Chaanda Bishop, Hollywood, FL
Member Since January 2008
Artist Statement Artist Bio
I have been attracted to art all my life. As a little girl I was not into Barbie’s, but rather coloring books and arts and crafts. I took a few art classes in high school and one in college, however, I have had no formal training whatsoever and most of my life was not focused on art or painting. I am a self-taught artist who works entirely from feeling and inspiration.
Most of my professional years have been consumed by modeling, of which I still do. While modeling, I went to college in the 90’s and got my Masters of Social Work and a minor in Psychology. Fully expecting to open my own practice as a therapist, I graduated in 2004 and as Murphy’s Law would have it, my modeling career took off.
At age 31 in the summer of 2004, I first discovered abstract art when I moved into my first home and realized I needed artwork for my walls but had little money to buy it. It came very natural to me and I realized it was very pleasurable to me, a sort of release. However, because of my career I did not focus my energies on painting once my walls were adorned. But, after two years of my husband and I going through 4 failed pregnancies, I found myself in a very dark place. It became apparent that I needed desperately to get out of my harmful mental state and so I began to paint again for therapeutic purposes. I FELL IN LOVE. IT SAVED MY LIFE. And as they say…the rest is………. My new life as a painter!
I feel as if I’ve discovered painting for a very important reason. If that reason is merely to keep me sound, then that is reason enough to continue. If that rationale also extends toward sharing beautiful work with many other people, well then those certainly are grounds to persist.
Artist Statement
Texture is most important to me when creating a piece, followed by color, then form. Contemporary Abstract is my preferred style; Impasto is a desired technique. Nevertheless, it is very difficult for me to contain myself into a single label or style, because I paint what I feel and there is no specific technique that is employed. This is what I enjoy most about “Abstract Art”, the unabashed freedom to express your current cerebral state! Technical, artistic words are limited when describing my work and style as I’ve not been educated in that realm, however I do know what I love, what looks good to me, and what flows from my heart. I create technique as I go, allowing my tools, color and mood to discover the next original technique. I am attracted to natural forms and earthly representations.
Because I first discovered abstract art when decorating my own home, my greatest desire is to create pieces that will look beautiful in other homes. I want to create pieces that will compliment or enhance many different décors in homes all over the world. I am not a snobby artist who desires only serious art collectors to acquire my art. I am not an artist who will only be represented by art galleries. I want my art to be seen and loved by everybody, by everyday people who need beautiful art for their homes or offices or corporate buildings.
I am a misfit in the art world. I do not belong to the clique of elitist artists who insist that art is somehow out of the realm of common experience, that its pleasures are not available to everyone. I am not of the mindset that certain persons deserve favored treatment by virtue of their superior artistic or intellectual accomplishments, or because of some other real or perceived status. It is important to me to create beauty and allow all to experience that beauty along with me. I believe everyone has the capacity and the right to create art and behold beauty. It is a shared experience between artist and observer.
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