Art Origio

Interview with a female emerging artist from Washington University in Saint Louis

Name the Three main factors that go into making a piece

“The three main factors that go into making a piece are usually lighting, subject, and narrative. For the most part, I try and create a narrative or the potential for one through my figure, its position in space, and the way it’s lit. For this piece I think that is pretty evident because my subject is in a large undefined dark space, but there’s obviously a story or something larger going on since she’s gazing at herself in a large mirror in this ambiguous space. I don’t give away everything that’s happening so that viewers can come to their own conclusions.”

what is your Biggest struggle when it comes to art making?

“Finding the line between too much conceptual support and not enough is very challenging because as an artist you never know how much of the symbolism you’re working with is known to your viewer. Figuring out a middle ground is important so that the narrative is broad enough that many can relate but narrow enough to provide visual guidance and direction.”

What’s the hardest piece you’ve painted, and what did it teach you as an artist?

“The hardest thing I’ve ever painted is a figure moving in a long exposure fashion so there are three blurry figures in one. It was very challenging to translate the photograph to a painting because pixels and pigment behave differently and I had to figure out how to create visual hierarchy so it made sense that there were three figures and to suggest a direction of movement as opposed to just translucent figures. I learned that observation is key and leaving biases about what things look like is critical to having an objective view. With regards to subject matter, aluminum foil was the hardest because it’s so intricate and reflective, but distorting facial features through plastic wrap is also challenging because you have to maintain the general features through the plastic.”

When are you ready to paint?

“There is a lot that goes into creating the painting before paint hits the canvas. Usually, I’ll start by brainstorming a long list of concepts that appeal to different themes I’m interested in or materials I’m interested in exploring. From there I do a couple sketches to picture how I would place my subject in space and what props I’d need to find. Then, based on the concept I’ll choose a friend to be my subject and we’ll do a shoot to get reference images I can use to paint. Then, after my canvas has been primed, I sketch an outline on the canvas and I can start painting. For this painting specifically, I knew I wanted to include a mirror but I worked a bunch with Valeriya (my subject) to figure out the best pose and angle.”

What do you typically paint?

“ I tend to paint portraits of people that range from close up to full body paintings. I’m drawn to dark backgrounds and strong light sources that create a sense of drama and lend themselves to the creation of narrative/story. I’m fascinated by the process of painting/image creating so I’m very focused on rendering details and capturing likeness. I’d describe my art as photorealistic portraiture but in reality, my paintings look quite different from the references I start with.”

What draws you to this type of art, and what do you love about creating it?

“I love to paint familiar faces and capture likeness and emotions present on those faces. I also love capturing the smoothness and luminosity of skin in contrast with different textures and materials. This is more evident in other work where I include plastics or other textures materials. For this piece, I loved creating a sense of vastness and space encapsulating my small figure, but I also really enjoyed making my figure recognizable to viewers. My favorite is when someone recognizes the person in the painting from their everyday life, making it much more relatable.”

Painting to Paint: Understanding A Young Artists Love for Creation

A Reflection on Maya Clark’s Interview and the Development of Her Artistic Voice Spending the afternoon with Maya, I discovered many things about her as an artist and as a log-rolling instructor. It was a Friday afternoon, and the trees were finally fading from green to orange. The sights of autumn did not match the…

by Grace Malley April 23, 2026April 23, 2026