Artist ‘Not Your Muse’ is painting on the canvas of life
When she graduated from college with a degree in psychology, the now internationally distinguished painter, whose pseudonym is “Not Your Muse,” had already an inkling that she would prove her doubters wrong. And so, she accomplished much more than she might have even expected.
“Growing up, I wanted to do art, and everyone was telling me that it wasn’t a real job. At some point, I was like, ‘Oh, I am going to show you that it is a real thing,’” she said in a recent interview with Kulture Hub, adding:
“If it’s impossible for them, it’s not impossible for you.”
Today, she is not only a painter, though she primarily considers herself to be, but also an art director, a curator, a small-business owner of an online women’s clothing shop; photography, music, videography are also included among her long list of artistic mediums through which she channels her often ineffable reactions to and conjectures about the world.
Her works have been displayed, among other galleries and auctions, at Sony Hall, the New York Stock Exchange Trading Floor, Nomo Soho Hotel Gallery, Art Apple NYC, and Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit.
Most recently, in October 2019, Muse’s work was shown at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The event there, which was curated by DP Entertainment, not only made her feel immensely appreciative, but it also made her reflect on the beginning of her tough journey to the top.
While she says that her greatest success is gathering the bravery to put herself out there, particularly referring to the very first show of her career in New York, she cannot recall any shortcomings.
“I’d say that nothing’s a failure because as long as you’ve tried, you’ve tried. Some people don’t even do that,” she explained.
“I used to have paintings in my house and my friends would just have to convince me to have a show. And, art is a very personal thing, so for you to put it out there for everyone to see is a big step.”
Somewhat ironically, though, she does not let her particular perspectives define her artwork for her fans; instead, she wants them to think for themselves about what kind of feelings her pieces evoke in them.
The only power, the kind most integral to a true artist, that she can give to her fans beyond meaning is the love enveloped into her work, one that can encompass an entire physical space.
“When you walk into a room with a dope piece of artwork, it really can take over the whole energy of the room. It’s important to think of what type of energy I am bringing into people’s homes,” she said.
Having moved from one place to another, sometimes spontaneously, sometimes less so, every two to three years previously, she has found her “feeling” of home in New York City, where the massive creative vibe encourages her to internalize that energy and put it into her art.
“New York is an Island surrounded by water with so many people, so the energy is so high that you could manifest anything here,” she said. “It’s like being in a conductor the whole time.”
Though she usually aims to radiate love and positivity through her art, she also revels in experimentation. Shocking the audience, or surprising them. Invoking in them some sort of inward passion. The expected objective of every artist. But for her, it’s more true because she values artist-spectator engagement.
Her nameless name suggests that she intends to be a muse to herself alone, which furthers the empowering idea that women, particularly, should strive to please no one but themselves, to be their own inspirations. From her fanbase, she, too, expects nothing less than assertive self-expression.
That and also the willingness to deprogram.
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Do what you Love 👁 #notyourmuse 📸 @blastflicksashes #awake #art #hiphop #gold
So much of what we become, how we construct our lives is based upon the societal “norms” and how we are taught to act and react to certain situations.
Putting those social impositions aside, however, is an exercise that is worthwhile but difficult to achieve, insomuch that even the Muse is uncertain if she has ever fully been able to do that.
Her four-year-old son, she says, is in great part one of her biggest inspirations because of his very natural inquisitiveness and imaginativeness, all of which she wishes he at least sustains into young adulthood.
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“He’s a rockstar, he’s cool, and he likes music and art,” she said.
“I want him to know that he can do anything. I don’t want him to feel limited.”
For the following generations, she can only think of two big modes of living: close-hearted or open-hearted. Imagining anything other than the latter option seems unfathomable. The very definition, you see, of “alive” is feeling, and, for her, the feeling is art.