Please help us welcome Laila Van Dyke, our student artist of the month for January. Music, nature, and experiences are the sources that inspire Laila’s creativity. These influences pervade her work. Conceptually, her lived experiences set the tone for the pieces she creates and nature inspires characteristics such as form, composition, and color.
“Conceptually, my lived experience sets the tone for the pieces I create, and nature inspires characteristics such as form, composition, and color. I use music as a tool to remain at peace and focused while I am working.”
In Laila’s biography she writes, “the painting titled Sechsucht was originated in an examination of longing. It then organically transformed into a broader narrative about longing for an unattainable idea. With each layer of paint added to the canvas, it became a reflection of not only personal feelings, but also a magnifying glass through which to critique differing aspects of society, an example being how America’s individualist culture hinders us from great potential. What fuels me as an artist is the grounding focus that painting offers. I find it to be a freeing escape from the bedlam of our modern world.”
To view Laila’s art and read more about her artistic journey, visit the Blue Whole Gallery Mon-Sat 10-5pm.