We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lapetra Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lapetra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I don’t wish that I had started my creative career sooner, but I do wish that I would have embraced my creative talent more than I have. I started to draw when I was in high school and I stopped for years until I was advised through a therapy session to find something that I could positively express myself after losing left eye and falling into depression.. I don’t think starting later or sooner would have made a difference for me in a big way as my art style, but it would have changed my amount of work done over the past seven years. I think looking back as an artist I was afraid that people wouldn’t like my art and coming from the community that I come from my type of art is not something that is seen all the time and that is impressed in my community so I was terrified, so I suppressed my creativity when it came to getting paintings and selling them, I just did whatever I thought that people would buy not truly being who I was. I think that’s my biggest regret. It’s not when I started, but I started my journey as being an artist. when it came to getting paintings and selling them, I just did whatever I thought that people would buy not truly being who I was. I think that’s my biggest regret. It’s not when I started, but I started my journey as being a artist.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was fortunate enough to have people around me that recognized my true as an artist. What set me apart from other artist is that every painting every single stroke is a part of a story part of a love story I love to paint about healing and special moments we tend to forget. I originally started doing portraits of people when I started in the community it was a good way for me to learn how to paint different people in different things. I decided that I didn’t want to do com anymore and so I started to venture out all original artwork that expressed my love for my children, life ,animals, and people. I am most proud of that. My clients and collectors can connect with my artwork and have a sense of understanding of what I’m trying to express. A lot of collectors and followers love the fact that there’s a story there’s a lesson with every painting and I feel like every piece of art for me is a learning experience. It’s an expression of love. It’s an expression of understanding. I feel that all human beings want to be understood and love the way they need to be and that’s what I like to paint about that I can do paintings and you see things from someone else’s perspective and when you’re able to understand people maybe just a bit more it leaves room for communication. Communication is one of the best things that we tend to take for granted sometimes.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Seven years ago, I had a freak accident and lost my left eye and partially blind as of today, and I am currently losing my eyesight in my right eye. The past year I made a choice that I wanted my dreams to come true, and I made a list of a accomplishments I wanted to do as an artist before I completely lose my eyesight, great strength and resilience too venture on and learning how to create artwork. I continue on today, still painting, and I’ll continue on tomorrow and so forth, expressing and showing love in my artwork.,

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is being able to touch your audience to make them feel human and that they’re not alone. It’s always been rewarding when people tell me that one of my pieces have touched them. It’s a very blissful moment to have such understanding and acknowledgment.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lapetra.collins