The Cartoon Influenced Fine Art of Kayla Mahaffey #ArtTuesday

The work of Kayla Mahaffey  blends classic painting techniques with cartoon and emoji imagery. The tension between nostalgia and realism creates a unique contemporary energy that exists only in her work. Here’s more from JUXTAPOZ:

While there were things that influenced me along the way into my artistic journey, my mother and animated shows are what I held close to my heart. I’ve been watching cartoons for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always loved the process of animation and many of the storylines. I noticed how a deeper story could be told through colorful, drawn characters while keeping its meaning true and not taking away from the message. I implement this in my paintings now, by introducing various characters who move the story along, even if that means helping or hindering the main character. As a kid, most of us see cartoons as the first line in understanding right from wrong, with a few simple life lessons, and this taught me, at a younger age, to keep that morality in mind as I get older.

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Every Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!