Jeannie Priscila

About the Artist

Jeannie Priscila is a local multidisciplinary artist born in Montreal, Quebec and based in Toronto. She is now a full-time artist freelancing between commission paintings and murals while also working as an apprentice at Synners Sanctuary tattoo shop in Kensington Market.

About the Artwork

“Queen Ecdysis and the Metamorphic Lunation” was inspired by Jeannie’s phone call with her sister when she said, "Pull a bow backwards to move forward." At the time, Jeannie was feeling very stagnant having just moved back to Toronto from Vancouver and jumping straight into the harsh COVID lockdown for several months. Upon hearing those words, she quickly sketched a female warrior with a bow and arrow with a snake wrapping around her and the moon cycles behind. The images in this work are symbolic and represent going through cycles of change, shedding old skin and the constant life and death we experience as we evolve from one version of ourselves to an even stronger, more beautiful one. It is also a personal reminder for the artist that it’s okay to slow down and take the time to reassess yourself; as challenging as the lockdown was, it allowed the space to figure out long-term goals and plant the seeds of intention to manifest these goals into fruition. Pulling the bow backwards to move forward.

Discover More About the Artist

We asked each artist a series of questions to get to know them better. Here's what we found out:

Is there a local Toronto or Canadian artist who you’d say is your dream collaborator?

I am a huge fan of Bruno Smoky and love his bright bold imagery complimented by his intense colour palette. His style is illustrative and a little psychedelic at times with tribal/nature elements, which reminds me a little bit of my own style. Where he is at now with his artistic career is where I hope to be one day in the future, and he is a huge inspiration to work towards that goal. To collaborate with him would be an absolute honour and there would be so much to learn from someone who paints massive walls like he does.

Which local artists are inspiring you right now?

Bruno Smoky, Rowell Soller, Chris Perez, Kizmet and Sumartist. These local artists all inspire me right now because they are all extremely hard-working individuals and straight up hustlers; aside from the incredible work they do on canvas, they also render murals on a large-scale level and each have their own techniques and set of skills that set them apart from other artists. These are the artists that inspire me to keep creating and remind me every day that being a full-time artist IS possible so long as you put in the work and pour your heart and integrity into each piece you create.

Is there a medium you’d like to try that you haven’t already?

So far I have experience with painting acrylic, spray paint, sewing, woodworking and tattooing; I would either really love to get back into music and pick up my saxophone which I have been neglecting for years or try something completely brand new like welding. I find welding fascinating and think it's incredible the things you can build with metal through sculptural work. To build something 2D is a concept I'm familiar with, but to create a 3D work of art is mind boggling and I'd love to try it in the future.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I have been drawing my whole life ever since I was a little kid and from a very young age, my art was always heavily influenced by anime cartoons such as Sailor Moon and Sakura Cardcaptor. I draw a lot of inspiration from Hindu religion with its aspects of divine femininity, symbolism and gold colouring, as well as Japanese culture with their dragons, floral designs and loose brush strokes. My art is always drawn to femininity, nature/animals, psychedelia, flowing shapes and organic linework.