I am a painter, muralist, educator, graphic designer, and writer with over 25 years of experience. In my art practice I focus on overlooked individuals and histories in portrait paintings that express stories through figure, clothing, textile patterns, environment, and cultural symbols. As an Asian American immigrant and artist of color, I am interested in reflecting the power and dignity of immigrant communities—very often not represented in public art. These lives usually fly under the radar, and in recent months our immigrant communities have faced extreme difficulty, often justified by precedents established during the Chinese Exclusion Era. Consequently, I have been painting large portraits on canvas of Asian Americans from historic 19th-20th century court cases whose outcomes have outsized impact on our present. These speculative portraits offer a tender gaze to individuals facing challenging circumstances with dignity and determination. My most recent street-level mural on the storefront of Mitsuru Grill and Sushi in Little Tokyo was commissioned after recent downtown protests, which caused many businesses to board up their windows. In collaboration with the owner, I created eight-feet-high, quarter-body acrylic paint portraits of his father and two sisters, looking directly at passing foot and vehicle traffic. It is the only business that has kept its plywood boards up, demonstrating that my work can contribute dynamism and vitality to a commercial environment.