Artopsy: Aria Fawn

ARTOPSY: ARIA FAWN

INVESTIGATING AGENT: Krysti Joméi

Originally published in Birdy Magazine, Issue 067, July 2019

SUBJECT: ARIA FAWN

RESIDENCE: LAKEWOOD, CO

BIRTHPLACE: THE OTHERWORLDS, OF ANOTHER PLACE

PETS: CURRENTLY I SHARE MY STUDIO WITH MY CAT PANCAKE AND MY DOG SHINIGAMI BUT MY TWO SNAKES, LEOPARD GECKO, TARANTULA AND FOUR MORE CATS LIVE WITH MY FAMILY <3

TYPE OF ART: DARK SURREALISM SANCTUARY

MANNER OF ART: TRADITIONAL PAINTING AND DRAWING

PROBABLE CAUSE OF ART: WATERCOLOUR PAINT. GRAPHITE PENCIL. BLOOD.

CASE FILE REFERENCE: SHEPAINTSWITHBLOOD.COM

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What’s your first I-know-I’m-an-artist/I-know-I-have-talent memory.

I knew I was going to take art seriously at the age of nine. It felt like discovering witchcraft. Something magick and a bit forbidden.

You have an affinity for nature: animals, plants, forests, mountains, water, smoke, warrioresque characters who are harmonious with nature (or even themselves a magical facet of nature), the list goes on. Expand on this.

I am deeply passionate about the earth and wish to give a voice to the creatures so often considered voiceless, by allowing people to see themselves through another form and experience a world we are becoming so dangerously unfamiliar with.

Tell us about your moniker.

Aria is my real name. Fawn will soon be my legal name. It holds a lot of personal meaning better left to interpretation.

What creation are you most proud of?

None of them and all of them. I am proud more of the journey than the result!

How has your art evolved since you first started creating?

The emotion has become more true. As I have grown in honesty and confidence, so has my work.

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Describe your main art making space.

I work in a home studio filled with bugs, bones and bottled dreams ready for the uncorking. I thrive heavily on knowing the emotional signals of my body and mind for optimal creation. However, because I do this for a living, I create whether I am in the groove or not and the muse eventually comes.

Greatest influence(s) on your style and voice as an artist?

The Earth, obviously! :) As well as creators like Hayao Miyazaki, video games like Zelda, and musical artists like David Maxim Micic, and Lord Huron.

Describe your most prolific challenge/setback that ended up benefiting you.

The constant feeling of not being good enough that, while challenging, has led to a lot of self evaluation and a push toward more discipline, creation, and a healthier lifestyle.

Are you attempting to convey a specific meaning or message with your art?

I often aim to speak on the human experience and struggle through animals, thus eliminating the need to portray race, obvious gender roles or other aspects mankind often troubles itself with.

Favorite and least favorite thing of Colorado’s art scene and community?

Being blessed with so many like-minded, passionate artists. Least favourite? All the sleazy galleries and poorly organized shows. Which is a problem everywhere. We have a lot of good ones too.

Most interesting/important thing happening in art worldwide?

The fact that artists are finally being encouraged to do whatever they damn well please and the proof that you CAN make a living off your personal work.

What supernatural power would you choose?

The power to create universal empathy. This world is too full of greed.

What would you be if you weren’t human?

A mink in unicorn’s clothing.

Describe your dream world to live in?

I really would love a world in which all living things were given the respect they deserve and each of us would learn to stop taking so many unnecessary resources.

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Number one thing you wish you would have known before embarking on your creative journey.

To pursue my truest passions, no matter who says what. That it is not selfish to want to do only the art I wish.

What’s the point of art? Of making it? Of preserving and showcasing it in our collective society?

For me, it is about an experience one might not otherwise get to have if not for looking at a certain painting, listening to a song, reading a poem. Small moments like that can be life changing.

What’s next for you?

More painting. Always.

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