Nina Goralski

I was encouraged to create at a very young age by my family, which consisted entirely of artistically inclined people- most of whom were professional artists. By the time I was in fourth grade, I received my first commission from a teacher for an image done in oil pastels. Encouraged by my success, I began entering "serious" contests-such as the National Junior Duck Stamp competition when I was in the fifth grade. The goose image in pastels and airbrush I entered won for the state of Wisconsin and became the first time Wisconsin had ever placed in the top ten in the nation.

I soon learned through entering these competitions that there is very little gray area-either one's art is liked or disliked, successful or unsuccessful. This factor is mainly determined by one's choice in style, and after having success with photo-realism, I saw no reason to experiment with my art and strove to create more intensely realistic images.

I continued to receive commissions throughout middle-school and high-school. It wasn't until I was in the eleventh grade that I was capable of capturing the likeness of a person with exacting detail (see Rob Lowe image). I had worked for years to achieve this photo-realistic allure, but after finally succeeding, I suddenly realized that my style had become stagnant.

Although photo-realism can be considerably impressive (like the works of Carl Brenders), I discovered that it is limited. I finally understood that my objective as an artist should be to succeed creatively; to do so, I needed to develop my own personal style that would allow me to express my individuality and creative intellect. (Although for some this may seem a logical conclusion in order to advance one's artistic repertoire, it leads to a rather daunting option: to continue painting within my comfort zone or to create a unique, distinctive style and embrace uncertainty). Through a considerable amount of research into a variety of different artists throughout history, I came to the conclusion that it would be highly advantageous for me to loosen my style while still retaining my ability to paint realistically.

During my senior year in high-school, I had the wonderful opportunity to experiment with different styles through a self-directed mural of students from around the school. I was able to disregard all of my previous uncertainties and inhibitions and paint, draw and create likenesses of people in whatever manner I wished. With this freedom came a new psychological understanding of the science of art: art is a constantly evolving process that thrives on interaction with the audience-something that photo-realism restricts. Also with this newfound liberty, I hope to establish a recognizable style that is marketable yet enables my innermost creativity and originality to be expressed.

 

 

All artwork © Nina Goralski