Black and White with a Splash of Color
Lauren Young is an up and coming artist who hopes to get your attention. This week she will mount her first display at the Belisle Gallery at the Bliss Institute. Young has been sketching for many years and more recently, she’s been experimenting with paintings. Her inspiration comes from most things that catch her eye and in the following story she tells News Five’s Delahnie Bain why she has named her debut exhibition Black and White with a Splash of Color.
Delahnie Bain, Reporting
For the next two weeks, the walls of the Belisle Art Gallery will be “Black and White with a Splash of Color”. It’s an art exhibit showcasing a collection of sketches and paintings, ranging from portraits to abstract and scenery. The artist, Lauren Young, is hoping the display will be a springboard for her career.
Lauren Young
Lauren Young, Artist
“Black and White with a splash of color is my first art display. It’s a display of sketches and a bit of painting and abstract, mainly on paper. It’s a small sample of the works that I’ve gathered over the last eight years and I’ve decided to put out a display to just introduce myself to the general public and Belizeans so that eventually I can start a career in the arts. You’ll see some portraits; a lot of works with lines and shadows. I have some sceneries when it comes to pencil drawings; they’re mainly pencil drawings and charcoal drawings. The abstracts are just a couple that I’ve played with the painting because I’m not really familiar with paint and so I prefer to keep it more on the black and white side but there’s a little color in there just to add a little flavour to the whole scene.”
Young says that a lot of her work is inspired by everyday sightings, but she has also done several pieces by request.
Lauren Young
“I draw stuff that I like to see or stuff that people ask for. For example, I’ve done a couple portraits for my family, my relatives. One of my cousins, she asked me to do a portrait with her entire family; that will be up in the display. I also did one with a couple of my cousins, my nieces, my nephews and my sister. I do portraits of pictures that I see in the magazines. I would see a photograph that looks, I don’t know stunning to me and I think I can add a little more when it comes to shadowing, I would do a portrait of that. If I see a scene, for example, just looking out at the sea I’ll see just the way the waves are flowing, I’ll remember it and I’ll draw it up on a piece of paper; just fill in the shadows and add stuff to it. Sometimes I’ll take a bunch of pictures and use something from one picture and add it with another. It’s just what I like basically.”
Young’s exhibit will feature about fifty-five to sixty sketches and paintings, some of which will also be available for sale. But if you attend the launch, you might get lucky and take one home for free.
Lauren Young
“I will be giving away two pieces to two lucky attendants. So whoever wants a piece just has to come out and we’ll do a raffle and we’ll give those away. One will be one that I have selected to give away, the other one will be the individual who wins can chose a piece as long as it’s available. For the Belizean public to just support your Belizean artists. Come and see the show, it’s myself Lauren Young and this is just a small piece of what we have in store for the next three or four decades.”
Black and White with a Splash of Color opens at six on Wednesday night at the Bliss. Delahnie Bain for News Five.
The exhibit will be open to the public until April thirtieth.
