Sweet Pea
New York City
“It is my dream to be known as an artist that gives her all to a better life."
As a self-taught artist, Jamaica Queens native, Sweet Pea (she/her/hers) has created a unique style over her 17 years of painting. She taught herself how to use acrylic paints and to create patterns and techniques that allow her to explore different aspects of her artistic style. Sweet Pea lives with mental illness and creates art at the Living Museum in Queens, which she describes as her safe haven and creative sanctuary. She has a passion for creating art and describes a deep connection with her process, that she feels almost inside the art piece while she is creating it: “When I am making art I feel like I am inside of the piece, playing, touching, walking through it. I am in some place no one can find me until it is done.”
Sweet Pea enjoys painting landscapes, flowers, and intricate patterns. Purple Flowers exemplifies the style that Sweet Pea brings to the forefront in all of her paintings. The background is composed of flat, blocked out colors that create a neutral picture plain. Layered on top, the flowers are painted in a more graphic style. Many of the petals are outlined in white, creating a pattern within each flower. The colors that Sweet Pea used in Purple Flowers all have a similar tint, which causes the white highlights to jump towards the viewer.
When thinking about how art has impacted her life, Sweet Pea explains. “Nothing else worked for me and art is my strength.” Learning many important lessons from her struggles with mental health, Sweet Pea hopes that her art practice helps her become a better individual and inspire others to work towards a better life.
