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Aimee Salazar explains her connection to creating art

ARTICLE BY LENA NGUYEN • ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF AIMEE SALAZAR • DESIGN BY APRIL NGUYEN

How many people are able to commit to making a new art piece every day for one month? Inktober, a challenge that takes place in October, asks precisely for this. Junior Aimee Salazar has had a passion for art ever since her childhood years, and is one such person who had taken on this challenge. Inktober has helped Aimee maintain consistency in making art, and she now aims to draw everyday or as much as she can in her free time.

Salazar originally took up art around the third grade because of her friends. Seeing them carry sketchbooks around and watching them draw motivated Salazar to do the same in hopes of becoming even closer to them. Salazar often drew things requested by her friends and allowed them to draw in her sketchbook since she loved to have little reminders of them and make them happy through her art. However, art quickly grew meaningful in her life in other ways as well.

“[Art] is an easy way for me to connect with people,” Salazar said. “If I’m really overwhelmed with something, I just start drawing what I feel or whatever gets me excited at the time … then it will help me calm down and feel better.”

Salazar considers her hobby an escape from her problems, but her art also serves as a way to organize and put her thoughts on paper. To her, it is an irreplaceable part of her life: something that she cannot stand taking a break from. Without her form of escape, Salazar found her mental state deteriorating as her mind became “cloudy” and difficult to sort through.

Even so, despite her love and passion for art, Salazar occasionally struggles with loss of motivation.

“For a time, in my old sketchbook, I didn’t touch it for half a year straight,” Salazar said. “Whenever I tried to, I would just be so angry and upset with whatever I made because it wasn’t good enough in my mind.”

When she is unable to replicate her vision in her art, Salazar finds it hard to continue drawing. She feels that what her mind expects and visualizes is above the level of skill she is able to recreate by hand.

Determined to not let this discourage her, Salazar found ways to overcome this internal roadblock.

By splashing color randomly on a page before she starts drawing, Salazar reduces the pressure of making an art piece “perfect.” a a a

“The only way to really get over [this] is to make a mess … That way, the infuriating white page isn’t as intimidating,” she said.

Letting go of expectations isn’t easy for her, but in those times, Salazar feels that drawing based on emotions rather than thoughts makes it manageable.

But regardless of whether she draws by emotions or thoughts, each page of Salazar’s sketchbook is special to her in some way.

“If you pointed out any page in my sketchbook, I could tell you something about the day…or what I was feeling while I was making that piece,” Salazar said.

One recent art piece she has been working on was made to reflect her mental health. Salazar started the painting when her state of mind wasn’t the best and continued it when she felt happier. She is glad to say that the painting is nearly complete now. In addition to using art as a way to express herself and getting rid of all the things filling her mind, Salazar also uses her art as a way to share a part of herself with others.

Salazar has an Instagram art account, started in 2018, and a TikTok art account, started in 2021. Her videos have gained up to 315K views, which Salazar was surprised about, but grateful for nonetheless.

“I love sharing my work with other people,” she said. “If I post it somewhere and I get even just one happy comment … I’ll get super happy and driven for the rest of the week.”

The people surrounding and encouraging her inspire Salazar to continue art and stay motivated. This is especially essential due to all the negative stigma regarding doing art professionally for a living. For Salazar, some of her family members prefer that she does not pursue art, mainly because of the stereotype of “starving artists” — the thought that artists do not make enough income to sustain themselves.

However, Salazar does not let this discourage her. Although she is not yet sure which career path she’d like to take, Salazar believes that there are many options. By practicing a little bit of everything, including animations, character design and much more, Salazar is hoping to first improve her overall skills and see where that takes her.

“[Art] is a very competitive field. You have to have something that people are looking for,” she said. “However, for me personally, I have people who come back every single time I show something and because of people like that, I know that even if my parents don’t think I’m successful, I’ll be okay … It’s just about finding your niche and seeing what other communities you can build off of that.” a a a a a a aa a a a

Salazar’s digital art depicts a scene of a witch visiting a friend’s grave, a concept she came up with after she drew a tree her father challenged her to draw. The scene is meant to symbolize how friendships continue even after death.

Salazar’s digital art, intended to be a “dreamlike illustration,” portrays a girl looking out a window where clouds are coming in. Salazar’s message through this art piece is about welcoming the world into one’s home or personal space, and to encourage others to begin adventures.

Inspired by one of her dreams, Salazar’s digital art depicts a person whose face is concealed from the viewer.