Written by Becca Wolfe, Illustration by Becca Wolfe
The idea of honing in on one artist when it comes to inspiration for my work has been a struggle. My first thought was to make a video of some sort to speak on this topic. Over time, however, my vision for this piece changed.
I have found that most of my artistry really stemmed from my early love of Prince. My introduction to his work came early in my life, I have vivid memories of my mother playing his music when she would take me to school. My relationship with Prince fizzled out for a period, until more recently when I started college and really allowed myself to follow a creative career path.
I spent this time really looking up to him because of his iconic statements, whether it was his music, his appearance or the topics he discussed. Whether you enjoy Prince or not, you know who he is. From a music production standpoint, Prince released albums where he had a hand in every part of their creation. Realizing that changed my perspective on production.
I implemented his bold attitude towards life into my pursuit of a creative career most recently when I decided to change my major to creative writing. I made this change because I felt as if this would open more doors for me as an artist.
One of the biggest traits I admire from Prince is his undying willingness to be fully and unapologetically himself. When looking into this further, I realized I had these goals and aspirations that I never fully allowed myself to pursue because I was scared, because I am a woman and because I couldn’t allow myself to take chances.
Over the course of the last 11 months I feel as if I have reinvented myself as an artist and have become more comfortable in standing firm in what I choose to believe in. I believe in supporting and discussing mental health issues and having an open mind about all kinds of topics.
When I listen to Prince, he has this ability to pull a range of emotions out of me which I will forever be in awe of. His music has also crossed multiple generations in my family from my mother, to myself as well to my younger sister. His songs such as “Darling Niki,” “Uptown” and “Lady Cab Driver” are recurring tracks that will always live in my personal playlist.
Prince introduced a sense of self expression that no other artist had shown me and for this he is an artist that I highly look towards for inspiration in creative projects, including my illustration for this article.
I chose to depict myself in a reflection. I made this as a way to look at myself in a different lens and allow myself to live in this world that I created: a world where it is okay to change and grow as an artist. I enjoy the offset of the colors while still maintaining the foundation with the primary colors.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life,” is one of many impactful quotes from Prince that I will always remember.
