An Alternate Form of Expression

Throughout my entire life’s span, the fine arts have been the bones supporting my body just as creativity has been the blood flowing through my veins. I have always felt the need to create and imagine. As a shy and introverted person, I tend to retreat from society and quietly observe, relying on my pencil to act as my voice. As I’ve developed my artistic abilities, I’ve learned to communicate through art and allow others to glimpse within my mind. This level of understanding has intrigued me and motivated me to continue pursuing the arts. I have chosen to pursue a course in the arts because it has been an inseparable and valuable presence within my life.

As early as I can remember, I was filled with an urge to express my imagination and to share with others the visions from my mind. At six years old and in first grade, I began to write lengthy stories telling tales of fantasy and myth. Illustrations accompanied my words, completed in pencil and crayon and designed much like a children’s storybook. These stories gave birth to the worlds, creatures, and characters that I had begun to discover and allowed others to meet them, as well. I enjoyed sharing what I envisioned and receiving positive feedback from my peers.

As the years progressed and I entered my middle school years, new stories emerged as older stories evolved. The characters and creatures I created became real to me as if I knew each of them personally. I allowed the characters to begin expressing my feelings and emotions, as I began to draw from the passion in my heart, not only from the images in my mind. At this time I began to search for other artists and gravitated towards those who expressed great emotion through their work, such as Culpeo Fox, (http://culpeo-fox.daportfolio.com/.) These artists introduced me to a broad range of traditional media and to a completely new medium: digital art. Discovering these artists motivated me to challenge myself and leave the safe and familiar realm of crayon and to begin taking my art more seriously.

By high school, my skills had improved greatly and colored pencil had become my new traditional medium of choice. I had purchased Adobe Photoshop and a digital tablet allowing me to enter the world of digital art. My writing had also improved as I joined a writing club within my school and would compose stories often. I still relied on my created characters to express my emotions and became extremely dependent on my art when I experienced difficult trials in life.

As graduation neared, I found myself heavily challenging myself in both writing and drawing. Both of my abilities brought me to competitions and helped me win medals, trophies, and highlights in the school newspaper. I had even begun profiting from my artwork and really experiencing where the fine arts could take me. With a new vision for what art could be, I began to admire new-found artists that worked in digital art, in particular, a medium I have yet to conquer. Katarzyna Redesiuk, (http://www.redesiuk.com,) and other artists have motivated me to push my art further, to develop my backgrounds more, and to aim for a more realistic approach.

As my senior year of high school started I found myself staring at a college application with two check boxes in front of me. Did I want to pursue a life in the arts or a life in writing? Ultimately, I chose to become an art major and to continue challenging myself within the arts. After checking the box and submitting my application, I was accepted into Texas State University, where I am currently pursuing a degree in art education.

As I progress through college, my skills continue to improve as challenges are overcome and lessons are learned. I have seriously been working on improving my knowledge of anatomy and realism in the last few years and have relied heavily on photo reference and photography, in general, as inspiration. Photographers such as Manuela Kulpa, (http://www.erblicken.com,) allow me to view what I would otherwise not see on my own and give me the chance to study and develop my talent further. Through photographs, I am able to count the number of teeth within a lion’s mouth and notice the way the scales embrace the body of a fish. Still progressing through college courses, I continue to seek out these inspirational artists and photographers from whom I can learn.

I have chosen to pursue a life in fine arts because art is one of my primary languages. Through art, I am able to express my thoughts and feelings and able to share the visions from my mind. Art has been a loyal companion, a stable support, and a challenging mentor guiding me throughout my life and continuing to challenge me to succeed.