Art has always been part of my life and now, at age 16, art inspires me to look at the world differently, be it from someone else’s view or my own skewed picture of reality. Ghostly people, people who are alone and secluded often find their way into my pieces, people who are taken aback, not participating, but just observing life.
I feel lucky when I am having an inspired streak, as if I have made a statement, and said what I wanted to say. When I create a piece of art, it gives me something to show for the person I am, in a way, that piece represents a part of me, or an aspect of me.
I am satisfied with a piece of art when it is original, and when I get the look that I am after. Often, I sit with a piece for a few days before deciding if it is complete or not. Sometimes, after a couple of days, I will decide a piece is awful, and paint over it, or take it into an entirely new direction.
At a young age I began taking art lessons from two phenomenal artists. Although they both taught me classic techniques they also encouraged me to find my own style. Since I have been home schooled all my life, I have had a lot of time to solely focus on things I was interested in. Growing up making art as I did, there was no one to tell me that I was doing it wrong, and that concept really molded who I was as an artist.
Every time I’d discover a new medium I would find a way to incorporate it into the styles I already knew. I was never afraid to glue an old picture on a canvas and then paint over it, scribble over it with a sharpie, or whatever it took to get the look I wanted.
I love to work with my fingers and my hands, I have always been a tactile person, in this way I am able to be more connected to my art. My art always has many steps and stages. For example, I will take a scissors and scratch up a back ground, distress it in other ways, splatter paint on a finished piece, crumple paper before gluing it on, use many layers of paint, different papers and glazes. I use a lot of red and yellow. I find yellow to be a big inspiration, I like the transparency and the possibilities of that transparency—yellow is translucent, but at the same time very vivid. I love to use bright, bold primary colors. Textures make their way into my art through different papers, glazes, found objects, etc.
I hope the inspiration to make art will always stay with me. For as long as it does I will continue meet my muse half way.
