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
 

Finding the Silver Lining

 Finding the Silver Lining

It's been quite some time since I've blogged. A lot has changed, and social media has most definitely changed since my last post. New platforms have emerged, social climates have changed and now AI has entered the chat. What a time! Something that I have come to realize, is that though there have been new developments, a lot has remained the same. With everyone posting the wins, the highs, and the success stories, the struggles and hard times we often go through, seem to be omitted from what we choose to share. That doesn't seem realistic to me. Definitely not relatable; and if anything else, I always want to be genuine and relatable to my audience. 

With that being said, I have a bit of a struggle story that I would like to share. I hope that it inspires someone to see themselves in this story and know that they can have better, be better, and do better in their own respects. 

I used to live in a thriving art city a few years ago back in upstate New York. At the height of my career, I was in school, doing independent projects (solo and group), I was doing TV interviews, showcasing in museums/galleries, you name it. I was active. Life has a way of showing you that it has hands. And they work. VERY WELL. However; it was also at this height of my career that everything changed for me. My husband and I packed up the kids and moved to Ohio. Suddenly, all that activity went away. Not by choice, might I add. We moved and were here for about 2 weeks before Covid shut the world down and quarantines went into effect. Not that it needed to be said, but Covid did way more harm than good. Being isolated from the outside world and having to find a new form of branching out in a new city was damn near impossible. 

Have you ever heard the saying, "Go where you're celebrated, not tolerated."? Well let's just say I'm in an area where I'm barely tolerated, and my current style of art stands ZERO chance at being accepted here. When it comes to art and my love for it, I am by no means a quitter. I may get knocked down a few times, but I always fight back. Me and art have a forever kind of thing going on. So I've made multiple attempts at reaching out to people in the local art scene here. I've attempted to showcase in juried art shows hosted by local museums, contacted the local arts council, etc.. NOTHING!

One instance in particular, was the time i reached out to a local thrift store and offered my services to create a mural for their store to help draw more attention to their place, beautify the area all while getting my name and my work out there for people to see. MARKETING!!! I was told that they needed to discuss it with the owner, and that upon their approval, we could move forward from there. Fast-forward to about a year and a half later, (they completely ghosted me by the way) and that same place is currently prepping their outside wall for a new mural. To say that I was angry when I saw that would be an extreme understatement. 

I was upset because it was like a slap in the face. I wasn't even given the professional courtesy of being turned down. I was just outright ignored. When I talked to my husband about it, I came to the conclusion that, that mural was not MY blessing. It wasn't meant to be the project that would introduce myself to this current art scene. But to say those words, especially when you're in the heart of those feelings, is REALLY hard to do. Because even though I said the words out loud, I didn't believe them in the moment.

The point of the story is, it's okay to feel disappointment. To feel anger, pain etc. You're human and entitled to your feelings. Even the bad ones. It is perfectly okay to feel these things, especially when those feelings are valid. Just be sure to find the silver lining so you can have peace of mind. I know that my time will come when it's meant to. It may not be right now. It may not even happen for me in this area. But that doesn't mean that it's never going to happen for me. In the meantime, I will keep creating new works of art,  I will keep promoting myself to whomever is interested and I will continue to grow. 

That realization has taught me that it has nothing to do with my lack of talent, knowledge or skill; just that I'm in a place where I am tolerated instead of being celebrated. In spite of that, I plan to succeed no matter what. I hope that this encourages you to push through. To persevere and shine brighter than you ever have before. We all have stories to tell. I'm just trying to share mine with the people who truly need and want to hear them.

Keep Creating,

💓-Kareemah S. 

Somethng Old..Something New.. Something Borrowed.. and LOTS of Blue

It's amazing to me how something old, can inspire something new. I love when I'm able to go back and look through some old work that I've done, and find something new in it. Which in turn, ultimately leads to something brand new for me to create. I find that in this process, I am forever evolving and building my own signature style. For instance, look at how this old drawing lead to this new painting in the making...


SOMETHING OLD:

So this was a random sketch I started at work that slowly developed into this full blown drawing of a mermaid face. I did this last year, added color and then completely forgot about it being in my sketchbook. I loved the face, her hand placement, the opacity of her eyes. It was very eerie but beautiful at the same time. I've become known for my "Afro Girls" and I just loved the idea and an underwater afro. I like how even with her being surrounded by water, her hair still holds its shape.

If we're speaking physics, I understand 100% that this is not a possible or believable concept. The water would manipulate her hair n some sort of way. But in my universe, her hair holds its shape so...... yeah lol. Moving on, let's see how she inspired something new.

SOMETHING NEW:

As you can see, I had a few underwater mermaid ideas stem from this original sketch. I love the soft poses. It feels very feminine, very girly and peaceful. My artwork has been coined "fantasy feminism" a few times, so I really wanted to stay true to that. I've researched a few poses a few model references to get these ideas flowing and I just really wanted to stay as close to the original idea and image as I possibly could. So I find it very challenging and rewarding when I can do that and I can see it come out the way I want it to successfully. Now looking back... you can probably see where the "something borrowed" played its part. Let's look at the original image again:

SOMETHING BORROWED:

Okay, so f we look at some of the details, you can see some of the things I kept in the new images going forward. The bubbles n the fore nd background I feel add a very nice touch to the drawing itself. I really struggle with drawing things like water, metals, woods... basically any element lol. Fire I can kind-of pull off but not really. I'm still a work n progress. So the best way I could convey an underwater feel, is to draw bubbles. Another detail I've decided to keep, were the shells and starfish. In the original image, I have them adorned in her hair as accessories. I've done the same going forward. But  also decided to incorporate them as tattoos as well. As  stated earlier, I like the way her eyes look. It's a ghostly film over her eyes but I love it. In the new sketch, you can't really see that because I have her looking down. But I may end up changing some things around in order to keep that detail. And now.... the LOTS OF BLUE!!!!!!

LOTS OF BLUE:

         

Without knowing it, I've somehow used the exact same color palette every time I draw a mermaid. Lots of blues, purples, soft greens and pinks. Very pastel in a way. There is a blue undertone in all the colors I use. So the image gives a cool feeling. from what I've studied in school and in my own personal training, blues, purples and greens are cool colors. Reds, oranges, and yellows are warm. So I tried my best to completely eliminate those colors so as not to confuse the viewer. This painting is still a work in progress. I have a ways to go. But I want you all to take this journey with me. I would eventually like to have a blog with a back story to every image I create from here on out. If you like and support this,  will continue to do so.

Please feel free to comment like and share as much as you like. Visit my other social medias and do the same. I'm everywhere lol. Until next time my lovelies

Love, Peace and Tacos for all

<3

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The Importance of Having A Reason!

Hello my lovelies, and welcome back to another kjartz blog post. Today, in the midst of everything that's going on around me, I would really like to focus and speak on something that is very important to me. I absolutely love being an artist. It's who I am. I live and breathe art. It's such a huge part of my life. A lot of people don't understand me at times. I tend to frustrate people often because of the way I think or see the world.

I see art in everything. I try to find the beauty in everything around me. So I feel like I have a purpose. Like, I was put on this Earth for a specific reason and it circles around art a great deal. So my art has purpose, my art has meaning and I have a reason for creating. I'm not looking for fame. Not looking for fortune either. The most gratifying thing I get out of what I do, is when someone tells me how my art touched them on a personal level. Or if my artwork moved someone to tears. Or even spark a conversation.

Case in point, a while ago, I uploaded a blog about one of my drawings, "Don't Shoot"...

Long story short,  uploaded the drawing to my art page on Facebook. Shared it here as well. Pretty much anywhere I thought I could get it seen. The reaction was so overwhelming. It landed me the cover of my local art magazine (Shout out to Triple Cities Carousel in Binghamton,NY). It also was a hot topic and discussion piece at Mural Fest here in our area. The most BEAUTIFUL thing about Mural Fest, was the togetherness that this piece invoked. A collective group of college students, joined together, and painted MY DRAWING of "Don't Shoot".

Black, White, Asian, Christian, Muslim, Male, Female.... All came together under the unity of a message. Under the unity of my painting. You can't put any price... no amount of fame, or money could touch THAT MOMENT for me. It got press coverage and has since been used in many marches. That is my reason. That is my driving force. The change... the conversation...the actions that took place behind it. People's reaction to such a powerful image. It's the reason why I love what I do and will never stop.

I was given this talent for a reason. It's taking me some time to truly tap into it but I PROMISE YOU I AM WORKNG ON IT. Please continue to support. Please continue to share my work. Please continue to talk about the art. Please continue to SUPPORT THE ARTS. My purpose is to change this world. One piece at a time.

Until next time,
 Love Peace and Tacos

Become a Patron!

Hello my lovelies!!!
  Long time no speak. And we have SOOOO much to speak about. So, since the last time I've been active on my blog, I've been working a corporate job, got engaged (literally 2 weeks away from my wedding day) as we speak. And now I'm an active artist on Patreon. For the longest time, I have been getting asked if I had a patreon account and if not, why don't I have one and when will I be getting one. So, to answer those questions... I currently have a patreon page and am in the works of uploading my first couple of videos.

I know I have been having struggles with my consistency here. But I promise you it was all for a good reason. I needed to work to be able to provide for my family. But being the artist that I am, at the end of the day I was tormented on a regular basis by not being able to create the way I used to. Which lead to depression and lack of enthusiasm and blah blah blah. Nothing you want to hear about I'm sure.

Always a silver lining to every dark cloud, I am now back and 100% focused on my art. I want to host more art shows, get active in the art community again, maybe even do some pop ups here and there. I would love to be able to travel and do art shows as well. With that being said, let me give some more information about my patreon account.

What I started the account for was to be able to gain some sort of income, while doing what I love. Spreading my work around the world, and engaging with followers, fans, art enthusiasts and fellow artists alike. The money that I earn will go towards supplies, recording equipment, better material to give you all quality artwork. I'm still on my journey of self discovery through my art. Patreon will be another avenue by which I can find some sort of career doing what I love.

A lot of things have happened in the time that I've been away. So please expect to see that reflected in my work. As always, I'm open to constructive criticism, opinions etc. I'm really hoping to get your support and feedback on my account. I will be uploading videos shortly. If you would like to become a patron, please use the link below. I look forward to getting reacquainted with you all once again. Until next time, love peace and chicken grease lol..


kj





Become a patron here:


Become a Patron!

Bigger World Out There

Have you ever limited yourself to just one avenue and forget there's a bigger world outside?! I haven't been as active on my Google+ as I was a few years ago, so I've kinda lost touch with some things. It's a slow night at work today. So I decided to back track and look at some of my old work. Just to see how much I've progressed. Happened to visit a few old art groups I used to frequent, and saw some familiar work. Couple of familiar names stood out to me. Names like, A. Stubblefield, Pierre Jean Louis, and JD Baez just to name a few.

I see their work everyday in my facebook art group, League of Extraordinary Artists. I believe I've been so wrapped up in one avenue of exposure, that I've completely ignored everything else outside of it. Like there are other ways of gaining exposure besides facebook. I used to know that. At one point in time I had the common sense and right frame of mind in knowing that there was more exposure outside of one website. I feel like I lost myself in a lot of ways creatively speaking. But to browse through these open groups that I hadn't visited in years, and to see these artists most recent work on display and getting the love that they were getting... I gotta tell you, it really woke me up.

Not sure how many people have been following me and my growth since I first started really coming out and showcasing my talent with the world, but I remember when I was posting new speed videos every week. Multiple videos. I remember when I was painting every single day and on days that I didn't paint, I felt like something was missing or my day was slightly off. It was so routine, not doing it made me feel off balance. I miss that feeling. I want to get it back. I want to be active and social not only in my own group, but in other groups as well. There's so much to see and learn and experience in stepping outside of the familiar.

League of Extraordinary Artists has been so amazing for me. And my team of admin feels more like an extended family. Joyi, Brian, Liz-Anne, Gabi, Darryl, we've grown so much in the short time of this group starting. You guys inspire me every day and I love seeing your work on my feed. I want to be the inspiration to someone else, that you all are to me. So I'm asking my team to stay on me. When I say team, understand that I mean anyone who supports me and my talent. There are a few of you out there who have believed in me since day one and continue to push for me every single day. I see you and I appreciate you.

Blogging will occur more often, videos will be uploaded more often. Live streams will happen more often. And live events HAVE to happen more often for me. I need to get out in the public eye again. More festivals, more community events, more art shows, more pop up galleries. I'm awake now. Took me some time... But I'm up.

This is a Dud!

Ok so have you ever started working on a project, and stopped and thought to yourself, "Where have I seen this before?" Any of those situations end in the place you seen it before was your OWN damn portfolio?! The level of frustration I'm feeling right now.... so unreal. Like I want to scream into a pillow or something.

So last night, I was at work. Sundays are usually our slow days so I have enough time to work on some sketches. I got the sketch done, started working on the coloring and realized I've done this drawing already. And it looked a lot better the first time. I work so much I honestly feel like I'm creatively tapped out at the moment.

I try to keep my focus on my first love at all times. Even when I'm sitting behind a desk and working for 9 hours. I don't ever want to feel like my art or even my LOVE for it has to be placed on the back burner. I guess what my question is, is how do you balance it all out. How do you balance working to support your family, squeezing in quality time with your family when you can, getting yourself taken care of and keeping your true passion prevalent in your life?! How do you balance all this out at the same time?

If you have any tips or ideas, please feel free to leave a comment below. Let's link up. Let's connect. Let's help one another build. I apologize for the short blogs lately. I truly have been trying to get back on track with things. Hopefully more time will start to allot itself and I can post more quality blogs for you. Again, post your comments below and let's get a conversation started. Until next time. Take care luvs.


<3 Karii J.