Reclaiming Your Beauty; with Artist Jonquel Norwood

1:44 PM

Hey Loves,

I am so honored to being writing this post. If you follow me on instagram you know that I have a major obsession with artist Jonquel Norwood. I 1st met her via instagram after I saw that she drew my bathing suit look from Essie Golden's plus size pool part back in June. After that I started to really browse her instagram & website to see what else she had to offer. After grabbing some Chipotle, she & I decided to teamed up and she allowed me to sit down with her to get to know her, take a look at some of her work & actually watch her in action. I have to say, this girl is really talented. It is something to be admired to watch a young woman bring things to life through art. Her work speaks so much volume. Her drawings have a way of blending reality with fantasy. She knows how to capture our sassiness, our vulnerability, our sensuality, our humor and all aspects of being a woman.

Born in Lousianna, Jonquel is quite the talented young woman. She is an artist, an illustrator & textile maker. She started drawing at a very young age & quickly found a passion & love for all things art. Not thinking she would actually make a career out of this, she eventually went college at Savannah College of Art & Design where she graduated with a B.F.A in Illustration and is now a full blown artist making her way to different conventions displaying her very eclectic art portfolio. She is an artist that doesn't believe in limiting herself; in life or in a particular pieces. Her talent includes, painting, drawing, pen & ink, Photoshop, Illustrator, & Mixed Media. She loves the fancy stuff, but never neglects the basics of having a solid foundation in her craft. Though she is finding her confidence & in a sense finding herself in drawing plus size art, she continues to incorporate "geek art" and anime into her work. She thought it was important to never leave that part of her work behind. She has always been a lover of Japanese art, Manga, Anime, etc. That's what she started drawing in the very beginning, there is always a market for Anime lovers!

She is quickly making a name for herself in the plus community with her fashion illustrations. Being somewhat of a newcomer to the industry, she's a breath of fresh air, bringing her own unique twist along with her. She didn't set out to draw plus size women, but after a rather embarrassing incident; a stranger asked her how many months pregnant she was (side eye). She took all of that emotion and sketched her first plus size drawing featuring a young lady that looked like her, stomach & all.

Her 1st plus size drawing

She has been gaining a lot of popularity on instagram with her recreation of outfit drawings from some bloggers & plus industry favorites. She captures everyone's style while adding her signature touches. She spoke openly with me about not always being confident in her body, is learning to reclaim her beauty with every piece she draws. She finds gratification in drawing women that look like her; women how are bold & seeing other women live their lives abundantly.

These 2 were my personal favorites of hers, and she admits that they are some of her most powerful pieces. Her Female Pharoah (left) & Nefertiti (Right) are inspired by a lot of current events such as #BlackLivesMatter as well the talent of hip hop legends like Tupac. She paints her feelings, her strength, her pain, her femininity & her beauty in each. Can we talk about that melanin though lol

I love watching artist in their element.

I got a chance to watch her take this drawing of me, from black & white to full on color.

The finished product!

Her work most definitely speaks for itself. She is quite open about using her work as a stepping stone for her future goals, which include working for Disney, having her own doll, her a clothing line, commissioning large scale fashion pieces for fashion designers around the world and so much more. Along the way she hopes to inspire other young women (plus size or not), not just to be better artist but to stand by their art, be seen & reclaim their beauty through their work.

More of her work!

To learn more about Jonquel head to my youtube channel to watch my interview with her. Also please check out her website Jonquelart.com. Be sure to follow her on twitter & instagram @Jonquelart. We have to support our curvy girls & brown girls who are talented & hustling to live their dream. Hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think about her work. See you in my next post.