An Emerging Student Artist is selected from Western Montana schools to be featured in our gallery.

Emma James McDowell
Digital Artist

Artist Statement

“The pieces I created for this show were imagined and crafted in Ibis Paint X, a program where I manifested my reflections of social consciousness experienced in my generation. At twelve years of age I am drawn to the raw beauty of individuality, the celebration of diversity, and vulnerability which directly influences my body of work.

This focus directed me to represent self-expressive drawings of human figures as my feature subject. My intention is to portray how my peers identify as their whole selves, promoting sensitivity to empower fairness and understanding of the 21st century culture of adolescence.

Beginning to communicate my impressions of self-identity through sketch journaling led me to the art of Anime, which evolved into lengthy hours of doodling on a digital art pad. Being fascinated by elevated human elements in the characters depicted in Anime I began to cultivate heightened physical features alive with personality who express qualities often masked or hidden in societal behavior.

Digital art allows a platform for me to expand a playful expression, saturate colors, intensify shadowing, and create a fantasy of environments for the characters in my pieces. It is my hope this collection of personal storytelling using the digital art process will resonate a flare of humor, contemplation, and an honest insight into the lives of youth today. “