See Amy Smith's work at the next RAW showcase in Downtown Los Angeles at Elevate Lounge on Thursday, September 16th! Read on as she talks about her art. 

Tell us about yourself and how you got started in art.
I grew up on the East Coast, New Jersey to be exact (Don’t hold it against me). I’ve been living in Los Angeles for about five years now and I absolutely love it.  I started pretty young. I’ve always been interested in art.

Where do you draw inspiration for your work?
Right now I’d say my inspiration is mainly photography and things I see on a daily basis. I take photos of everything!

What do you love most about what you do?
Art is cathartic for me. I feel better, happier when I’m making something. I love that feeling when you’re focused on nothing else and hours can go by and you don’t realize it. Then you take a step back and you’re happy with what you’ve put so much energy into.

Do you draw inspiration from any other forms of art?
I definitely get inspired by architecture, statues etc. anything built or constructed I love. But also, I really love fashion and music; I’ve been researching that a lot.

Any accomplishments/goals you hope to achieve in the future?
My ultimate goal is to show my work all over the world and make a living doing it, (I know, I aim pretty low) but more immediately, I want to start creating large-scale paintings and mixed media pieces inspired by my sketches and digital work.

Why showcase with RAW?
I feel like RAW really cares about artists and helping them achieve their goals. It’s good to be a part of that.