What is your primary medium?
I don't really have one. I call myself a painter. But I'm a painter and a drawer because in every single piece I use charcoal, acrylic, paint pens, spray paint. So I'm kind of a mixed media artist, but I refer to myself as a painter.
How long have you been doing art?
I've been doing art my entire life. I was always that kid who was drawing in the art contests in school and stuff like that. But I really started diving in pretty seriously when I was 14. So the summer before high school, both my parents worked, I have significantly younger siblings, they were babies. I was home all summer babysitting them and I just started painting literally every single day and fell in love. Even though I was already really artsy, that's when I really started painting and now it's my entire life.
Where does your motivation to work come from?
I think it's a survival mechanism for me. I'm the most myself when I'm creating. So for me, if I'm not painting, and I'm not making things, then what am I doing? It helps my mental health. So for me, I guess it's not so much a choice or having a drive to do it. It's like I have to do it in order to be myself and to be my happiest self.
How has having space changed your ability to create?
I work really big so having a large space to be able to spread out has really been a game changer for me. I was working out of a bedroom. I had switched around my entire apartment so that my bedroom was just my art studio and most of that space was just storage for paintings. Now, having an entire series spread out so I can look at every single piece as I’m working on it, and work on them piece by piece has really been a game changer. I feel like this space hasn't even reached its full potential yet so I'm really excited to have a space and excited for the future of this space.
Where do you get your inspiration for your work?
My inspiration for my work comes from my life really, and what's going on in the world. It might look like it's just a beautiful piece of art but really there's deeper meaning behind every single piece. I also find a lot of inspiration from music. Music is a huge part of my life, especially hip hop music, which is actually how I kind of got started within the art scene, was creating hip hop portraits and is still something I do today.
Did you go to school?
I went to Boise State. I just have an associate's degree. I was doing art through them but I became increasingly frustrated with the art program and felt really stifled creatively while I was in school. I felt like I was putting my heart and soul into these assignments and then I'd show up and I would have these amazing pieces of work but I wasn't getting any feedback from other students. I created really great relationships with my teachers, but ultimately I didn't feel like I was getting what I needed and I was so stressed out and my mental health was terrible. I ended up leaving school and started working part time but then I started pursuing art full time. My parents were really supportive of it because they were like, “Alright, if this is what you want to do, then then do it.” So I'm really, really lucky that my parents supported my decision to not stay in school and to do art, which is kind of crazy. Sometimes I think about going back and finishing my degree because maybe I'm more mature and I might see the value in it now, but I wouldn't be where I am and I wouldn't have the art that I have if I had stayed in school. But I did learn a lot while I was there.
Are you able to support yourself with your art?
No, not currently, I have at different times of my life just done art full time. Within the last year I moved back to Boise and I've just kind of been pursuing more serious pieces and more high quality pieces. I can create a piece of art and sell it. That's not hard for me to do. But creating a piece of art that means something and that says something and that's going to be impactful, that takes time. I kind of took away the financial element for myself where I was like, I'm not going to put the pressure on this, I'm not going to tell myself “You have to make money with this right now. What you need to do is to make good art and the money will come.” So that has been my focus for the last year and a half.
So why is art important?
Art is so important because it connects us. It's a universal language. You can say so much by not saying anything at all. By showing somebody your favorite song or sharing your favorite book, or showing a painting. For me, how I communicate is through art. So that's why it's important.
Has COVID changed the way you work?
You know, honestly, COVID has changed a little bit how I work. It's brought me back to what's important. I think as an artist you kind of get caught up in your head about, I'm so isolated. I was already having to isolate myself and tell people, “I can't go out”, “I can't do things because I need to paint” or “I need to create” and there was always that pressure. With COVID it kind of took that pressure off me so I've been able to focus more on my art and honestly, I've been able to focus on what's important and what I'm trying to say in terms of my art. So I think in that way, it's been good for me.I haven't felt so alone through COVID because I've had my art. So COVID has impacted the way I create, but it's been more positive I think for me personally, just because I've been able to isolate and I've been able to focus on my work, rather than worry about if I'm missing out on anything.
Are there opportunities you've had in Boise you haven't had elsewhere?
I had a really great opportunity to show art at the Capitol building a few years back. I also got to speak on the importance of mental health and asking for help and how art has saved my life, whether it's music or painting. How my mental health has been directly impacted by art and how it saved me. So I think that was a really great opportunity I got in Boise that I don't think I ever could have gotten anywhere else because I was a Boise native and I was speaking about art and I was on a grand platform and I was able to make a difference, because I'm such a huge advocate for mental health. So I think for me, that's probably the best opportunity I've ever had.
Do you think art is something you'll ever stop doing?
I don't think art is something that I can ever stop doing. I think about it almost weekly where I'm like, oh, should I even be doing this? What am I doing? Is it worth it? And the answer is, yes, of course it's worth it. This is what this is what makes you, you. This is what keeps you alive. So I don't think I'll ever stop making art because I can't. It's everything I am and it's who I am.