Allie Coldwell

Artist Statement

 

     My fellow art community, my name is Allie Coldwell and I’m a Fine Arts Major at Benedictine University in Mesa, AZ. You may ask why I chose to be a Fine Arts Major. She must have a knack for art, maybe painting, and probably a perfect sketch artist. For me, that’s not the case. I’ve never been particularly great at art from elementary school through high school. I would get bored painting for more than five minutes and the thought of drawing when I was younger repulsed me. The only real art that I have loved and still do is architecture and design. I wanted to become an architect and build homes and buildings. Frank Lloyd Wright is my greatest inspiration. Business was my first major, who knows why, but it was. After a very miserable year of doing that, I decided to change my major to Fine Arts. I figured it would be easy and simple, but boy was I wrong! Drawing 1 & 2 plus figure drawings was the toughest assignment I had been challenged by to date. I struggled with Painting 1 and couldn't take it; Painting 2 was a little better but I still found it quite difficult. Plus, with all the side classes that were mandated, I thought I might lose my mind. But then along came Studio 1, where I begin to feel my inner artist emerge; started to gain structure and confidence, and I was finally taking off. After taking three studio classes my artistic perspective has completely changed and now, I can appreciate art for what it is and not for just the visual component.

​

Who inspires me? Each artist can tell whom they're inspired by or if they have a Muse. My inspiration comes from a variety of different mediums and perspectives. I generally will use Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to spur an idea or a random thought. On Instagram, I find people who are well-versed in Lightroom Adobe software and learn how they take and edit photos. This has helped me immensely, I’m now so much more comfortable with my photography skills. One of the people who has inspired me the most about photography is my best friend, Emily Yerge. She has not only helped with the technical aspects of cameras but my photography skills as well. Whenever I might have a question or an issue arises, she always has an answer or just a great response. I admire her for her experience, truthfulness, and willingness to always support me. Another person that has greatly inspired me is Angel. She has assisted and supported me so much with learning how to shoot and edit sports photos, which is a very different skill set. Often, I will send my ideas to Angel, and she will always give me honest feedback on my completed projects. I respect Angel because she will always urge me to take photos that might be out of my comfort zone and helps me to envision what the possible photographic outcome might look like. These two mentors are the reasons I have fallen in love with photography and that passion grows with every picture I take. 

​

My art is more than photography, it’s a combination of mixed media. I do collages and abstract art as well. My favorite artists are Salvador Dali and Takashi Murakami. I feel that both artists are personally undervalued and each one is very special and unique in their way. Another artist from whom I gather a large portion of my ideas is Jean-Michel Basquiat. His art is mostly abstract and chaotic artwork. The faces he painted, and the amazing line color work were shocking to me. Most of my charcoal and paint markers paintings are inspired by the immense influence that he had on the art world. For me, I feel free and have very few restrictions when I’m creating a piece of art that is similar to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s.

My amazing Professor “Mr. Toole”, has pushed me to do more, work smarter, work harder, and in his words “needs more shit”, and that’s what I do, I add more stuff to my art.

​

     Art is a mixture of highs and lows. Some people are gifted with an eye for art; it sometimes takes a little longer for others. I am in the other's category. Throughout my years at Benedictine University, I have taken numerous classes including Painting 1&2, drawing 1&2, graphic design, and many others. None of these classes were easy for me. I had a rough time with drawing and painting and just never felt very comfortable with it. When I took my figure drawing class my professor noticed that I was “making happy mistakes,” that I didn’t know. I began to do more and more abstract work as time went on. Then I signed up for studio 1, a game changer! My professor didn’t tell me what to create he just let me be free and pave my way. For a while, I didn’t know what I would do and had a rough time determining what is considered “good art”, and how to balance that with what I wanted to create. Then the collage style fell right out of the sky and landed in the artist's lap. Some challenges came with this type of art, but I truly loved playing with photographs and incorporating paint markers as well. I found a pattern and used that as a basis to create my style which includes the use of chalk. Using chalk gave me the freedom to create whatever I desired and have very little to no restrictions. This type of art challenged me; should I add more chalk or not; just when I think it was finished, I add more chalk.  After a while, I decided to try my skills at line work. Using paint markers, the painting or the figures can appear to pop out, this type of art is generally appealing to most people as it catches their eyes right away. This is my favorite type of art to make and gives me a new perspective. By far my biggest challenge as a Fine Arts Major was having the confidence to do my art and try not to compare myself with other artists. Now that I’m a senior I feel that I can take on any type of challenge and enjoy the process of learning and adapting to my style.

​

     If you asked me why I picked to be a Fine Arts major 4 years ago I would say “It’s an easy major” and that was it, nothing more. I never thought that I would get to the point where I am now with my art. With the help of my professors, they built me a path and guided me to the place I am now; where I can be confident and creative at the same time. People have different opinions about art, saying it's boring, that’s not art, and I can make that. They can have those opinions and I used to be one of them. Now, in hindsight, I can see art from a different perspective and enjoy learning about its history, culture, and diversity. Art means more to me now than ever, and I’m truly grateful to say that. Now you’re probably wondering, what are my goals? What am I going to do with this major? Well to be honest I’m still figuring all that out. I would love to keep making art as a side hobby and hopefully be successful at it. My goals are small right now but as time moves on, they will get larger, and I know without a doubt that my art will continue to play a major role in my life.