I’m Anko, and first and foremost, thank you for taking the time to get to know me as an artist! Quite honestly, I myself am still learning about myself as an artist each piece. By definition, I am a multidisciplinary artist that specializes in both digital art and tangible art. From graphic design and animation to illustration and multi-media sculptures/paintings. Underneath that definition, I'm a young person with a love for creating things with impact. 

 

Growing up with financial challenges was...challenging, but it also pushed me to get creative! At around 4 or 5 years old I began making my own paints and clay. Why? The first time I stepped in school and touched a crayon I was like a kid in the candy store. Naturally, I wanted to bring art class home. How? Using old school supplies my little brother and classmates would've thrown out, along with whatever I could find around the house (or outside). Using my homemade supplies I was able to create 3-D paintings, sculptures, and anything else I thought of. (Yes, I was the kid making drawings for my teacher every five minutes and using bottles of lotion and mostly dried markers to create “paint”)

 

 In my “tween” years my lovely middle school art teacher encouraged me to enter an art contest through my school. The topic? The epidemic of teens struggling with substance abuse, an issue that meant a lot to me. Using make do materials- some I made and some she allowed me to use, as well as recycled materials from the city I was able to create a piece and win first place. It was the only award I was called up for that school year, but it was honestly the one I was most proud of through all my years of schooling. 

 

Although I had a lot of struggles in my upbringing, making things that meant something took my mind somewhere else. Somewhere better. Somewhere free. Even now as an adult my love for art has not wavered. As my work today expands to digital mediums, I channel that same passion I had when I started with just mostly dead markers and paper scraps. I'm currently looking to expand and solidify my career as a professional artist alongside my partner and three kittens whom I adore (and are actually a great source of inspiration). Thanks again for reading this far, I'm off to do hand studies!