Kaylin Flores -

Nature versus nurture, a fascinating concept behind any individual. Personally, both largely exist by my upbringing. My body of work aims to explore the relationship that my upbringing has on my art, specifically region driven. My personal influences and interpretations may vary from the viewer, but that is the goal as everyone has a unique upbringing. My body of work explores technique development and my growth as an artist in general over year one and year two IB art.

Thus, a unifying idea behind my body of work is “New Mexico True”. New Mexico is unlike any other. A lot of people overlook emblems that are true to New Mexico and symbolic of the rich history within the state. Whether it be the culture or just symbols New Mexico is known for, it truly is a vibrantly colored state worth noticing. Growing up in New Mexico is one of the most influential parts of my life as I’ve experienced so many noteworthy things that encapsulate beauty on multiple fronts. Within this, I am influenced by prominent New Mexico artists such as Georgia O'keeffe and current artist, Noé Barnett. Georgia O’keeffe’s style, choice of subjects and concepts, and media use is similar to my own as well as color choices. Noé Barnetts influence on me is similar to Georgia's but is more modern in terms of depictions and techniques. His street art is incredibly inspiring to me and breathtaking. Both likewise explore cultural concepts or global issues of prominence that speak a lot to necessary change that needs to occur. Colorado tattoo artist Chris Roberts is also a very prevalent influence in my work because of his use of geometric elements, colors and stippling. I utilize mixed media because of the various pigments and textures that can be created, techniques that can be used and the overall effect they have on a piece. I often utilize contrast in terms of color and space that has a varied effect depending on the medium used.

I have always been drawn to pointillism art and focused pieces so a lot of my art uses the same technique of stippling to create contrast and shading effects. A few pieces this technique is prevalent in include Burques Finest, Travel My Way, Who Let the Dogs Out, ¿Rojo o Verde?, and Eterno. The use of watercolor is similar to media usage of Georgia O’keeffe, the colors are similar to both artists but the vibrancy more so Noé Barnett. The geometric elements in my art, like Burques Finest, are inspired by Chris Roberts. I intend for my art to be visually appealing color wise and presentation wise. I believe the flow and coherence to my work is strong and personally, outlines a stronger and richer meaning behind the concepts depicted.

My art has grown significantly from junior year to senior because I have been able to focus primarily on my use of mixed mediums including watercolor, acrylic and ink. I have been able to refine my techniques and build on what I believe to be true New Mexico. I attempt to express what I think is true New Mexico. I am (likely) creating a unified display of work that is visually appealing and coherent color wise in terms of contrasting black and white placement. I hope that the audience perception of the works can be influenced by their own experiences as we are likely all New Mexicans. Though the significance of my pieces may vary for each person, what's visually and conceptually present will aid in that understanding of personal experience. An example of this is the “Dog House” piece I created. A lot of people might recognize it or automatically connect it to Breaking Bad, a New Mexico staple, but for me, I think of childhood experiences. Going to get lunch at the Dog House after a day at the Zoo or Explora, memories likewise from my upbringing. Not everyone shares these experiences but they might have their own or be able to create other connections. Therefore, New Mexico true is a unifying idea behind my worlds that explore New Mexico emblems, concepts, culture and personal experiences through mixed media depictions that have various influences and interpretations.