Image from http://www.aldanadigitalarts.com
You walk into your room. Instead of a window, you see eyes. Instead of a bed, you see a large tree with tangled up roots.
It’s nothing unusual. Just you average room on a normal day.
It’s not some mental disorder. It’s not some weird alternate reality. It’s what Aldana Zanetta sees and then later transports onto a screen to be turned into art. This is her reality and you don’t need a formal invitation to be invited. She welcomes new guests with open arms and an eagerness to tell you everything about her and her passion.
The sixteen year old artist, living in Colorado Springs, Colorado carries more weight than your average artist. At sixteen, she is currently in high school and still stresses about the things that any other high school student would worry about :grades, SAT, college, social life… One would wonder how she could balance everything in her life but in a recent interview with her, she admits to putting more time towards her art rather than her school work. I don’t blame her.
Managing clients, working on designs for a video game, creating book covers, making art to sell…that’s a big burden! But due to her need to accomplish high school, she makes up for the time by staying up late to finish her art.
Just imagine, 2-3 weeks and 4-6 hours a day. That’s how long it takes to finish one piece. And let’s me honest here, no one really spends that much time working on math homework or finishing an essay for English. The time that Zanetta puts in her art shows through all the detail and surreal aspects.
Howard C. Shaw, Zanetta’s high school art teacher, added that she “produces realistic images that are completely out of context, and because of that, they are intriguing” and that she is an artist whose work actually sells. It’s impossible to be this accomplished unless you spend as much time on your art as much as Zanetta does.
Her may feats at such a young age has not prevented her from maintaining her humble persona. She adds that the best thing that a growing artist can do is to “study a lot by looking at other artists…”. Her willingness to show to she is not the best at what she does is what makes her an exceptional artist. Rather than being self-consumed, she is willing to learn from other people to help her own skills rather than looking down on them.
Looking at her art, it is truly amazing to see such surreal ideas portrayed in that way. It’s dark, almost haunting yet there is a certain air to it that makes it mesmerizing. During our interview, she mentioned how her ideas popped from dreams, stories, other artworks, and music. Her wide arrangement of sources account for the strangely addicting pieces of art that it a mix of fantasy and surrealism.
Aldana Zanetta displays her art in a a gallery in Manitou Springs , so if you are ever in the area, feel free to check it out. She also does shows in Denver to show off her pieces. Not to mention her website, http://www.aldanadigitalarts.com
Be captivated in her work the same way I did and keep your eye out for the future of surreal art in the digital world.
