Yannis Noelle C.

“My painting carries with it the message of dreams and hopes.” — I love oil paintings. Their smell and texture are mesmerizing. It feels as though they're whispering mysterious, ancient tales to me. 

At around age of 6, I watched a lot of Japanese animation and was so fascinated by the stories and characters, as a result I started painting scenes inspired by them. I would drawn them and made myself paperdolls, and those were my own version of Barbies I played during childhood. 

I enjoyed the freedom painting offers me when I was little and dreamed that I could be a painter one day. After moving to the US, I settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's an art capital with strong Spanish and Native American influences; there are many world-class galleries; everyone loves art; and Santa Fe’s natural environment gave me a strong sense of connection with earth. These excellent conditions inspired me to become a professional artist. 

It's a way of experiencing life. I get to explore humanity through portrait art and marvel at the world through landscape painting. It's also a time machine that allows me to get immersed in different eras and cultures. 

Each painting is inspired by my experiences, philosophical theories, life environment, pop songs and so on. I believe people can be inspired to live their life positively by viewing them. And I believe art should not be subject to restrictions of any kind. Artists not only produce beautiful works, but also represent an era and cultural concepts that allow the public to understand what is happening in the world through works, regardless of subject matter and external opinions. To create is our freedom.