Today we’d like to introduce you to L Janelle.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Ever since I was young I have been involved with many forms of art including dance, choir, and playing instruments but visual art has always stuck with me since I was about three years old. I remember in elementary school getting stickers of my favorite cartoon characters and drawing them on a larger scale so I could have posters to hang up in my room. I continued to take art classes all throughout middle and high school which led me to fall in love with creating even more. I don’t think I had a distinct voice or point of view then, but during my time in high school, I got a chance to experiment with oil paint which became my medium of choice for years to come. At this time I was hesitant about using a material that seemed so out of reach and scary, but I loved using oils even if the final work was not extraordinary. Creating any and everything brought me joy.
However, once I went to university out of state, I did not involve my self with art very much. I did not major in a creative field nor did I really create much meaningful work. In fact most people I went to university with had no idea I loved art as much as I do. Sometimes I look back and want to kick myself for not keeping up with my work but not being involved with art in a direct way allowed me to expand my depth and breadth of knowledge outside of the typical art canon.
Once I graduated and moved back home, I decided I wanted to pursue art more seriously and have been experimenting ever since. I still primarily oil paint but I also use other traditional media like gouache, colored pencil and ink. Lately, I have also been trying out recycled materials like plastic, fabric, and really anything else I find interesting. It’s been really fun challenging myself to think outside of what I have normally thought of as “art.”
Please tell us about your art.
I like to think of my work as mini reflections of myself. Sometime these may be literally physical depictions other times they are emotional responses. I reflect upon self-identity a lot and try to express this in my work. I find it interesting how we as humans like to categorize our selves into different groups based on physical appearance, culture, religion, etc. These categorizations can be useful, harmful, and sometimes pointless. Nonetheless, I find it to be fascinating. I also depict the people in my life especially the black women that have influenced me. As a black woman myself I have shared experiences with them, and yet we are all so vastly different with an endless amount of goals, struggles, and triumphs. I want to show the diversity of these women in my work.
Each person that experiences my work may end up with differing messages. Everyone comes with their own biases and taste levels so there can be an open-ended amount of messages a person receives when viewing my work. In fact, people have had opposite interpretations of what I initially intended the message to be, and I think that’s always interesting and at times, insightful. I hardly ever tell people the full meaning or context of what I create because I want them to have their own perspectives. I think it’s still important to be informed about the work while still being able to draw your own conclusions.
All in all, I do hope people enjoy looking at my work and walk away still asking questions or wanting to know more about the theme depicted or simply the materials or technique used. Art has always been a great learning tool for me, and I hope my work is a learning tool for the audiences viewing my work.
Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
I do not think the role of the artist has changed much actually, but I do think the specific issues artists address have changed. Artists have always inserted social commentary and critique into their work. Many images that some view as pretty to look at were revolutionary when they were being produced. However, I think we are in a unique time for artists to address social issues. We consume so much information 24/7, and everyone has an opinion on everything including creators.
In my work, I address mostly the concerns of black people in the United States specifically those surrounding race, gender, and sexuality. I have always been influenced, even outside of making art, by the black women in my life and my neighborhood of Third Ward. So my local community has had the most profound effect on my creations. As I have gotten older, I have been able to travel more which has expanded my horizons. Each country I have visited has multiple unique cultures within them, and I have been able to relate issues in these foreign places to issues I face at home.
All in all one of my goals as an artist is to affect my community in a positive manner while inserting more nuanced images and ideas of black people into the art world.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I currently have work with the Collectors Club at Project Row Houses and at Texas Southern University, both located where I grew up, Third Ward! I’ll also be showing my work at Hardy and Nance Studios for a show called “Art Flow III” on March 9th. For future shows and exhibitions, you can follow me on Instagram and Facebook. I’m also open for commission so check out my website ljanelle.com to get an idea of what I create. It serves as a portfolio of my work, and I plan on creating an events section so people can keep up to date on places I’ll be showing.
Contact Info:
- Website: LJanelle.com
- Email: ljanelleart@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ljanelle
- Facebook: facebook.com/ljanelleart
Image Credit:
All images courtesy of the artist
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