Today we’d like to introduce you to Takora Burton.
Hi Takora, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up back and forth between Asheville NC and Morristown TN the most but my family moved around a lot to many different states of the South, so I felt I could never really call anywhere home. I was always the new girl and I was very shy, so I always escaped into my own little world of the arts. I started out drawing pictures of horses and deer and dragons because I loved reading books and watching movies about fantasy worlds, about a year after graduating High School in 2016 I decided to go to a small community college inside of Asheville for a fine arts degree, quickly learning that it was not for me after failing numerous assignments and being told “my art is too goth” or “too creepy and not realistic enough” I packed my bags and hit the road back to Tennessee where I learned my niche for painting. There I sold my very first painting called, “Shrooms of the Moon People” and discovered my passion for spiritual arts, for that painting and many after have opened many new doors for me and have led me to where I am today! I have always been inspired by spiritual/visionary artists, especially the works of the famous tool artist, Alex Grey, and another favorite artist of mine, Alister Dippner who is the artist of a band called Ghost Town. Living in Asheville as a teenager, I was always at a local art attraction “Foundation Skatepark” where I met many other local street artists and beautiful minded creatives that inspired me to want to make street art and skate clothes and band tees (clothes are still in the making but I have made a few sales!). When living in Morristown the years 2017-2019 I had my very first art show and the amazing opportunity to paint my first Mural (of Jimi Hendrix) with the help of S.W.I.M Apparel World Wide, owned by a friend of mine, Derty Redd. He took me in and saw my passion for art and lead me down a road of great and honorable success and through him, I have met amazing artists and people whom I will never forget! I have had over 2 live paintings and 8 successful art shows in 3 different states now and a total of 3 murals located in 2 different states, with clothes, tapestries, and paintings now sold all over America and just recently, Canada! This is still the beginning for me since I am still in the progress of making my own online store outside of Instagram but I am so excited for the journey that is awaiting me in hopes that my dreams of being a successful traveling artist, will come true! I am very excited about what awaits me in the future for me!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been smooth, there have been periods of time where my art hasn’t sold for months and that is where the term “starving artist” comes from I assume. I would invest so much time and money into painting or clothing designs and not make a single cent back. I have been rejected many times by galleries and tattoo shops and I have had people use my niceness to their advantage and steal art from me as well. I also will think I have a good mural or art opportunity just to end up not getting paid for my hours of work and supply spend but hey, you got to give some to get some, I guess! I have also received lots of comments that low my spirits sometimes, such as “painting isn’t a real job”, “you’ll get famous when you’re dead!” or that my art is “too expensive” or “it sucks”, etc. The list goes on and on. I am also balancing paying rent between two other jobs I have, trying to squeeze my art in-between hours while also trying to maintain daily life chores and activities, the responsibilities are endless! There are some periods of time that I go through creative blocks, art block is what I call it, when I just don’t have the energy or mindset to create, it is hard on the brain when you are always trying to be an inventor of something new! All of those struggles humble me though, they inspire me to never give up. I want people to be able to feel things through my art, I want to capture the movement, the hope, the light at the end of the tunnel. I want to bring in color for those that have the darkest of days because that is what it does for me. Art is my rainbow after the storm.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a painter, I paint murals and design shirts and tapestries, I make most of my income off of custom paintings of people’s portraits, pet portraits, and something I call P.A.S which stands for Personalized Animal Spirits. Since I like to think of myself as a spiritual artist, I use the arts of shamanic meditation and tarot reading to help my clients with their current phases of life. I specialize in acrylic and pen-based mediums and am known for my colorful paintings of magical animals, people, and mystical creatures. I am most proud of my piece “The Dark Mother” which was inspired by the widespread Hindu Goddess Kali Ma. That piece took me 4 weeks to complete, every day for 8-11 hours I would sit on the floor completely immersed in that painting, I forced myself to learn new techniques and painted the fire for days in the hot July sun until it was completed, that piece opened many doors of opportunity for me and was the first painting to ever make me cry that I have created, it is a very special piece. I believe what sets me apart from others is my modern street art twist with comic-like illustrative pieces, I want my paintings to tell stories, I want people to get lost looking at them and see that the beauty of magic, truly does exist.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I spent almost every summer in Tennessee growing up and spent many days and nights on Cherokee lake on my grandpa’s boat (I call him Grumpy Bear). Grumpy Bear has a boathouse that he lives on and when my family and I would visit, he would take my family and friends to different islands located on the lake, where we would spend weeks camping, fishing, and tubing on the lake. I have many fond memories of those times and I am so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had there, I often wish I was still there on the water, laughing it up with Grumpy and the rest of my family, so hopefully, in the future, I will be able to have similar memories of those times again.
Pricing:
- Small Canvas Customs- 35$
- Medium Canvas Customs- 55$
- Large Canvas Customs- 100$
- P.A.S Paintings- 50$
Contact Info:
- Email: wokwitcharts@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takorapaints/?hl=en
Image Credits
Christine Hyde-Dalton
Sean Wichterman
Takora Burton
