INTERVIEW What is your art style presently and what do you hope to achieve in the near future?
My style wavers between colorful surrealism and something that I can only call “squiggly” painting. When I started painting in these wiggling, colorful marks, my college friends would always make remarks about me making “squiggles.” If I had my own cubism, it would be called squigglism. (I secretly hope someday I’m known for it). I really like to paint dreamy, semi-realistic portraits as well, but I am leaning into this unique style because I haven’t really seen it anywhere else before.
Who influences your art? Some of my main influences have been Tanya Shatseva, Charmaine Olivia, Noa Knafo, James B Hunt, Ludovic Nkoth, and many others. I promote my artwork primarily through Instagram, which is also where I discovered all of these artists. How do you cope in the 'failing' moments?
I try to keep my creative energy flowing instead of allowing it to stop. Just because a piece is going wrong, doesn’t mean the artist should be stumped. If I seriously need a break from a painting, I’ll do something else: sketch, sculpt, make jewelry, even take photographs or videos. I also remind myself that my best works have taken lots and lots of time, including time apart from the piece. Say, you go to the studio 4 days in a row and take 3 days off. When you come back after a few days off, you have a fresh perspective of your work that you haven’t stared at in a few days. Taking time off from my work can feel like failing, but it actually contributes to my success.
JaamZIN Creative 27