Rachel Christina - 18 years old
The work I create is reflective of me: always changing, always new. I love getting out of my comfort zone and using new media or subject matter to elevate my work and be parallel to my interests at the time. I also love stories and metaphors which I use heavily in all my art pieces to further showcase my ability as a storyteller and thinker. I aspire to be an artist that creates work that has vivid stories intertwined with whimsical artistry in order to fully capture my love of art and my love of sharing ideas. If I can make one person think long and hard after seeing a painting of mine, I’ll have done my job. |
My art process has always been to go with my gut. The ideas and inspiration for all my art is already within me, I just need to gather my thoughts and ideas on paper to implement them into a successful painting. I am inspired through mythology and stories from novels or film but am also struck with ideas about the world and how I grapple with it as a teenage girl. My interests are constantly changing and my knowledge ever expanding so I have to jot down all ideas that correlate with the phases I’m in at the time and craft them into solid, concrete sketches for a painting I will do. This means my art takes only a few weeks to finish but a plethora of ideas are constantly racing in my mind. I am currently focusing my attention on mastering oil paint but have also used acrylic, collage paper, and digital art in the past. The use of new media keeps me on my toes and constantly challenging myself as an artist. I never want to fall into a cycle of what I’m good at because that isn’t how one becomes great.
My work grew out of my love of learning. I started out learning where I am from. As an Indian immigrant, I want to expand my knowledge on my culture and background which is reflective of my art series Displaced. I grappled with the labels immigrant, Indian, American, and foreigner for years. I never felt like I belonged in one place as I am split down the middle between India and America. I reflect these struggles in the story of my series Displaced as each one reflects issues with my culture that I and many others suffer with. I then created art based of my constant phases of interests which led to work that was unique and exploratory. I challenged myself constantly and I created intricate backstories for each painting I made. I dabbled in astrology, films, and novels which in turn sparked ideas in me that made me want to express them in my work. I want others to appreciate the work I’ve done for the risks I’ve taken, their meaning, and their overall aesthetic appeal. When I finish each painting I feel an itch to create something even more grand than before, something that makes my heart race and makes me want to stay up late creating something magical.
My work grew out of my love of learning. I started out learning where I am from. As an Indian immigrant, I want to expand my knowledge on my culture and background which is reflective of my art series Displaced. I grappled with the labels immigrant, Indian, American, and foreigner for years. I never felt like I belonged in one place as I am split down the middle between India and America. I reflect these struggles in the story of my series Displaced as each one reflects issues with my culture that I and many others suffer with. I then created art based of my constant phases of interests which led to work that was unique and exploratory. I challenged myself constantly and I created intricate backstories for each painting I made. I dabbled in astrology, films, and novels which in turn sparked ideas in me that made me want to express them in my work. I want others to appreciate the work I’ve done for the risks I’ve taken, their meaning, and their overall aesthetic appeal. When I finish each painting I feel an itch to create something even more grand than before, something that makes my heart race and makes me want to stay up late creating something magical.