Artist Appreciation Project Pt.1

Not too long ago, I was given an assignment to work on an artist appreciation project, where I would honor artists who I look up to and gain inspiration from. I was immediately tuned in once my professor started giving us the details and requirements for the assignment. I've always wanted to be able to do something where I could praise OTHER artists in MY style. So this was the perfect opportunity.

Granted that recently, I've had a lot of other things going on around me, I take pride in the fact that I remained determined to stick to this project. For those of you who don't know, I am no longer a student with AIPittsburgh. For too many reasons than I care to get into, let's just say that I wasn't willing to conform MY style to what THEY thought was artistic in order to get a degree. But I digress....

So even though it was no longer REQUIRED of me to complete this assignment, I still wanted to complete it. For personal satisfaction more or less. Like I stated before, as soon as the assignment was brought to my attention, I was hooked! I knew EXACTLY what artists I wanted to honor and how I wanted to go about portraying each one. The first of the artists that I wanted to highlight was Keenan Chapman.

Now I just happened to stumble upon Mr. Chapman through a Facebook post where one of his paintings was featured on a page. I thought his work that was shown was awesome. So curiosity got the better of me and I decided to click on his profile to see more of his work. Trying to find a single word to sum up his style is damn near impossible. Everything from his use of color to his unique brush strokes is enough to keep you wanting to see more. I became even more into his work once I watched a speed painting that he did of Bob Marley... You can see it here:

Another thing that I admire about Keenan is what some people may find funny but I think it's awesome. Have you ever looked at a person and the first word that comes to your mind is art?! THAT'S WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR ME! To be able to look at a person and just see art! That's amazing. I admire the fact that he's such a spiritual and socially conscious person. Which is something that I believe adds so much character and depth to his works of art. You can actually feel something when you look at it. Artwork that invokes emotion shows what a true artist is.


Here is MY interpretation of one of my favorite photos of him along with an artist appreciation video created by yours truly:

To close out this blog entry, I would like to state this:

As an artist there is absolutely nothing more humbling than to know that not only is your work appreciated and admired, but also that YOU as the person behind the art is admired and appreciated as well. So be sure to show a fellow artist your appreciation today. Support the arts and the people who help to bring them to life.

Until next time...

Keep Creating,

<3 Karii J.