Check Out Kanda Parrott’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kanda Parrott. 

Hi Kanda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always really liked art, all aspects but specifically drawing. I was drawing throughout school and knew it was a career I wanted to go into, though I wasn’t quite sure what path I should take. After a few years of indecisiveness, I joined an arts program at a university and really did not enjoy it. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. A few semesters in and I found out I was pregnant. I left school and I’m really thankful I did, I wasn’t happy. BUT life got in the way and I kept doing artwork here and there while working various serving jobs and getting my busy parenthood life on. It wasn’t until my partner and I had our second child that I was able to quit the ‘workforce’ and focus on my home life and develop my skills and my artwork. It has been 3 1/2 years since I’ve been able to do my artwork full time and I feel I am just now getting started. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh hell, there will always be struggles!! I think being a full-time mom is a struggle, balancing both my art career and my family. I’ve been told ‘no’ plenty of times in this short art career by galleries and a few art consignments. Everyone on their path to doing what they love has all had to work a lot of bummer jobs and I’m sure can agree that financially struggling is exhausting. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am primarily a 2D artist that works in a wide range of mediums- my favorites being acrylic paints, ballpoint pens, and colored pencils. My artwork focuses on the natural world and the importance of animals and their ecosystems. I’ve always had a fascination with biology and botany and that crosses over into my artwork. My art also can have a bit of a darker side and I like to play with subjects we find beautiful juxtaposed with the things that scare us. 

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think being an artist, overall, is quite the risk. It is just one of those “careers” where you can be built or broken in one single instance. Every time you create something, it is a risk. You are giving up a piece of yourself and allowing it to be scrutinized by total strangers. But when you do what you love, it has got to be a risk worth taking. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: ArtbyKanda.net
• Instagram: @kandasaurus_rex
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/Kanda-Parrott/100073589739349/

Image Credits
Kanda Parrott
Dakota Alvarez