Check out India Williams’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to India Williams.

India, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I loved drawing and painting throughout my childhood but also had a love for the sciences and a desire to help the less fortunate. After visiting India with my grandfather while in middle school, I thought I wanted to be a surgeon and join Doctors Without Borders to fulfill that desire. I took art classes throughout high school but didn’t think of art as something that could be a “real” job that could support me in the future. In college, I studied biology with a focus in biomedical sciences, math, and biochemistry to prepare for entrance into medical school; however, after spending a summer in Peru for a clinical medicine internship through Vive Peru, it became very clear to me that medicine wasn’t for me. My passion wasn’t there, and I’d consistently have my vision blackout while shadowing surgeons in the OR. I couldn’t handle the gravity of having someone’s delicate life in my hands. I thought research might be my best bet after that, so I found work in a microbiology systems lab that primarily studied cancer. After a year and a half working there, I would dread coming into work and attending lab meetings. By the time I graduated with my bachelors I felt lost, not knowing what my path was. That summer, one of our friends modeled for a local photographer who then followed my Instagram. I worked up the courage to ask to model for him. After our first couple of shoots, he taught me some editing tips, and I fell in love with bringing photos to life. I then moved to Seattle that fall. At first, I tried to find work in clinical labs but to no avail. This pushed me to try modeling and editing full time. After a year of saving, I finally had enough money saved to split the costs of a nice starter camera, a Fuji X100F with a conversion lens, with my life partner. I now feel so alive capturing and creating precious, temporary moments of light, time, love, and the essence of beautiful souls I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do? Why? And what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Art is the soul we breathe into what otherwise would be a meaningless life. Art can be made of anything that you do, but you have to invest yourself. I’ve enjoyed trying to master as many crafts as I can. I’m always creating. I draw, paint, model, sing, dance, take photographs, style photo shoots, am a makeup artist and hair stylist. I’m creating a beautiful life. I’m inspired by the endless beauty of this world we live in. The more we change our perspective and raise our awareness we’re more capable of seeing beauty in what we might have once found to be dull, ugly, lifeless. Everything is so fleeting and temporary. I take so much pleasure in capturing a unique moment in time, light, and space from a perspective I’ll never be in again through photography. There’s something so magical about it- finding the preciousness in any moment. Sometimes it’s a challenge, and things don’t come out quite the way you planned, but no matter what there’s always a least one photo I capture that is just right; perfect in its own way, flaws and all. But it doesn’t stop there. I then get to take that photo and breathe my own soul into it in a post when I edit. It’s perfect for me because I hate working from an absolutely blank canvas as a painter. I love seeing how my soul and that of my subject blend together to make a beautiful piece of art. I hope my work inspires others to create and reminds them that no matter how dark the day may be there’s still beauty in the darkness.

The stereotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
There’s no way I could’ve started doing art full time without the support of my partner, but I still live very frugally without excess in order to live off an inconsistent means of living. Sometimes you have to take commissions or work that doesn’t align with who you are as an artist in order to support yourself, and that’s ok. In order to have a steady stream of clients, you have to work hard to stay relevant. I recommend posting on social media daily and collaborating with other artists that already have solid fan bases in order to have more potential clients see your work. When negotiating rates sometimes, you should compromise (within reason) because not every artistic client has the same budget a large company might have.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I currently only have my portfolio on Instagram for my photography.

Contact Info:

• Email: indi.willi623@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/india.williams/

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.