Aj Diaz; Assignment #2

Of all the amazing artists at Art Walk In, i chose to interview Chello, a painter and photographer studying at Bloomsburg University. Chello tells me her goal in all of her art it to make up for lost time. As she grew up, she was told the art was unnecessary, and that expecting to make a living doing it was out of the question. The term "Starving Artist" was somewhat of a joke to her, as she said "I assumed that being an artist would result in me being broke, so i stayed away from it. Then i got to the point where i was broke, so i figured, why not go for it?"

Of all the mediums and materials Chello uses, her favorite is acrylic paint on canvas. She loves the control she has over it, being able to adjust the texture and consistency. This allows her to mix paints that fit her different needs in each piece she creates. Her inspiration and subject matter come from heavily from her dreams, as well as her children. She also draws inspiration in the beginning processes of a painting. As she starts to brush in the background color, she might see a shape or figure she likes, and works with it.

Having worked along side Chello, my favorite thing about her art is how she boldly tries new things, with no worry or apologizes . She will review the final product, and is very quick to learn from her mistakes. Her obsession with the processes brings comfort to her, she says. In her paintings, the shear size of her works seem to pull you in when you stand next to them, and take full advantage of the space, leaving the viewer consumed by the piece. Much of her photography is rather dreamlike and she utilizes some alternative methods to achieve some very surreal results.