BALANCE
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FLUID
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RHYMTIC
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APPEALING
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OBJECTIVE
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BALANCE • FLUID • RHYMTIC • APPEALING • OBJECTIVE •
HI THERE
Thank you for visiting my website! My name is Shanique Beckford but all my friends call me Sky… hello friend :)
I began my journey as an artistically inclined child. I was interested in styles that elevated craft into art and how it helps create ideas and reshape imagination. Art became an escape, it was a place of freedom, no judgment, I felt safe, invited and a space where I was understood. Being in an entanglement with both acrylic painting and drawing, I do not feel tied to one thing. Right now I am drawn towards my charcoal materials, it is there I seek out it’s due diligence & find out the significance because concepts and narratives in my head as conversations are constantly shifting. The more I breathe and open up myself, the more meaning I find in every action I take.
The consistent palate and material I use in my work are black values to create ranges of tones, highlights & shadows thus creating visual texture and composition. Black & white values are the extremes within the color spectrum, each is the polar opposite of the other. Black is the full absorption of light and white is the full negation of light. Dark matter has substance that creates vitality and vibe. Throughout society, and even art school, we are encouraged to omit black as a constant. However, my pieces benefit from the shadows.
STORY TIME
I was born and raised in Jamaica, where my first art class started in high school through the process of eliminating other extracurricular classes. Moving forward, I was adopted and immigrated to Canada where I was introduced to fashion design. I started creating a portfolio for college enrollment, but with life as it is, there are no guarantees. My journey/school life led me on a path to civil law, dental assisting then business travel along with starting a family, it's safe to say I became a little lost during this period. In 2008 I experienced the greatest loss in my life and spiraled down a depressive road for many years but somehow, through the eyes of my child, dug myself out of that grave. Still not knowing what I really wanted to do, I sent out some applications to colleges. luckily I chose art as my major , again, through the process of elimination) because I remember liking it in high school.
One of the best decisions of my life was deciding to seek higher education in my early 30s. Being back in an environment that felt so normal, yet so foreign, it was like a kid in a candy store, it defiantly calmed my chaos & I ate it up, I found myself in classes about Greek metalogics, Stoicism, Fredrick Nietzsche, Plato, Socrates, Sigmund Freud & many more. Even classes pertaining to issues on BC/BCE which definitely made me question my religion and the things I was conditioned to. I have never been in a space like this, it had its challenges. However, I knew what I wanted out of life and knew what I was lacking. Actually with these challenges I stayed longer than expected, within the last 2yrs I experienced another grave trauma… but on the bright side i found charcoal drawing and now aspiring to become an Art Therapist. The classes I was introduced to changed my life, and inevitably I had to kill the old me to make anew. In 2020 I graduated from Dawson College with a DEC in Studio Arts.
The idea of becoming an Artist or mass producing Art began when I would post classwork on social media, the response was very positive and definitely my heart smile. Moreover the idea of producing Art for the public became more prevalent with each post and finally I gave into the need of the people. I started with commissions and talked myself into the idea for 2yrs to do more with my Art. Today, in my mid 30’s I am proud to call myself an Artist, still finding inspiration through social media, where I find all my content.
Coincidences at the right moment or what’s meant for me will find its way. Albert Einstein “energy is neither created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. Art for me, is something that has always been there, I’ve abandoned, neglected, & tossed art aside but it was always there. Art is meant for me & I am meant for art.
This is SKY’S ART COLLECTION baby all are welcome to this eccentric place of equality and growth. Follow me along on this journey as I figure out how deep, emotional, thought provoking, and political, my art will take me.
I make great choices today because they are made with awareness.
