Blank Canvas Art

Hi I'm Peyton but you can call me Zay. I'm a visual artist from Chicago, IL. I'm a self taught painter as well as a photographer and video artist leaning into themes of representation of race, gender and sexuality, self expression, and mental health. My creative process includes using acrylic paint, pouring medium and asking myself how I am. My techniques include using acrylics to do paint pouring by mixing different acrylic colors with a pouring medium and applying them to the canvas. I don’t apply the paint with a brush, but pour them directly onto the canvas. I find myself often not knowing how to describe how I feel, so I use art as an expression for that. As a person with mental illness sometimes I didn't know how to describe the big ones that I've felt for a long time chronically in the background as if they've blended in with the scenery. Depression, Anxiety, Self Harm and Intrusive thoughts are something I've had to learn to cope with and the only thing that has helped to express those feelings that had no words has been art. I read long ago a statement about taking your pain and turning it into art but what really hit me is what so many artists that I listen to have continued to is be vulnerable and let their art show who they are, how they feel, and what they've been through including the pain. Art is very close to my heart and I chose to like them show my pain and be vulnerable so I took each piece out of the darkness inside me I brought it into light.