Bella Aurora is an artist from Chicago Illinois and a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, she found her first inspiration in the City. She often found herself wandering around the murals in Eastern Market and visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts. Even though her parents were not artists, they always allowed space for her and her brother to explore all their creativity. Even letting them draw all over the walls and get messy. When she started taking classes at SAIC in high school she found her love of painting and working on large-scale surfaces.
Bella Aurora’s artwork is deeply rooted in the Female Gaze, drawing much of her inspiration from the Divine Feminine. She mainly focuses on painting portraits and figures embracing the power between body and nature. As a female artist, Bella is pushing against the objectification of feminine bodies. Her work embraces sensuality, body, and image from a female gaze as a form of reclaiming power over the feminine body and energy. Bella depicts these powerful feminine energies and deep spiritual connections through painting and color.
Color is a very important aspect of Bellas Aurora’s paintings. She refers to color as a medium in itself. In her work color is just as important as the shapes and lines. Bella believes a live being or environment cannot fully be depicted without color. Her creative process and color development are the first thought and many times lead to the further development of other aspects of the piece. Unapologetic color choices add to the context of the work. Powerful subjects are reflected through bold colors.
Bella Aurora is currently focusing on developing her art and working on her third year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Inspired by her growing up around the art in Detroit, she hopes to work on creating more public art in the future.
Instagram: @cosmicbabybella