Sarahlaine Calva is a 20-year old artist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She often creates works in a pop art style and recently completed a commissioned mural on a huge satellite at Duke University. It wasn’t until Tyler the Creator and Kali Uchis noticed her artwork that she realized her art had “some sort of potential.” Read more about that, Sarahlaine’s goals, and her satellite project in the interview below.
Click on any of the above images to open a gallery of Sarahlaine’s art.
If you had to describe your style of art, how would you?
Colorful, unique, bright and somewhat chaotic
What materials do you use to create your work?
I love using and experimenting with a variety of materials. Acrylic paint seems to be where it’s at, I don’t think I’ve had a project that doesn’t use acrylic, not unless I’m on the go I really love using my iPad with the pencil because it’s so efficient and not a lot to keep up with. I’ve also been using spray paint lately for iffy canvases. I feel like I still have a lot to learn when it comes to mastering spray paint but I’ll get there eventually.
I saw that you recently did a mural on a huge satellite which turned out super cool. Was that a commissioned work? How did that project come to be?
Yeah it was a commissioned piece by Duke University! But I had creative control and the piece is original. 8 artists were selected by the Duke artist panel to work on the satellites out of approximately 300 I believe so I was pretty stoked.
Sarahlaine in front of her masterful satellite mural.
What are your biggest inspirations when it comes to creating art?
I think what inspires me is being able to accomplish something, I feel like it gives my life meaning, being able to express my feelings through creating and sharing it to the world. It feels good making something and looking back at it realizing I’m probably not as lazy as I think I am. Sometimes it’s even the things I’ve already made that inspire me to make more. It also fills the void in my life whatever that void is.
Was there a specific moment when you chose to really hone in on your artistic abilities and follow your passion?
When my art got noticed by Tyler (the Creator) and Kali (Uchis), that’s when I realized my art had some sort of potential. I’ve always been making art as a kid but I’ve been told by others constantly to avoid making it a full time career and I’m sure other creatives could relate but ever since then I’ve been trying to create as much as possible.
Tell me about when Tyler and Kali noticed your art!
I made a sunflower drawing time lapse and used their song in the background and thought it would be fun to tag them in the video. I didn’t expect them to both see it but they did and retweeted it and it was definitely such a great moment for me considering that I look up to Tyler so much!
What’s your ultimate goal as an artist?
My ultimate goal right now is to keep improving my art and make it my full time career.
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