NYC is the home to a very imaginative and astute individual by the name of Chelsea Greene Lewyta. With an innate artistic gift, she studied at Pratt in Brooklyn to in turn obtain a bachelor’s in Fine Art, thus going forward with her craft as a freelance illustrator with expertise in digital art. Inspired by her roots (she comes from a mixed-descent family), a lot of her work is derived from Asian influence. Her artwork magically coalesces a fluidity with basic linear rendering where it is almost as though the backgrounds and subjects are swimming into and throughout each other. Each piece, aside from it’s ethereal visual beauty, is the stage for a story that purports a strong message behind each pencil stroke.
Humanity and nature are the star characters in her illustrations. Hunter vs. prey is a dominant theme, portraying male figures or masculine implications of animals as the hunter and females, young children, and timid animals like the rabbit, are considered to be the prey. Gender roles are emphasized much throughout her work. The male subjects are often regarded as the tempters, the sexual deviants, the ultimate rise and fall of its women subjects. Whereas the females depicted can be seen as naive, sexual objects, juggling their insecurities.
There is also a beautiful spirit of compassion in these pieces, that internal human nature to love what is feared; the thought that if you love something enough, it will transcend its evil state into a state of purity. The forms of deep, emotional imagery used absolutely beckons a receptive response. Chelsea has gone on a bit of a hiatus so it seems, but we hope she comes back soon to dazzle us once again with her introspective and thought-provoking depictions.