Project: Growth

 This collection didn't get the attention, nor the promo that I feel it truly deserved. Truth is, what happened to it, is the same thing that happens to ALL my artwork that I create in my most vulnerable moments. I consider it an accomplishment that I got it out and put it into a visual piece, share it on social media and then move on to the next. I discard pieces of my soul so easily. That's essentially what my art is... Pieces of my soul.

But I don't want to do that anymore. I'm no longer hiding these works and keeping them to myself. If you don't tell your story, how will history know you were here? -💓KS

'Til Death Do Us Part

'Til Death was inspired by a watercolor painting that I saw on Pinterest. It was so beautiful but it was very haunting at the same time.

I took my time thinking about how I wanted to recreate it in my way, telling my own story. Here, I wanted to tell the story of my relationship with art.

The paintbrush piercing my vocal chords, is meant to be a visual representation of how I allow my art to speak for itself. How I allow it to speak for ME. I'm not much of a talker, and art speaks a language that I understand. The visible tear, is a representation of my emotions and passion that I pour into my work and how I go about creating said work. I put blood sweat and tears into all that I create.

This is honestly one of the first drawings I had done in a long time that I was truly proud of. I feel as though I earned the right to be able to say I had so much pride in this piece. I went on quite the journey during the process of creating 'Til Death. A lot of self-awareness, acknowledgement, and realization took place here. 

Tethered

Tethered is my personal favorite from this collection for many reasons. One main reason is the hands. I struggle with drawing/painting hands so much, I usually look for clever ways to conceal them, just so I won't have to bother with them. These, however, turned out way better than I expected them to.

I'm very proud of myself for sticking with it and working on them until I was satisfied with the results. Tethered is a visual of my connection to art using The Red String Theory. I think it's such a cool concept and it gives me the feeling that my talent, my goals, my passion, everything; it's all connected to me by way of my invisible and unbreakable red string. It might get tangled every now and then, but it'll never break. I was inspired by a photo of BTS's Kim  Namjoon 💜 to work the string throughout my fingers. Yet again, another way at challenging and pushing myself. 

Silent Battles

Silent Battles is the most vulnerable of this entire collection. My nerves were so bad when I was working on this one. It almost brought this collection to a complete stop. It is no secret that I battle with anxiety and depression. I make it known and I am not ashamed of it. If I don't speak on it or bring attention to the fact that it's real and not something trendy, it will continue to be just that, something that people find trendy or popular to have for the moment. Silent Battles is the piece that shows the internal conflict of having to deal with a storm while keeping a calm outer appearance. Many times I've had to do just that. Keep a smile on my face or remain cool and level headed, all the while, internally, I'm sinking into an abyss and fighting desperately to claw my way out of it. I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness. If I can use my artwork to help bring even more awareness to it, then maybe I can be a part of the solution to get control of it. I don't have to be at the forefront of the movement, but I pray that my work at the very least, sparks the fire in the ones who will be. 

I Eat Those

Meant to be a continuation of Silent Battles, I Eat Those is the other side of the storm. Not only did I recover from the previous battle wounds, but I also acquired more and wiped them away as if they were nothing. Like I said before, life has hands, and they work! But I have hands too, and  I will ALWAYS fight back. 

My hope for this collection is to motivate any and all who come across it. I hope that it makes you want to fight your adversities. I hope that it makes you look at your obstacles and laugh at them because you know what you possess and the power that you hold. I hope that it makes you dare to dream and then go after them full force!

-💓KS