I was encouraged to submit a digital painting in the Fall Art Exhibition at Rail Walk Studios & Gallery in 2022. The subject of my digital painting is a homemade cake browsing other cakes that are store-bought or culinary, the vanilla cake that is looking at the screen is a constituent of modern viewers on social media. I wanted to go about painting with this topic because of my own observations and experiences with social media. 

 

The idea behind the painting was an allegory to the culture of social media users, the longing to be special or wanted. This was also my commentary on the symbiotic relationship between influencers and viewers on social media. Both parties seek a life that’s fulfilling and impactful but find themselves in positions that are neither of those things, and all of it is shrouded behind a screen. My painting was chosen by RCCC to be in the art show, and I received an honorable mention. 

 

Fun fact: the cake that’s featured is one that I made and positioned on my laptop as a live reference. I used my photography skills to achieve the reference that I wanted for the painting.