“I love what I do, I love creating for a living” states ACWL-Nuveen Artist Member Kanda Parrott. Kanda and her family moved to White Lake in 2020 because her husband grew up in Montague and they appreciate all the amenities the community has to offer like the ACWL-Nuveen where Kanda is not only a gallery artist but also a member of the board of directors.
Kanda’s primary art medium of choice is ballpoint pen, acrylic paint and colored pencil. She uses these mediums and other mixed media to creatively interpret and morph images from our natural world, “I love the connections between all living things and how they hold space within their environment. I also love to juxtapose the colors and the wonderous beauty of nature with the scarier, more unsettling side of it.” Patrons of the ACWL-Nuveen retail shop are drawn to her distinctive hybrid creature style and her underlying “memento mori” message that, “there will always be shadows where light is present.”
Kanda attributes the rich history of art as being a huge inspiration for her work as well as finding creative stimuli in surprising places. She recognizes Thomas Nast (https://thomasnast.com/) and other 19th century illustrators as being influential muses and gives credit to her extensive online artist friends from around the world – “I admire the heck out of their art the most and have a lot of it hanging in my home!”
As an artist, Kanda is constantly striving for success. She feels this can be difficult to define because it does not hold the same meaning for everyone. Kanda states, “An “accomplishment”, usually comes with ribbons or a profit but I honestly think that the most rewarding part of being an artist, and my biggest accomplishment so far has been teaching and hopefully inspiring youth to follow their own art passion and keep creating!”
As a freelance artist, Kanda’s work never looks the same day to day. She describes her studio practice as, “painting a pet portrait one moment, working on a book illustration the next, drawing up a tattoo idea, it is always something different.” As she dreams of the future Kanda looks forward to her work being in more galleries nationally or even internationally and breaking into the world of large-scale public art murals. Kanda is well on her way in the public art arena – last year she was hired by the City of Muskegon to paint a colorful crosswalk in the Lakeside District. Kanda’s drive, determination and work ethic will no doubt guide her down a path of more creative success and recognition!
