Don’t be fooled by her last name, Shayla Fears becomes fearless when merging creativity into her artwork. The 21-year-old painter from Kansas is inspired by her surroundings to produce ideas for future artwork.
“My pieces represent a bit of me, what I see, and what I would want to see.” Surprisingly, Fears began painting in August of 2009, and already has painted and sold over a dozen pieces. In her eyes, expressing herself through creativity is easy. Fears said, “It comes easy because I just have fun with my paintings.”
Fears’ personality shines through smiles and laughter as she describes why she started painting, “I had an idea of a painting I wanted to hang on my wall but couldn’t find it in stores…so I bought some paint and did it myself.” After finishing her first art piece, she couldn’t stop. Fears began transferring more colorful ideas on canvases through paint. She birthed her collection of African-American “Afro-Ladies” paintings, while also giving real life names to each piece.
Outside of painting, Fears is also interested in creating music through guitar cords and singing. “Music is an important part of my painting. They are like a marriage to me; I can’t have one without the other. Both are creative strokes that challenge my imagination,” Fears said her favorite musical artists are Bob Marley, Bilal, Erykah Badu, and Cee Lo Green. It seems that even talking about the people and music genres that motivate her gives her an excuse to gaze off into space in a mediocre daydream.
Where will we see Shayla Fears 10 years from now? Well in her words, you might see her as a “Nomad” or a “Painting, producing, dancing…fool!” Shayla could be a creative innovator influencing upcoming generations to have fun with their personal creativity. “In the end, you have to do what you want to make yourself happy”.