by: Tony Coates
Tatyana Jackson, a senior this year at Valdosta State University, Majoring in Fine arts, is a Graphic Designer primarily but whose mediums can also include painting. Coming from Carrollton, Georgia Jackson started her creative journey in highschool but truly refined her path during college. Jackson said that the inspiration of her art comes from experiences before and during college, saying that it is an easy way to express herself and other emotions through her art, as well as being very inspired by family too.
On the other hand, many of Jackson’s digital work she creates for commercial production, which primarily deals with the music industry. During Jackson’s college career, she interned at TIG, Think It’s A Game Records, which she plans to continue working with after college graduation. I decided to ask Jackson about two of her pieces, including a digital illustration “Reasons” and a colorful painting called “Rose That Grew from Concrete.”
Jackson’s illustration “Reasons,” are portraits of her nephews and niece who are the reasons she continues to strive for greatness not only for Jackson herself but as a leader and inspiration to show her family that success comes to people who work hard and never give up.
The painting “A Rose That Grew From Concrete” is a painting that expresses personal growth through the many obstacles that have come up in Jackson’s life. The painting was a way to communicate that everything will be okay in the end though it could seem rough during the moment. I asked Jackson in more detail about the flower and the splatters meaning in the piece, and she explained how the splatter represented the adversity that she had to overcome and the anger against her that it brought. The flower is the growth through all the experiences. There is no splatter on the flower itself, which symbolizes how all the adversity and criticism never affected Jackson negatively. How the pandemic has not stopped her path, she finds a way to get past each obstacle that presents itself to her and keeps moving forward.
2020 is a year of big accomplishments for Jackson and a year that she will never forget, from graduation to being a part of a rare case pandemic. With the strong drive and motivation that she carries for herself and puts into her artwork, Jackson will be very successful on whichever path she takes.
Tony Coates is a Bachelor of Arts student at Valdosta State University.