Abby Birkel
Sometimes all it takes for an artist to believe in themselves is positive encouragement. For Abby Birkel, a junior fine arts major with an emphasis in painting, a high school art teacher provided that encouragement.
The teacher shared her faith in Birkel, saying she thought Birkel could “make it.” This was an influential turn in Birkel’s art career, and although her previous experiences with the crossover between school and art weren’t always the best she decided to pursue this passion in college.
Birkel’s art style is abstract, because she enjoys showing herself through color and texture. She found an interest in 1960s color field painting, which is a type of abstract painting focused on referencing objects and emotion through color.
She breaks down the movement into two simple questions.
“What is a painting? What is art?” Birkel said.
To Birkel those questions bring up many thoughts. She said art means something different to each person who views it. For this reason, she chooses to not explain some of her paintings, so those enjoying her art can bring come to a conclusion on their own.
It is important for Birkel to express herself, but give the viewer a platform to find their own emotions within a painting.
“Art to me is a way that I can express myself privately or publicly depending on if I explain a painting or not, that’s just kind of nice as a release,” Birkel said. “It’s kind of like a therapy in a way, but then it’s also just fun. Art is anything.”
Birkel explains most of her paintings as things she is afraid of or events in her life that she needs to work through. She uses art as a way to think through her emotions, and in the process she is able to bring a bit of life and color to the world.
While Birkel focuses mostly on painting, she also enjoys drawing, music and coffee. She has worked as a barista for 5 years, and she enjoys attending concerts in her free time. She relates the visuals at EDM concerts to an art show in themselves.
Rather than separating different parts of her life, Birkel works to bring and see art across all boundaries of art forms.
“Art forms compete with each other, but they also really play off each other,” Birkel said. “If you think you’re having a good time and you’re making something that helps you in some way or is fun to you, then whatever, do it to ‘em.”