This paper will investigate a departure from representational imagery toward a personal symbolism. A correlation will be drawn between my painting and printmaking in which drawing is the connecting link. The importance of the symbolic idea as opposed to the purely literal representation of an idea will be discussed. My approaches to painting and printmaking will be examined as they relate to the development of personal symbols. Paintings and prints illustrated in this thesis project report will be, for the most part, presented in my graduate exhibition.