Kayla Andreano:

sweet sixteen

My name is Kayla Andreano, I'm 16, born and raised in Colorado, and I'm an Artist. Every since I can remember, I have wanted to be an artist, I guess I was one all along.  When I was little, I thought being an artist, meant being grown up, but I think every child starts out as an artist.  While growing up, I was always drawn to art.  My mom told me that when I first started painting,  my style was very abstract.  But that when I started kindergarten, and saw my art wasn't normal, I started painting trees and flowers like all the other kids.

I can remember at 6, seeing a professional art studio for the first time and being utterly amazed by it.  My Mom said I would ask to see it again and again and that after that, I started selling my art off the sidewalk for 10 cents a painting. When I was 14, I got my first canvases, and started painting landscapes. It had no meaning to me, and I never really enjoyed it. Until one day, I LET myself paint what I truly wanted, and my style came out. Last Spring, I tried oil paints, and I don't know how I ever lived without them.  My style is still very new to me.  I have only painted 12 paintings so far, and with each painting, I learn something new. I usually sit down and scribble my painting out on paper.  I pre sketch most of my paintings, and draw it the canvas with soft charcoal, but usually I end up adding a lot more as I paint. Why I do this is because an average painting takes me 5-10 hours to paint.  When I scribble things out, it's fast, and I'm able to draw parallel with my thoughts. I choose the colors I use as I paint.  I usually start with the color that best goes with what I'm expressing on the canvas, and then I go from there.

As for my subjects, sometimes my art comes from experiences I've had. In most cases, I imagine my subjects.  I always put a lot of hidden meaning and symbolism into my paintings.  I use painting as a tool, because I can convey whatever I choose through painting and definitely through my style. There are things that can be expressed perfectly through a strange looking hand, that can't be expressed even remotely as clear in any other part of life.

I can't really say that my art has been influenced by anyone. I haven't taken lessons, and I've been painting like I do long before I saw anything like it.  I'm glad, because I don't want to be influenced.  My art is from my own mind, and soul.  My ultimate goal, when it comes to my paintings, is to create from canvases and globes of paint, paintings that have their own energy and meaning. I want my art to make people think about life.

A big inspiration to me is that what I express through my paintings, can be perceived so differently by others.  I believe that art has a infinite amount of meaning, and it shouldn't be restricted.  I don't think it's possible for someone to ask an artist what their artwork means, because they could only tell them what it means to them.

Next Winter,  I'm going to Boston to paint a mural inside of an office building that houses a large computer firm.  It's my first big happening as an artist and I'm very excited about it.  In the future, I plan to continue painting and perfecting my style.

Kayla Andreano
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