Meet Vanessa

Vanessa is a 17-year-old junior at Seaside High who has been a YACster for just over a year. Friendly and hilarious, Vanessa is a prolific and daring artist who sees YAC as a place full of opportunity. She describes herself as “cartoon-y, outgoing, and hungry.”Vanessa’s earliest memory of making art is coloring on the walls with crayons. She also remembers that as a small child she always drew along with a Winnie the Pooh VHS tape that included directions for how to draw Winnie. These days Vanessa works primarily in digital media, acrylic paint, and printmaking - always bringing her own strong visual style and distinctive palette to the table. She describes her work as “cute, cryptic, meaningful, and fun,” and draws inspiration from Rebecca Sugar (creator of the animated tv series Steven Universe), Jamie Hewlett (creator of the virtual band Gorillaz), Frida Khalo, Japan, her mom, and her abuelita. She loves to use her work as a platform for diversity and representation, while also developing her own unique aesthetic. Vanessa’s other passions include theater, spoken word, making beats (she recently released a mixtape on YouTube), and internet humor.Being a part of YAC has taught Vanessa “that everyone is an artist.” She speaks of her gratitude towards YAC, saying that everyone at YAC helped make her the artist she is today, and adding that she would give up her kidney for YAC! One of Vanessa’s proudest moments in regards to her art was at our Summer Show, when people were buying her pieces and asking about her work. She was so happy that she cried, because she had never thought anyone would want her “cartoon art.” Vanessa’s goal is that people will connect with her artwork, look forward to seeing it, and want to buy it! She hopes that people will see her work and think, ‘if Vanessa can do it, so can I,” in the same way that other artists' work inspired her.Looking forward, Vanessa hopes to learn animation, pottery, and airbrush. In ten years she sees herself being a well-known artist with an art store of her own, filled with her own brand of products – pins, buttons, etc.Find Vanessa’s fabulous art online at snakecrayon.wixsite.com or on Instagram @snakecrayon