ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hi! I am a fourth year college student studying to earn my BFA in Drawing at the University of Florida's College of the Arts with a minor in Art History.
Through my UF and personal work, I'm most interested in exploring gender identity, gender expression and sexuality via the exploration of the human body. I prefer to view my artwork as a collection of souvenirs rather than an exhibition. I enjoy having my work be experienced informally and by everyone, not just those "in the art world." This mindset of sending my art into the public and allowing it to be casually absorbed is what attracts me so heavily to the industries of comics and tattoos.
My work is highly influenced by my childhood love for manga and anime. Growing up with over-the-top manga/anime depictions of romance, violence, and character designs, flamboyance in media became the norm for me. This translated into how I make my work now as an adult. Having a fascination with true crime and psychology has further influenced my work process to allow campiness to interact with more ghastly imagery. Because of this, I define my art genre as "gothic camp."
RODRICK RUANO
Hi, I’m Rick :) I’m a digital illustrator with a BFA in Drawing from the University of Florida’s College of the Arts.
I specialize in figure drawing and sequential art. I consider myself a living collage of my interests: manga, the macabre, gender expression, and the occassional clown. Likewise, my work reflects the same layered sensibility. Across my art, I use the human figure to anchor my exploration of identity, fantasy, and the spaces where beauty and oddity collide. Rather than functioning as a formal exhibition, I approach my artwork as a collection of souvenirs. This philosophy draws me toward comics, animation, and tarot, where storytelling and accessibility intertwine.
Deeply influenced by my childhood love of manga and anime, I grew up immersed in heightened depictions of romance, violence, and character design. Flamboyance in the media became my visual baseline. Combined with a fascination for the macabre and supernatural, my work allows camp to interact freely with the ghastly. As such, I’m particularly interested in projects that explore fantasy, horror, and character-driven narratives across comics, animation, and illustration.