INTERVIEW REALIFE PHOTOGRAPH CLUTCH X KLUCTH

“ONE CAN HAVE ALL THE TALENT IN THE WORLD BUT HAVING THE RIGHT MINDSET IS KEY.” - STEPHANIE AMON

VALIDATED: BEING FROM LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF VISUAL ARTS?

STEPHANIE AMON: MY EARLIEST MEMORY OF VISUAL ARTS WOULD HAVE TO BE MY COLORING BOOKS. ORIGINALLY, I WAS BORN IN LONG BEACH, CA, AND LIVED IN OKINAWA, JAPAN FOR A FEW YEARS PRIOR TO MOVING TO LAS VEGAS. ALTHOUGH I WAS RAISED IN LAS VEGAS, JAPAN IS WHERE I DISCOVERED MY LOVE FOR ART. ANIME COLORING BOOKS SUCH AS, SAILOR MOON, HELLO KITTY, AND HAMTARO WERE MY FAVORITE AND EARLIEST MEMORIES OF VISUAL ARTS. LIVING IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CULTURE THAN I WAS USED TO, I FOUND MYSELF ALONE MOST OF THE TIME. I WOULD ALWAYS BE COLORING IN MY COLORING BOOKS OR DOING SOMETHING CRAFTY.

VALIDATED: YOU’RE A SELF TAUGHT VISUAL ARTIST, WHAT DID THE PROCESS AND LEARNING CURVE CONSIST OF?

STEPHANIE AMON: IT TOOK A LOT OF SELF DISCOVERY AND SELF DISCIPLINE. FOR THE LONGEST TIME, I DIDN'T BELIEVE IN MYSELF. ONE CAN HAVE ALL THE TALENT IN THE WORLD BUT HAVING THE RIGHT MINDSET IS KEY. I HAD TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME BY MYSELF TO REALLY LEARN WHO I WAS AS A PERSON AND AS AN ARTIST. I PRACTICED DIFFERENT STYLES AND EVENTUALLY DEVELOPED A NATURAL SPARK TOWARDS PORTRAITURE. I INVEST A LOT OF MY TIME PRACTICING AND STUDYING MY CRAFT. I DON'T ALLOW MYSELF TO FEEL LIKE I'VE LEARNED ENOUGH BECAUSE EVERYDAY IS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

VALIDATED: AT WHAT POINT IN LIFE DID YOU BEGIN TO EXHIBIT TRAITS AND RECOGNIZE THAT YOU WERE GIFTED WHEN IT CAME TO VISUAL ARTS?

STEPHANIE AMON: GROWING UP, I NEVER PAID ANY MIND TO MY ABILITY TO CREATE. IT CAME SO NATURALLY THAT I DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT I WAS ACTUALLY CAPABLE OF DOING. I'M VERY SPIRITUAL AND A HUGE BELIEVER IN GOD. THROUGHOUT THE YEARS I FELT AS THOUGH I RECEIVED DIVINE SIGNS AND CONFIRMATION THROUGH PEOPLE AND MY OWN LIFE EXPERIENCES. I ALWAYS HAD THIS GUT FEELING THAT MY PURPOSE WAS TO CREATE AND ONCE I BEGAN TO PUT MY HEART INTO BEING AN ARTIST, IT STARTED TO SHOW IN MY WORK AND I RAN WITH IT.

VALIDATED: YOU TOOK A LEAP OF FAITH AND BECAME AN ARTIST PROFESSIONALLY IN 2016 AND BY 2018 SOLIDIFIED YOURSELF AS A PORTRAITURE ARTIST, WHAT PUSHED YOU TO TAKE THE JUMP INITIALLY AND WHAT WAS THAT PROCESS LIKE FOR THOSE 2 YEARS?

STEPHANIE AMON: I WAS TIRED OF LIVING MY LIFE WITHOUT PURPOSE. I STARTED TO REALIZE THAT THERE WAS MORE TO MY LIFE THAN HOW I WAS LIVING AT THE TIME. AS I MENTIONED, I'M A VERY SPIRITUAL PERSON SO MUCH OF MY JOURNEY WAS MORE OF A WALK WITH GOD. HAVING TO SHIFT MY MINDSET INTO TRUSTING GOD AND BELIEVING IN MY OWN TALENT AND ABILITIES WAS UNCOMFORTABLE BUT ENDED UP BEING THE BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE.

VALIDATED: YOU STARTED YOUR OWN BUSINESS TAKING ART COMMISSIONS AS WELL AS SELLING CUSTOM MERCHANDISE, ORIGINAL WORK, AND PRINTS BUT WHAT ELSE CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?

STEPHANIE AMON: “STEPHANIE T. AMON" HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS SINCE JULY OF 2019. IT IS AN ONLINE STORE WHERE CURATORS, ART LOVERS, CUSTOMERS, SUPPORTERS, ETC. CAN PURCHASE MERCHANDISE, ORIGINAL OR PRINTED WORK BY MYSELF, AS WELL AS, BE UP TO DATE WITH MY LATEST WORKS OF ART AND PROJECTS.

VALIDATED: YOU ARE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY BANKSY, BASQUIAT, ANDY WARHOL BUT WHAT IS IT ABOUT THESE ARTISTS IN PARTICULAR THAT RESONATES WITH YOU?

STEPHANIE AMON: I WASN'T TOO FAMILIAR WITH MANY ARTISTS WHEN I FIRST STARTED MY JOURNEY. BANKSY, BASQUIAT, AND WARHOL JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE THE FIRST ICONIC LEGENDS I LEARNED ABOUT. I BELIEVE ALL EFFORT SHOWS IN YOUR WORK. COMING FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND STYLE OF ART, SOMETHING THEY HAD IN COMMON WAS BECOMING THE GREATEST AT WHAT THEY DID. SEEING THEIR GREATEST WORKS SHAPE THE ART WORLD JUST BY DOING WHAT THEY LOVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO ME.

VALIDATED: YOU’RE EXPERIENCED IN MANY DIFFERENT STYLES OF ART, YET YOUR VIBRANT HIP HOP INSPIRED PORTRAITS HAVE TAKEN OVER YOUR PORTFOLIO. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE GENRE/CULTURE THAT HAS YOU CAPTIVATED ARTISTICALLY AT THE MOMENT?

STEPHANIE AMON: I LOVE HIP HOP AND R&B. THE LIFE THAT HIP HOP CULTURE BRINGS TO THE WORLD AND COMMUNITY IS WHAT IS SO CAPTIVATING TO ME. FROM THE MUSIC, FASHION, ART, ETC., IT SPEAKS FREEDOM, POWER AND HOPE.

VALIDATED: DESCRIBE YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

STEPHANIE AMON: I NORMALLY HAVE TO HAVE SOME SORT OF INSPIRATION PRIOR TO CREATING. SOME WAYS I FIND INSPIRATION IS BY BROWSING ONLINE OR RANDOMLY COMING ACROSS SOMETHING THAT SPARKS MY INTEREST. MUSIC IS A HUGE PART OF MY CREATIVE PROCESS. I LIKE TO LISTEN TO R&B WHILE PAINTING. SOME OF MY TOP ARTISTS TO LISTEN TO WOULD HAVE TO BE SUMMER WALKER, SABRINA CLAUDIO, SNOH AALERGA, JHENE AIKO, AND H.E.R. I PREFER TO BE BY MYSELF IN MY STUDIO AND I CAN USUALLY GET LOST IN MY ART FOR HOURS.

VALIDATED: ONE OF YOUR MAIN GOALS AS AN ARTIST IS TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO DISCOVER THEIR OWN PASSION AND TO FOLLOW THEIR DREAMS. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT PEOPLE NOT ONLY REALIZE AND NURTURE THEIR TALENTS BUT ALSO USE THEM TO MAKE THEIR DREAMS A REALITY?

STEPHANIE AMON: NOT EVERYONE IS BORN WITH A TALENT. HOWEVER, I DO BELIEVE EVERYONE WAS BORN WITH A PURPOSE. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I CAN LOOK BACK ON MY LIFE AND NOT REGRET THINGS I DIDN'T DO BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID OR DIDN'T BELIEVE IN WHAT WAS SPOKEN ON MY LIFE. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO DREAM BIG BECAUSE YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LIFE TO LIVE. WHY NOT MAKE AN IMPACT? WHY NOT MAKE YOUR LIFE PURPOSEFUL? INVESTING IN YOURSELF AND MAKING YOUR DREAMS A REALITY IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF.

VALIDATED: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, AS AN ARTIST, WHAT DOES THAT PHRASE MEAN TO YOU?

STEPHANIE AMON: AS AN ARTIST, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION MEANS TO BE ABLE TO CREATE HOW YOU'RE FEELING; TO EXPRESS YOUR EMOTIONS THROUGH ART.

VALIDATED: WHAT ARE A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS/REWARDS OF WHERE YOUR ARTWORK HAS TAKEN YOU SO FAR?

STEPHANIE AMON: SOME HIGHLIGHTS AND REWARDS OF BEING AN ARTIST WOULD BE MEETING NEW PEOPLE AND BEING ABLE TO TRAVEL. I'VE MET SOME OF THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL ARTISTS WHILE PARTICIPATING IN ART EVENTS IN DIFFERENT CITIES, SUCH AS, TRAPXART AND ART BASAL. HOWEVER, I FEEL AS THOUGH MY BIGGEST REWARD THROUGHOUT MY JOURNEY SO FAR WOULD BE BECOMING A BETTER PERSON ALL AROUND.

VALIDATED: YOU’RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON YOUR FIRST SOLO SHOW EXHIBIT TO TAKE PLACE WINTER 2020, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?

STEPHANIE AMON: MY FIRST SOLO SHOW IS GOING TO BE AN EXHIBITION OF ALL MY LATEST WORK I'VE BEEN PRODUCING OVER THE LAST YEAR. THIS COLLECTION FEATURES MANY HIP HOP INSPIRED PAINTINGS. I PLAN TO MAKE IT AN EXPERIENCE LAS VEGAS HAS NOT SEEN BEFORE. AFTER MY FIRST EXHIBIT, I PLAN TO TAKE MY COLLECTION TO OTHERS CITIES TO SHARE.

VALIDATED: WHAT’S YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS AND WEBSITE?

STEPHANIE AMON: INSTAGRAM: @STEPHANIEAMON TIKTOK: @.STEPHANIEAMON HTTP://STEPHANIETAMON.COM

ART IS LIFE: STEPHANIE AMON