Art & Life with Tori Jowell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Jowell.

Tori, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in Phoenix, and I have always had a love for the arts. Art has always been something I am passionate about. Throughout my childhood I gravitated towards painting and drawing as my mediums. It wasn’t until my early high school years that I noticed I had a deep love and appreciation for photography. I started taking photos on my cell phone camera because I couldn’t afford to get the DSLR’s that I wanted. My friends and I would get dressed up and drive around finding spots to take photos for our social media pages. It wasn’t until May of 2017 that I was finally able to get my hands on my first DSLR.

I received my Nikon D3400 as an early birthday present and it all took off from there. I began taking more portraits and even tried my hand at landscape photography and wildlife photography. It wasn’t until December of 2017 that I began to build my photography into something bigger for myself. I began working harder when it came to my photos and to begin building it into a business. I am mainly self-taught when it comes to my photography and there is definitely a lot of trial and error that comes with it. I feel as if everyone has their special talents and passions and photography is mine. I have grown so much in the past year and I am only going to keep growing from here.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a photographer that mainly does portrait photography. I fell in love with portrait photography, because I love the process of styling models along with the location scouting. I love the manipulation of it all and how you can tell so many different stories, and portray multiple different emotions within a single photograph. When people look at my work, what I hope they take away from it is something that makes them stop and have to look longer to feel the perfect way. I want people to feel an emotion, or think about the story behind the photograph.

Portrait photography to me is vital. Most everyone has sat around and looked at old childhood photos, taken on disposable camera, polaroid, etc. Those photos capture a split second, a memory that will now be forever frozen in time. Once that split second is over, there is no getting it back. Photography to me is living in the moment and keeping the moment for as long as we can. The possibilities with photography are endless and it’s so enjoyable to me. My artwork is a piece of me, everything I create shows my style and gives me the opportunity to show my view and take on the world.

What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
Being an artist can be lonely at times and it can also be very isolating. One way to connect with other artists would be to join Facebook or other social media groups that are specific to your craft/medium. I love this because not only can you easily get to know other people who enjoy the same interest but you can see other’s works as well. You can gain inspiration easily along with constructive criticism and feedback from other artists. Along with these groups they can also connect you to meet-ups and workshops with other creatives in your area. This is a great way to make connections and to work alongside other artists. Another thing I enjoy doing is using Instagram to find photographers in my area and commenting on their work and connecting that way.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
People can see my work on my social media pages and I am also working on building a website in the near future. I mainly showcase my work on both Instagram and Facebook. People can support my work and these pages by taking the time to look at my work. They can also let me know what they love by connecting with me through direct messaging, likes, and commenting on my work.

Contact Info:

• Email: torijphotography@outlook.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torijphotography.2018/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToriJ.Photography1/?ref=bookmarks

Image Credit:
Photo credit to Rhonda Ashley (RadExposure) for the photograph taken of me.

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.