Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but any objective eye will see something special in the works of these 5 talented, need-to-know female creatives making waves by making, you guessed it, art. In honor of International Artists Day, let's channel our creative sides, and get to know these women better:
LA-based mixed media artist Dessie Jackson is making noise with her colorful portfolio that includes exhibitions, paintings, paper sketches, and multi-dimensional pieces that layer paint on top of photography to create a texture so commanding and vibrant, you can't help but reach out and try to touch it. As a Vans Custom Culture ambassador, Jackson collab-ed with the brand to raise cash for high school art programs and was featured on a recent campaign with Journeys, celebrating the lifelong attitude of living in the freedom of creative self-expression. Though her catalog is diverse, across the board it showcases, explores, and celebrates femininity, especially the female body and all its fine nuances that make us uniquely, and divinely femme.
Drawing inspiration from make-up, fashion, beauty advertisements, and photography, Dessie says "Through my work, I explore and try and probe at the performance of femininity and what that really means to me. How we digest images, specifically in the realm of beauty and fashion."
2. Carly Jean Andrews
Illustrator and artist Carly Jean Andrews is best known for her sometimes controversial cartoons, typically of female bodies depicted in sexual poses but in the well-polished, humorous style she owns. Her work is often featured in exhibitions that focus on female sexuality, as her characters are often nude, real-world versions of the female form. Andrews explains she loves drawing bodies not as a means to express some type of eroticism, but because they represent the beauty of a blank slate.
“Sometimes there is a voice in my head that’s like, you could draw a, b, and c, and all these people would love it and you'd get attention, but that’s a kind of gross way to make art,” says Andrews. “If there was a scenario in which no one could see my personal work ever again, nothing would really change for me, I’d keep drawing like I always have been.”
3. Mallory Dawn
Las Vegas-based creative and mixed media artist Mallory Dawn chooses badass female celebs and personalties who align with her personal ethos (strong, good-hearted, authentic) as her subjects, often adorning them in intriguing flashes of color, prints, and graphics. Dawn's latest work features none other than a black-and-white GiGi Hadid bedecked in a regal, abundant flower crown.
Reflecting on this piece Dawn gushes: "This woman stands in her truth, uses her voice, does no harm [and] THAT is beauty." This is exactly what Mallory desires to represent in her scope of work, to portray love and acceptance, with fierce females as the focal point. Check out her work in her art shop, Ice Cream and Cupcakes, which playfully commemorates the time Dawn spent as a struggling artist, living off of nothing but sugar and candy!
Artist and model Amanda Renata specializes in abstract paintings, prints, and interior design and boasts a luxe clientele that includes elite clothing brand Versace. A true entrepreneur, Renata's Venice Beach art and design studio Painted Peach offers custom paintings, interior design services, and wine and paint nights where she teaches her craft to aspiring artists and the creatively-curious alike.
Irish-born Illustrator Laura Callaghan's collections depict what it's like to be a girl in the modern world and aim to capture reality with a tongue-in-cheek perspective, some side-eye, and a much-needed nudge to laugh at ourselves. Callaghan's background in fashion illustration paved the way for her signature style: throughout her career, she felt constrained when drawing representations of the female form that were simply unrealistic and unattainable. Now this badass artists's subjects are diverse in color, shape, size, and (most importantly), imperfections.
“Once I started to draw purely for pleasure, I found the characters whose stories I was interested in telling were female," says Callaghan. "I want my characters to be diverse, to use their bodies for many things... I'd like to capture something real and relatable about living in this sack of flesh and bones.”
Celebrate #InternationalArtistDay day with The Fem Word! Share this post, spread the love by tagging your favorite artists, or even get creative yourself.
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