In the whirlwind world that is fine arts, it’s hard to break through and make a mark. Artists everywhere attempt to impress their own style. Amanda Rahaman, a theatre production sophomore with an emphasis in acting and a German minor, is one of the few that succeeds.

Rahaman proclaims herself a painter, dancer, singer and an actor. She provided the Daily Wildcat with a glimpse of her unique perspective of life as a student artist.

Daily Wildcat: When did you start [making] art?

Amanda Rahaman: Well, I think of art as a number of things, but I would say officially when I started taking classes to learn how to get better at art. I started dance classes when I was three. So three years old.

Q: Do you consider art to be more than just painting?

A: Yeah, I think it’s any form of creative expression.

Q: What types of art are you currently [making] as of right now?

A: I do a number of things, but as of right now, I write, I act—obviously—I sing and dance and I paint. I like to bake. So I think probably all of those sums up what I’m doing right now.

Q: So when you’re painting, what’s the process you go through?

A: My process for painting, it usually starts as a sketch. I will usually doodle or whatever I feel like doing in the moment. Eventually the sketches that I like the best I take to the canvas, and I recreate them and then paint over it.

Q: Typically, what kind of paint do you use for your paintings?

A: I usually do acrylic, but I really do love watercolor. I have these really cool watercolor crayons from Germany that are basically just crayons, but when you put a wet paint brush to it, they turn into watercolors.

Q: Are you doing anything else besides the painting right now?

A: Yeah! I do my own jewelry and clothes. In that sense I do create a lot of things with that.

Q: So do you sell all your products? How do you get your pieces out there?

A: Yeah, there are a couple of websites that you can do that: Etsy obviously… Storenvy is the one I use. As well as consignment stores. I also put up my art at different cafés.

Q: Who do you draw inspiration from?

A: Some of my inspirations are probably my other artistic friends. I really love other artists who are the same age as me but not necessarily [doing] the same thing.

Q: Do you see yourself continuing with art in the future?

A: I do plan to continue art after college, probably as a career. It’s definitely something I would continue for the rest of my life. If [I don’t] make a career out of [it], at least have a side-job in it.

Q: Do you have advice for new/upcoming artists that you would like to share?

A: As far as advice goes, I feel like it’s just really important to do what you love to do. It’s really easy to see other people be intimidated—like, “Oh, they’re older than me or better than me.” I think everyone’s art is going to be different. So I think just being okay with what you do and not arguing with it and not apologizing for it [is good advice].

Q: Finally, what does art mean to you?

A: What art is to me is freedom. It’s basically the ability to express yourself without limits. You’re able to do what you to do and show who you are without words.

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