Cierra G. Rowe

Describe your art in three words: moody, thoughtful, sincere.
Your discipline: Self-taught.
Website | Instagram

Your artwork captures a deep sense of emotion and vulnerability. How do you channel these feelings into your work?

I was a very sensitive child who grew into a very sensitive woman. As a painter, I lean into this. The coldness and warmth of the past have, in part, shaped me. As an artist, all that you have are the things that you are composed of, to channel and capture into any given work of art. My paintings hold that sense of emotion and vulnerability because as a person, that’s a very big piece of who I am. I translate the intimate and erratic combination of pain and beauty through paint, often favoring positive aspects over dark. I encode myself within my paintings through my selective palette and style by focusing on what is important to me and blurring everything else. There is an intense hunger in painting. I am addicted and once I’ve completed a new piece I feel satiated.

Cierra G. Rowe | Affection | 2024

In your artist statement, you mention that your painting style was born out of trauma. Could you share how these experiences have influenced your creative process?

Trauma makes you see things differently, sometimes it reduces you to a shell of yourself. When you break, you break and there’s no manual for how to unshatter yourself. Eventually it makes that which is truly important stand out and that which is not, fade. I remember caring about dumb things — silly things that, in hindsight, should not have mattered. Then things happened and in the aftermath  I realized that I did not care about those things and felt shameful that I ever allowed them to distract me. Trauma has influenced my creative process by allowing me to wholly understand that I do not have to prove anything to anyone and that I do not have to keep up with the chaotic speed of modernity or the digital world and how it shrinks people. As an artist, I represent myself through my paintings. I’m allowed to change. I’m allowed to evolve and become better or fall down and get up again. I can transcribe soul and significance through my paintings, while holding tight to my artistic traditions, knowing that there is great liberation in being true to oneself.

Cierra G. Rowe | Euphoric | 2024

Color seems to play a crucial role in your paintings. How do you choose the color palette for each piece, and what do these colors represent to you?

My sensitivity towards color guides my palette. It has always been a natural thing for me, going back as early as the age of 10 when, upon viewing certain colors I became physically ill from seeing them. Colors have an intense effect on me. This in turn makes me fairly sensitive to them. The colors that I use within my paintings are, I would say, a source of comfort for me or an extension of personality.

You mentioned that you often wonder why it’s called ‘painting,’ implying a deeper connection between pain and creation. Could you elaborate on this connection and how it manifests in your art?

I feel that there is always a reason behind the creation of any given work of art – unseen things that compel an artist to create their masterpiece or go further by throwing themselves into their craft. Often, that reason is revealed to be pain. The most tortured people often create the most beautiful works of art. Their sadness, strife and anguish seem to turn them inward, over and over until they have formed a bond with their tools, leading to works of art that inexplicably connect with others on a much deeper level than surface. Personally, I began isolating myself at a very young age and because I was reclusive – I only communicated through my art. Overtime, that led to me grasping a deeper understanding of art as a whole and what color and emotion is capable of.

Cierra G. Rowe | Souls Roaming At Night | 2024

Your work seems to blur the lines between abstract and emotional expression. How do you balance these elements in your art?

I am not sure that there is a way for me to balance them. One feeds the other. I think, more than anything, I let what is inside come out, with the only focus on balance being how light and dark work together in the medium. 

What messages or emotions do you hope viewers take away from your paintings?

As an artist, I have no control in how someone else interprets my paintings. To some, art is nothing and to others, it is everything. A painting that I spend 6 hours on may be extraordinary to me and hold great meaning, whereas to others maybe it’s only a picture on a screen or in a book, nothing more nothing less. One has to stop themselves from getting caught up in how others perceive their creations, it’s bad for the mind and poison for the soul. Regarding painting; there is a work of art out there for everyone, of this I am certain. I feel that most works of art have their mysteries. It is stimulating to feel as though you are a part of them – through gazing into them. Beyond that, I can’t honestly say that I hope for any particular reaction or takeaway. 

Cierra G. Rowe | Empathy | 2024

Looking back at your artistic journey, what advice would you give to young artists who are just beginning to explore their own forms of self-expression?

Acceptance and praise are temporary — passion and growth are what stick around. Build on that passion. Believe in yourself.