by Anna Fofana
Eliel Pacheco’s passion for making art always keeps him challenging himself to push his creativity to new levels.
Pacheco is currently a sophomore dual graphic design and painting and drawing major at Purchase and he always loved to make art when he was a kid. Born and raised in the Bronx, his interest in art came from him not wanting to play with his toys when he was a little kid.
Most artists tend to have a certain style or aesthetic in regards to their work but for Pacheco, that’s not necessarily the case. Everything he makes somehow is himself and he doesn’t just stick to one style.
“I don’t want to stick to one type of art because it is becoming repetitive and I want to challenge myself,” Pacheco said. “I try to create everything and I get bored of doing a niche.”
Pacheco tends to find his inspiration from the people around him, which is mostly his friends and family. It’s “every day” that can be very interesting.
Similar to Pacheco, Jaylin Thedford, who is a sophomore painting and drawing major, when it comes to making an art piece tends to find herself inspired by the world around her.
“I find myself focusing on nature, people and the universe. So I focus on those things and create a composition.” Thedford said.
Jude Hecht, had a different approach when it came to finding their inspiration for their artwork. They tend to delve into their mental health a lot in their art. They think that’s the main pivot point for many of their pieces, regardless of it being intentional.
When Pacheco goes on Instagram and sees that people are doing the bare minimum, he thinks that they’re selling themselves short so they want to get famous on the app and have a pretty “art” account with a certain style.
“It's like when a film type casts an actor, you know what you are gonna get from this actor and there is no real challenge. It’s just really safe,” Pacheco said. “The beauty of art is you can interpret what you want because it's so big.”
Something that Pacheco wished he learned when he was younger when it came to making art was to not get in his head so much about being perfect and to not think too much about what people are saying.
Elsa Birch, who also is a sophomore painting and drawing major, had similar opinions when it came to what she thinks important to making art. The biggest thing she learned is that she is still learning. Everyone has a different point of view and a different way of seeing things.
As Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is contagious; pass it on.”