Today we’d like to introduce you to Alina Skye.
Hi Alina, 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 moved to Nashville in 2008 with now my ex-boyfriend who is a musician and wanted to move here to pursue music. I remember right before we moved a friend of ours said, well ok, that’s his dream, but what do you want to do. I remember feeling like someone just dumped a bucket of iced water on me, as I have never been questioned about my dreams or what I want to do. Without hesitation and to my own surprise I answered – I want to be an artist.
Since a very young age, I was always drawing and have always been fascinated with art. But our life was very difficult and there was no time for dreaming, we had to fight to survive. Mom brought my sister and me to this country with two bags and $20. We have lived in this country being stateless for 27 years. Stateless doesn’t mean illegal, it just means we were not citizens of any country. I grew up in Estonia, which was part of the Soviet Union, so when it fell apart we became stateless.
My mom brought us here leaving everything behind in hope of a better future. I am now a very proud citizen of this wonderful country USA! It’s been a long and challenging road. At times, I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. The only rights we had were to work and pay taxes. I couldn’t go to college or even think of having a family, because of the uncertainty of living in limbo.
When I moved to Nashville, I started with a temp agency and my very 1st assignment sent me to work at the Frist Art Museum, where after four months of working as a temporary, I was offered a full-time position. It lasted 13 years until due to Covid my position was eliminated.
During those years is when I started painting. It offered me an escape from intense feelings of loss of identity and an unknown future I had no control of. I didn’t know how to paint. I never had the funds or the opportunity to take classes. But I made use of the library and started watching hundreds of videos on YouTube. It became something that I looked forward to, something that ignited a light within me that I so desperately needed to feel, to feel hope, to feel like I can do something, an outlet for my feelings.
I would paint in every opportunity I had free time, learning and experimenting with new techniques. But I didn’t feel like I could call myself an artist, because I didn’t have proper training. But I was making something! I used symbolism for my life experiences and putting it on the canvas brought relief and healing to my soul. My friends and my mom were encouraging me to keep going and everyone saw something in those paintings, that I poured part of my heart and soul into them.
I still don’t really know how to market myself. I am shy to talk about myself, but I am learning.
I just now finally got my website finished which is the first time ever that I have taken concrete steps to become who I believe I am meant to be. After getting my citizenship, I legally changed my name to Alina Skye. Skye is something that came to me in a dream. When I woke up, I decided to become that person. A person who dreams and believes that there are as many opportunities as there are stars in the sky.
Even for me. Despite and because of my background and what I’ve gone through. I believe as an artist that I have a responsibility for the message I try to convey. And it’s always been about hope, about turning on the light within yourself, to follow your own light.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The biggest obstacle I’ve faced is the one in my mind – believing in myself. Believing that there is a place in the world for my art and that someone would actually buy it.
Another big challenge was to get a website going to become legit, so that I could network and give out business cards, to build a real business. Because this is the biggest dream I ever had, now I realized that only I can manifest that into reality, by taking inspired action.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I started painting with oils and would categorize my art as surrealism, as I use symbolism to convey my own life experiences. Then, I started experimenting with acrylics. I started creating super textured collages that used mixed media.
My last project which I am most proud of is music-themed. I used real guitar parts as well as music sheet paper to create those collages with lots of metallic paints and music instrument parts. I am now experimenting with incorporating vinyl records as well. It’s just so fitting living here in a music city.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I would love to continue working with mixed media and acrylics, but also want to continue creating surrealism oil paintings and move towards inspirational art, something that conveys bigger-than-life ideas!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alinaskye.com
- Instagram: @alinaskyeart
