Briana is a painter based in Central New Jersey. Yes, New Jersey: home of the Taylor Ham and Cheese sandwiches at your local 24 hour diners. "As Picasso once said, 'Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life,' And no matter how much I try to live by the cliché of, 'living life to the absolute fullest,' I feel there's an inevitable cloud of brokenness, or feeling of pain, that everyone has been shaded by- if only for a moment, in their lifetime: Whether it be the darkness that conjures hopelessness when you’re feeling as if you’re losing all control, or maybe you had a series of bad luck and you’re constantly fighting a battle between loving yourself and being caught with loving the wrong person, or maybe your favorite coffee shop closed down for good and your mornings just don’t shine as bright anymore. I feel there’s a denominator of pain that everyone has experienced, and although two peoples pains are never similar: we can all relate to feeling pain, and what it feels like to hurt. When I paint, I like to pull out some of these feelings in a way that I can convey my message/ my emotions on something tangible; I feel better when I get whatever it was that I was trying to say, or not say, out. I’m 23 years old, which means I haven’t had that much time on this earth so far to create work, since I’ve been in school/ later education, for most of my life. When someone asks me, 'When did you first get into art?' or 'Did you go to art school, to learn to paint?' The answers are: my entire life, and no I did not go to art school, thanks for reminding me. I went to school for social work, and graduated with my Masters in Social Work. Regarding my art career, I can say, that I first picked up a paint brush in highschool, and I have not put it down since. Prior to painting, I used to work with charcoals, and do figure-drawings and still-life’s. Though, charcoal was terrible for my nailbeds, which meant my nail artist had to work twice as hard. Whenever someone asks me for a piece of my art, I still get all giddy and excited! It’s amazing to think that I created a piece that is traveling around the world somewhere, or is someone’s prized possession. It’s like a little piece of material poetry, being passed on to someone else’s journey… And I think that’s a beautiful thing."