Magnolia Dreams, oil
Gabriela Bednarz
Monterey High School | Junior
My name is Gabriela Bednarz and I am a junior at Monterey High School. I grew up in Europe and being constantly exposed to beautiful art, it was only a matter of time before I became an artist myself. I make art not only as a way to express myself and my feelings at the time but also as a way to relieve stress. Although I love to create art, I actually want to be a lawyer when I'm older but I’ll never stop painting. My goal as an artist is to show others the beauty in minimalism and simplicity in nature because that is what really inspires me.
I experiment with all different media in art, but my favorite by far is oil paint. It allows me to explore different brush strokes and the different ways to manipulate paint, which helps me grow as an artist. A constant theme throughout my work is minimalism in detailed work and the incorporation of nature into my pieces, whether it's by adding pressed flowers onto the canvas or actually painting flowers and plants.
This piece that I made, “Magnolia Dreams”, was inspired by me wanting to bring more simplicity and peace into my life. I also wanted to explore using more color in my art while maintaining my style of minimal color palette. The goal with all of my work is to bring a sense of calm to the viewer, maybe even pull them away from reality for a second, and I think this piece is a great portrayal of that.