Time for one of our very favorite types of INH blogs - an artist interview! This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Amber Shanice, a visionary artist whose illustrations are meticulous, innovative, and above all, mesmerizing. In Amber’s words, her art is “very warm and inviting” and most of all she loves “showcasing women of color because it’s not the typical norm.”
Of course we love that Amber created some art pieces based on our INH ponytails, Brit and Shayla…
But we could honestly stare at ALL of Amber’s work all day long. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and check out her collection on Instagram @amber.shaniceart.
Amber has loved art from the very beginning. She says, “I used to draw almost every day, filling up countless sketchbooks.” It wasn’t until the start of college, however, that Amber decided to truly commit to artistry as the crux of her life. She calls it, “the best decision [she] could have ever made.”
Amber still loves filling sketchbooks. She refers to “classic pencil to paper drawing” as one of her very favorite mediums. Her art has of course evolved with time over the years. Now, Amber really enjoys oil painting: “Oil painting truly has a special place in my heart.” Excitingly, Amber reveals that she has been “keeping those pieces to [herself] for a long time” and that she “can’t wait to share that series of work on [her] platform very soon.” We are beyond excited for this. Keep your eyes peeled @amber.shaniceart on Instagram!
Amber also loves digital art, and is fairly new to the modern medium. She has been honing her new practice since September of 2019. Amber fancies digital art because she is “able to take [her] skills learned through the years of painting and drawing and apply them to this medium.” She also appreciates the convenience in that “all of your art supplies [are] built into an iPad.
We, like you, want Amber to continue creating, so we asked her how, going forward, she hopes to keep art in her life. To our pleasure, Amber has a plan... it is to “keep doing what [she’s] doing right now”, which means completing her Masters in Fine Arts. Somewhere along the way Amber strives to teach art!
Every artist needs people who believe in their practice. Amber speaks of her luck in that she’s had an outpouring of supporters in her experience as an artist, and that it’s “hard to pick one” who has been the biggest supporter of her art.
Every artist faces challenges in their practice as well, and for Amber that is Creative Block. Amber’s wisdom here is to “take [it] as a sign to step away” rather than resisting it. This is something we take as inspirational and applicable to life even beyond the practice of art.
One of our favorite, most uplifting responses from Amber was when we asked her what her proudest moment was related to her art. Her response was this: “Sounds funny but, every time I create a new piece of art, that becomes my new proudest moment.” What a wonderful and inspiring sentiment - to actively practice something in life that makes you proud each and every time you do it sounds, to us, like the dream.
Interested in being our next artist feature? Apply here!
