Monthly Artist Spotlight: Charlotte Own

Meet Charlotte, a freshman at OHS: artist, activist, gamer, and cat lover. We talked a little about her creative influences, experiences, and aspirations. As an ever-evolving thinker with a wide range of interests, she provides piquant insight through her view of the artistic world.

What genres of art are you interested in?

I personally really enjoy art that tells a story, integrating composition, color pallets, and mood to do so. I very much look up to artists who can make such art pieces, especially when they can pack so much into a single, simple image.

I think that the modern young art circles are generally a really positive place for art, creativity, learning, and community. I think that digital and stylized art can get a really bad rap especially in more traditionalist art circles, especially since many traditionalists only refer to upper class white painters when speaking of true artists. Digital art has its own way of creative expression and talent.

For anyone interested in exploring art in these modern modes, I'd recommend really anything you have access to - there are lots of free apps on iPad/iPhone that you can easily use. If you’re able to get a screen or nonscreen tablet for your computer, there are lots of good programs on there as well.

How did you become involved with your artistic interests?

I am an active member of online communities that enable me to connect with other young artists, and it is just so incredible to me how people can create such beautiful artworks with limited supplies and experience. As someone who interacts with a lot of fanart, I love how people can take characters in a given piece of media and really create something that is their own.

How have you pursued your artistic passion?

I am mainly a digital artist who draws fanart and art of original character designs, either my own or those of my friends and idols. I have a long way to go in terms of my artistic journey, but watching myself improve over the past few years has been really amazing, and I am excited to see where I can push myself to go next.

What inspires you to be involved with art, and your work specifically?

My work is very inspired by the people around me, especially by my friends and the media we engage with. Many of my friends are much better than me, so I look at their artworks and try to learn from them as well as what I've seen them learn over the course of knowing them. In terms of media, I am so inspired by ways that people can integrate different art forms into their works. I am currently a big fan of Genshin Impact, a game that has absolutely gorgeous character designs, animation, landscapes, and music: these artistic aspects really shape the mood of the game and turn it into what it is. As a growing artist and character designer (as well as an amateur audio editor and violinist), I am so inspired by Genshin Impact and other artworks like it, as well as the communities around them that take their creation and build on it in absolutely gorgeous fanarts, fanedits, and everything else.

How has art shaped your life?

I think that art shapes the world. Kinda cheesy, but everything is accompanied by art, and the expressions or perceptive senses of a given thing will greatly affect the impact of it. The spread of ideas, negative or positive, must be done through art; like how journalists must tell a story to get anything across, whether what they're trying to say is for good or for evil. I've dipped into sound design and learned how to create mood with colors: having tried both of those art forms, my experience watching movies is completely different than before as I can notice interesting artistic decisions that make the show what it is.

Art is a really fulfilling pursuit: it is so rewarding to see a finished drawing and to know that I spent time on every little detail, that I learned something.

Charlotte's comments provide an entry into her world of art in a modern and digital age—her incisive approach is a testament to a full and genuine passion for her work.

To close, she asks us to wholly appreciate every work of art: "You often don’t know how much effort went into any given piece, even if there are parts that aren't very good or even if an artist is early in their learning. Digital art is just as valid a form of art as paintings or pencilwork."