Day 13
Adaja CoopeR (@Adajacooper)
As a result of being in quarantine, I have had a lot of free time to do something I really love – art! However, the state of the world has created stress and anxiety. This discourages me from wanting to leave my bed some days. Even though art is extremely therapeutic, I felt helpless. My original painting “Day 13” is representative of the mixed emotions I felt during the first 13 days of quarantine. It represents my anger, sadness, gratitude, and frustration in my lack of motivation to create art. It also represents how many artists are feeling the pressure of creating something amazing with all of this free time. "Day 13" depicts myself with strokes of blue and brown that represent my struggle of sadness. I also made the background resemble a chalkboard with numbers, words, and symbols related to the coronavirus, a nod to the schools that have closed for the remainder of the year. This piece has taught me the value of expressing my emotions no matter how hard it may be. After finishing this piece, I immediately felt better. It has given me the confidence to create more emotional art in the future!
About the Artist
Adaja Cooper is an award-winning 19-year-old artist from Little Rock, Arkansas. At the age of 17, Adaja fell in love with painting by experimenting with bright colors and immersive portraits. During the summer of 2017, Adaja was accepted into Governor School, where she further developed her skills with acrylics and oils. Along with winning multiple state art competitions, such as AYAA (Arkansas Young Artists Association), she has competed in national competitions with her paintings as well. In 2019, she won third place in the painting category at the National NAACP Act-So Competition in Detroit, MI. Some of her pieces are currently on display at the House of Art in North Little Rock. Adaja uses her experience as a Black woman of African-American descent living in America as inspiration for her art. She enjoys incorporating Black people as her muses, typically having bold and expressive facial expressions, or calm expressions with vivid backgrounds.