Bored Panda reached out to Caileigh. First, we asked the artist if she had any major influences in her life that might've helped her to develop and refine her style.
"I think what influenced my work the most was when I started considering the emotion I wanted to convey rather than the animal I wanted to paint. The dark background and shadowing I’ve adopted is also my interpretation of 'shedding light' on the beauty of certain species that are very often misjudged or overlooked."
Art, in any kind of form, takes a lot of time not only to practice but also to produce, therefore we asked Caileigh how long it takes her to fully finish one of her artworks.
"This is dependent on the size as well as the animal, some require a lot more detail than others. The range is usually somewhere between 1-4 weeks."
Being an artist is not easy, one can easily encounter a lack of inspiration, burnout, etc, so we wanted to ask the 19-year-old artist about her ideas for the paintings.
"I like to come up with ideas spur of the moment, entirely depends on what I’m feeling called to create. I let my intuition guide me."
As we mentioned before, sometimes creative work can cause quite a burnout, therefore we asked the artist how she dealt with that as well.
"On occasion, I have had burnouts. Sometimes it can be easy to feel overwhelmed when something just isn’t working the way I’d like. If that happens, taking a step back is the best thing I can do."
We also asked Caileigh about how people reacted to her work.
"I get so much amazing feedback about my work! I’m very grateful when people can really feel the meaning behind each piece."
Given the chance, we inquired the artist about her favorite part of the creative process.
"Painting the faces for sure! Eyes especially, so much emotion to convey there."
We also asked about the inspiration behind the artist's Instagram account.
"When I started it at 15, it was mainly just a fun way to share my hobby! Now I try to use it as a way of spreading awareness about the species I paint."
Traditional art and art, in general, is not easy and requires a lot of patience, time, resources, and in most cases even money, therefore we wanted to know how the talented artist started her own path in traditional art.
"I’ve always been drawn to painting animals. I started out with little pet portraits for close friends and family. My first paid work was for my grandparents! I’m so thankful to have had such amazing support from the beginning."
