Lela Knockum

I spent majority of my life trying to be perfect so when I paint I find there is so much beauty in things that are messy and imperfect.

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You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!

Voting for the Top 15 ends Thursday the 21st of May at 7PM PDT

What is The People's Artist?

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What is your favorite type of art to create?

I am a self taught painter. I would say my style is more so pop art mixed with a little bit of impressionism. I try to capture the moments of everyday life from my experience growing up as a black women in America while using a lot of bold colors.

Where do you find inspiration?

My inspiration comes from memories of my childhood and what I saw from the women around me. The women in my family just like a lot of black women have had to create beautiful experiences for their love ones and theirselves while being given so little to work with. I watched us find beauty in ourselves and everyday life even though life itself was imperfect, hard, and messy. We still strive to create light and joy in various ways.

What would you do with $25,000?

This money will allow me the opportunity to restart my life and create more art after I closed my business down in my hometown in VA to follow my ex husband of 5 years to TX. Being so far from family and friends I became severely depressed to the point I had to check myself into a hospital. While in the hospital I found out my ex husband was cheating on me with someone from work and had to move back in with My parents. This opportunity would help me pour back into myself and hit the reset button

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