(Images: Ananya Mishra)
(Image: @artbreakerbt)
Meet the Capitol Hill Artist is an occasional series on CHS documenting the lives of the artists behind the neighborhood’s galleries and arts venues.
By Ananya Mishra
“I was technically a professional artist since I was 14 or 15. I was getting paid for doing portraits and designing t-shirts… someone also stole my painting while I was in high school. [It was] super bittersweet.”
If you have walked past the Black Lives Matter street mural, then you have already seen BT’s (they / she) artwork. They are responsible for the “A” in “Matter” and worked with other Black and Brown artists to complete the entire mural in under 24 hours. Many of these artists met each other the day of the project. Now, they’re part of an artist collective co-founded by BT called Vivid Matter Collective.
BT’s paintings are surreal and depict a range of topics. Some of their work will show the good and bad sides of the human experience, while others are a nod to favorite childhood movies.
They also have an interest in anatomy and the medical field. Before transitioning into a full-time artist, they worked as an EMT while completing medical school prerequisites at the University of Oregon. Recently, they have started to venture into the world of tattooing, which combines their love for art and the intricacies of the human body.
“As an independent artist, it requires me to wear so many different hats. Right now, a big thing for me is to manage time between nonstop projects and jobs. There’s always another deadline.”
Alongside the art commissions, they enjoy giving back to their community through teaching. They used to teach at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in the Central District and have recently finished up a teaching artist job at Whittier Elementary in Ballard.
Stop by Blue Cone Studios for one of BT’s figure drawing classes. This is the main space that they work out of. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see a recreation of their stolen painting from high school as well as the original painting that was eventually recovered.
For more information, visit their Instagram or their personal website. Blue Cone Studios is often open during the Capitol Hill Art Walk and is on 1520 11th Ave, next to Queer Bar. Vivid Matter Collective is located next to Molly Moon’s Ice Cream.
(Images: Ananya Mishra)
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