Reilly Stasienko is an Ohio-based artist. She works with all artistic mediums, including oil paint and digital design. She knew from a young age that she was meant to create. That art was a “life force” of hers. The talented young artist posts new works of art multiple times a week as she is constantly working on many pieces at once. We talked to Reilly about her artistic style, personal growth, and keeping her creative drive going. Check out Reilly’s artwork below and read our interview with her that follows.
ARTWORK
INTERVIEW
Who / what was it that sparked your interest in creating art?
My roots of art go back to my father. I remember his fascination with art and how that fed my creative drive as a child. I have always viewed the world with a curious eye, trying to take in every little detail of everything. In that sense, I’ve always intuitively known I was an artist. It’s always been a deep down need of mine to create to the point where it is embedded in every single thing I do and every single thought I think. How I am as a person and my environment growing up, both have fed each other, creating who I am now.
Now I see that you post artwork (on Instagram) quite often – sometimes multiple pieces a day. Are these pieces you’ve had finished for a while and are just sharing now? Or are you constantly making new pieces that consistently?
I work on multiple things at once. Sometimes fifteen or so pieces at a time. This allows for me to always be finishing something almost every day.
Are there certain pieces that stand out to you? Do you have a personal favorite?
I don;t have a favorite, but I’ll make that piece soon. Pieces that stand out to me most are my oil paintings. It’s my favorite medium to work with and you can make any color blend with any other color and that’s fucking beautiful. Altered self portraits are my favorite because it rids the separation of the art and the artist.
Do you feel that your work has become more intimate / mature as you grow older? Do you feel more connected to your work than you did, say, a couple years ago?
My work has become a reflection of my thoughts and habits. The more I create, the more intuitive I get. I fell like I’m getting to know my higher / divine self through art, especially painting. Intimacy grows the more my creative drive grows. Kundalini.
Besides painting, what other art forms do you dabble in?
I do ballpoint pen, charcoal, colored pencils, graphite, and chalk. I’d like to get into music within the next couple of months and then eventually do animation. I want my art to have a ton of branches to it, but have it all tie together. I also do design / brand work.
What’s your ideal future as an artist look like?
I want to go off the grid. I want to be able to immerse myself totally into culture and art and people and just learn as much as I can as an artist and as a person. I want people to know me, but I also want to expand consciousness with my work. I think human conscious work is really important and I would like it to be a common thread through my future work. I’m going to go with the impermanence of my style and what I want to do really.
Lastly, what is it that drives you to continue to create?
Anxiety is a really big factor in my work, I always feel like I’m not doing enough. I get kind of hard on myself if I don’t put out a piece every other day or so. But I love creating so I wouldn’t consider that a bad thing or a good thing. I just am born to do this. It’s my prana, my life force.
Follow Reilly on Instagram and Twitter. Contact her for business inquiries at reillystasienko@gmail.com.