Daily Inspiration: Meet Bijou

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bijou.

Hi Bijou, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey to creating offbeat art was similar to that of a meandering, lazy river. I have always loved arts and crafts but never thought to pursue it farther than the art classes offered at school. When I was younger, my main interest and passion resided in athletics. Once my athletic career came to an end, I was fairly at a loss on what would come next, what would I love and dedicate my time towards? My first answer was to take on travel and adventure, though I love both I needed to also have something that I could do while I had downtime in my normal life. That is when I decided to pick up a sketchbook and dust off my creative brainwaves. Instantly, I was hooked and knew that I wanted to continue to grow as an artist. With the encouragement of my friends, I soon began to dip my toes in the pool of thought of whether I could sell one of my pieces. Though, initially I was incredibly and painfully shy, embarrassed by the idea that someone might take a liking to one of my creations, I still pushed myself to take the steps of creating a website to showcase my colorful creations to the world. Instead of feeling the harsh wind of rejection I was able to meet and connect with people that enjoyed the fun nature of what I have created. I have been very proud to grow in my confidence and excitement of sharing my artwork and offbeat style with those that want something that is playful, joyful and colorful in their home. Currently, I have begun to branch out from smaller paintings and prints to creating large scale mural projects and t-shirt designs for local businesses, here in the Colorado mountains.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Every road has its potholes. There have been many small bumps along the way but I would say the biggest struggle that I have (and currently) faced was the change in how Instagram works, this is a struggle that I know many other artists, big and small, have struggle to adapt to as well. When I first plucked up the courage to create my very one art page on Instagram I found the response incredibly encouraging. I was able to showcase my art easily, as your feed was in chronological order and only the people you followed would show up on your feed. This allowed me to connect with so many more people, my friends were able to see what I was creating and share it to their friends as well. Likes, shares and comments were bountiful and it felt very exciting to be able to share my artwork with my audience. Slowly, at first, I began to notice the changes, the introduction of ads, and the algorithm all of a sudden shrank my audience to nothing. Myths and legends were let out into the world about what you could do to ride the algorithm; everything had to switch to reels or you had to post 1 trillion times a day. I was not and have not been able to adapt and have watched my presence fade to a faint pulse. Not feeling that Instagram is any longer something that can lead to connection, I have slinked away from the social media outlet and have been on the hunt for the next step or platform that can help me grow and spotlight my offbeat pieces.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create offbeat, funky designs that celebrate living in a Colorado mountain town. Many of my pieces are an ode to the eccentricities of ski culture, whether it be riffs on an “apres-ski” party or how many “mysterious” illnesses pop up on a powder day, I like to find the fun and immortalize it in my own funky style. My pieces are colorful, and joyful with the intent to brighten up a mood, room and vibe. I like to explore with different mediums, though my go tos are acrylic paint on canvas and watercolor that is combined with bold linework.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Living in the mountains, I rarely get up to Denver in the winter, so it is always a treat when I am able to climb over the pass and spend time in the city. The coffee shops are of course heavenly, my favorite is Korvus Coffee in Littleton at the moment. Not only is the coffee phenomenal but the baked goods are OUT OF THIS WORLD. Aside from the hoping coffee scene I love the blue skies that Denver boasts most days of the year. Combined with the unlimited amount of outdoor hobbies it really is an idyllic place to be!

The traffic that comes along with a day in Denver is my absolute nightmare. Being used to one road and no street lights makes the commuting from place to place in Denver a stress fest!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creativelybijou.com
• Instagram: @creativelybijou