportunity to me.

So many people have moved here and have embraced the art culture, and it's gone from like people kind of being a little bit afraid to invest in artists.

I feel like, um, maybe not afraid, but maybe unsure to.

Now I feel like there's a lot more, um, excitement over artists trying to cultivate the city and bringing more art and culture to the area.

It should just become like wildfire.

If people should be more creative and find more paths for themselves.

So it's really exciting and like I'm hoping I can inspire others to do the same so we can lift each other up.

[light music]