Hello! My name is August and I am a queer, neurodivergent, 21 year old illustrator who uses Ze/Zir pronouns. I create vibrant acrylic paintings with embroidered embellishments to add texture and a tactile element to the work. I am drawn to paint childlike or dreamy subject matter in what I feel is a subconscious attempt to recapture the happier naive outlook I had as a child. I am often inspired by memories such as having tea parties as a kid with my grandma, and things I enjoy in my day like looking out at power lines and hanging out with my cat Boo. I take formal inspiration from modern day surrealist artists and the online aesthetic trend Dreamcore, which appropriates visually bright and cheery imagery to process childhood trauma. I am also influenced by the visible mending movement which I often use to visibly repair my closest friends clothing along with my own as I find the act of fixing broken objects a healing process. I have recently started to incorporate this into my paintings alongside the embroidery, as this seemed like next logical step. In my most recent painting I have cut and torn the canvas and begun to repair it by stitching it back together and adding patches, with plans to incorporate darning as well. While repairs are often meant to be unnoticeable I wish to highlight the beauty of the act of mending.