A: What has your journey to your current artistry been?
A.S.: I’ve loved art since I was a kid. I’d always ask for drawing pads, pencils, paints, and paint brushes for any special occasion that entailed a gift and my family has continued to be supportive of this interest since then. I continued to practice and explore the arts and found a special love for painting and drawing - luckily this was also where my skill was best displayed. I love being able to catch the smaller details with a pencil, and paint the vibrant life I see around me. It’s funny because currently, the majority of my works are from art assignments in college or late high school. Going forward my goal and hope is to really focus on what I want my practice to be, what I want my aesthetic to be, and ultimately what I want my overall “brand” as an artist to build up to.
A: Something I appreciate about your work is how much of you is put into it. As an outside viewer, it is clear the influence of the people and environments around you directly have in your process. What have you found is a substantial and continuous source of inspiration for you?
A.S.: A lot of my inspiration definitely comes from people and nature, which makes it easy to find inspiration basically everywhere I go. I find so much joy in taking walks and people watching and I tend to take a lot of candid pictures of these moments that can later be used as references for paintings or drawings. I think there’s so much to learn and see just by being present wherever we are. More specially, my faith has helped me appreciate how incredible and intentional the world we see around us is. Having that as inspiration for my artwork makes me appreciate the little things much more. Every ray of sun, every bird flying in the sky, every flower dancing in the wind, is all a reminder for me to slow down, be still, and know there is purpose and beauty in everything. Simply put, I think I find my best inspiration when I intentionally “romanticize” life and seek beauty in the mundane.
A: What does your studio practice look like day-to-day?
A.S.: I’m currently a college student and working as a childcare teaching assistant so time for my art varies quite a bit from day to day. Currently, my studio practice is “I paint when I can”. Now that it’s getting warmer I love being outside to paint. Not en plein air (although I’d love to try that) but I’ll set up my easel outside and continue working on some paintings. When I have free time I’ll sketch in a small sketchbook, and sometimes these can be important for future painting. I’ve been trying to build the habit of bringing my sketchbook everywhere I go so I can sketch compositions or ideas before I forget them. My dream is to have a studio space one day where I can spend intentional time creating, but sometimes you just have to work with the time you have.
A: Your work has been created on wood, canvas, paper, and building structures. How has your work as a muralist challenged you? How has your mural work affected how you return to your smaller scale pieces?
A.S.: Although the mural was super fun to do, part of what I think makes my art special (especially my pencil works) is the amount of detail I like to capture. So when painting on a much larger “canvas” I had to adjust to more general suggestions of detail instead of fine, realistic detail. It was a challenge for sure, but in a way I found it fun and even though it was a 120+ hour painting, it felt quicker to do compared to say my pencil portraits. Working on a larger scale made me realize that I may not need as much detail as I normally include in my work for the eye to see something as realistic. In all honesty, I did love coming back to my smaller canvases and being able to draw in all the details I see within a composition. However, I would 100% do another mural if I am ever given the opportunity again.
A: Is this your first time participating in the Keene ArtWalk? If not, how many years have you
participated?
A.S.: This is my first year participating in the Keene ArtWalk as an individual artist. In high school I was able to display select works of mine among other students within a window assigned to our school, but it’s such a special opportunity to have a collection of my artworks be displayed on its own. I’m super thankful and excited!
A: What are you most excited to display at this year’s Keene ArtWalk?
A.S.: As I mentioned before, I’m currently hoping to work on my own brand as an artist. So viewers will see some of my “assignment” work from school among some commission work, but currently I am working on a few pieces that will hopefully lead to a style or aesthetic that I want to continue as my personal and chosen practice. These pieces are meant to be candid snapshots, things that bring back memories, things that spark a feeling of nostalgia. I’ve been having a really fun time finding and painting vintage photos, one being “the boy on the beach”. A painting of a little boy in a lobster shirt that is referencing an image my grandmother took in the summer of 1985.
A: You often play with ideas of memory and nostalgia. Is there a nostalgic piece of media that influenced you as a young artist to your artistry now?
A.S.: I have noticed that the images I chose to create artwork tend to feel nostalgic in a way and I think this is why I want to take my own personal art practice in that same direction. I don’t recall anything art related that sparked this love for memories and nostalgia, but rather printed photos I’ve seen throughout my life. My mother is a huge photo-taker, we have books upon books filled with pictures from me and my sister’s childhood. I've always loved looking through old photos, whether it be of my childhood or my grandmothers, on social media or even a random photo stack at a thrift store. It’s crazy to think that a moment from someone’s life stands still forever within a photo. I think it’s beautiful. I think it’s special beyond words and I guess something in me just said, that’s what I want to capture in my work.
A: One of your pieces I’m most fond of proves the saying you need to keep living in order to create art. Oil on Wooden Panel, inspired by your conversations with Melodie you portray a hand holding cards. French tip nails, two rings, and impeccable details on the cards. What can you say about the process of this work?
A.S.: This painting was an assignment from college a little less than a year ago. Essentially, the only guideline we were asked to follow was to paint a photo in black and white. I enjoyed it because I feel when a photo is in black and white the details seem to pop out more, in turn making it easier to paint. After applying gesso to the wooden canvas and sketching out the image, I began with a red grasile - a type of underpainting that acts as a guide, including values and details within the reference photo that create a “map” for the final painting. Then I mixed up my values, and beginning with the darker shadows I built my way up to the lighter values. It’s a slow process of looking at your reference photo and mimicking the shapes and values you see as best you can with paint and a brush. My last steps, for any piece, includes painting in the darkest values and the highlights - like the sparkles on the rings or the find wrinkles within her fingers. This really brings everything to life.
A: The paintings “You Are My Sunshine” and “Momma” showcase an infectiously positive energy, and an appreciation you have for your mother. How does she continue to impact your work?
A.S.: I’m glad you asked me this question because one of my favorite things to talk about is my mom. She is no doubt one of my biggest supporters and my biggest inspiration. She is a light to this world. The way she lives and has always lived her life is to bring joy to everyone around her. She smiles at every stranger, makes conversation with the one who looks lonely, she's probably thinking about cracking a joke at any given moment and will dance any time she hears music no matter who’s watching. She is exactly who I want to be as I continue to grow up. Not only is she the kindest human, she is an incredible mother. I am endlessly blessed to have people like my parents supporting me and cheering me on through every stage of life. Be it sports, academics, arts, etc., my mother was always the one cheering loudest (I say this extremely literally, ask anyone who knows her). I want my art to bring joy to people, to make them smile, and that thinking process absolutely comes from my mother and the (I’m stealing your work here) infectious joy she has always brought to my family and I’s life.
A: How do you practice self compassion as an artist in moments of burn out, block, or frustration?
A.S.: As much as I love art and I would spend the rest of my days just painting and drawing if I could, there are absolutely some moments when I simply don’t want to do anything art related. Sometimes I can’t get a section of drawing right, sometimes the details of a painting aren’t looking as realistic as I’d hoped, or sometimes I’ve just worked on the same thing for too long. I’m sure many artists can relate to being super self critical and becoming somewhat of a perfectionist and when it comes to creating an artwork that can be frustrating. Because why would you want to show the world something you’re not proud of? Sometimes a piece comes out exactly how you envisioned it but most times it doesn’t. I think I’ve learned that I have to be okay with the “imperfect”. I think I’ve also learned that it’s okay to step back from things even if we love them. It’s important to realize there is more to life than just our hobbies and passions. This life is shorter than we realize, and maybe that’s sad to think about but for me it’s all the reason to be intentional about how we live. When I feel burnt out or blocked, I go to people and places that fill me back up. When it comes to art, I can be so hyper focused on one thing for a good amount of time, but stepping back is a good thing. Taking a walk, having a good conversation, resting, eating a good meal with people you love, reading a book - I hope that everyone has their thing that fills them up. This is what makes life special, I think. I always tell myself that if my ability to create art was taken away… what would fill its place? It is such a joy to be an artist, but sometimes, it’s a gift to focus on just living.
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