Chloe Cervantes
Artist Statement
I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist, it’s just been this constant goal of mine for as long as I can remember. Through color pencils and crayons and printer paper, I learned how to combine them and create something and put it out to the world. The earliest drawings I can remember making were stick figures, making them look different with hairstyles and clothes. If that alone wasn’t obvious to what I’d be passionate about as I got older, I don’t know what is. Middle school is when I started taking art seriously, but specifically, character design and character art. I began truly learning about how to actually create characters that didn’t look like a mishmash of things I thought were cool, how colors can be used to portray a personality, why turnarounds were so important, and so on.
As I grew and learned, my art skills grew with me, and I was able to open my eyes and mind to the world around me. I am lucky to say that I’ve never truly encountered such negativity about art, but I have seen people who think art is a waste of time if it isn’t a traditional piece that is thought provoking and angsty. I don’t think it’s revolutionary for me to say that‘s wrong. Not all art has to be deep and emotional, art should be allowed to exist as is. Art is allowed to be fun and colorful, artists shouldn’t be limited to dark themes and depressing colors. Maximalism has always been a safety net for me, the busy yet cohesive designs bring a sort of comfort in knowing that people should be allowed to be themselves and express themselves freely, even if it’s energetic and loud. In my experience, that is what art is. Art is freedom and it should not and cannot be limited. As the years pass by and I get older, this lesson will always stick by me, even if I’m mainly doing character design and character art. My art has value in this world and so is the work of any artist reading this right now. I can only hope my love and passion for this subject is seen through what I share with others.
