Art wasn’t something that interested Phil Shapiro growing up.
The IU senior said it wasn’t until he took an art class in high school that he was inspired by an art teacher to get more into painting. He said it was around 2013 when he realized he could be an artist and that was what he wanted to do with his life.
Now, Shapiro will graduate in May with a major in psychology and minors in art and history and will pursue a career in art.
However, he said he hates art classes because he doesn’t like people telling him how to make his art.
“I am already a hard enough critic on myself, so I don’t need to hear other people’s opinions,” Shapiro said.
Being self-taught, Shapiro said he has no influences for his artwork other than life.
He has nearly 6,000 followers on his Instagram account titled “Philson Art,” and said he sometimes finds things on social media that he thinks are really cool and inspire him. However, a lot of his work is spontaneous.
“I do what I want,” Shapiro said. “I don’t really stick to one style — I combine a lot of different styles.”
If he had to classify his art, he said most of it is abstract expressionism. He said he also enjoys painting artificial environments and pop art.
His work is motivated by school, girls, stress and sometimes just him being in a good mood and feeling like painting, he said.
Shapiro said he puts a lot himself into his work. He said he has a child-like side to his personality but also a dark side, and that is reflected in his artwork.
“A lot of it is based on feeling and emotion, so it is hard to put into words,” Shapiro said.
He said people have told him they relate to his art whenever they have seen his pieces either in person or on his Instagram account.
Shapiro will get his chance at his first gallery showing in November. The gallery showing will be Nov. 20 in Miami at Kontempo Art Gallery.
When it comes to networking, Shapiro said it is important to cast a wide net, get rejected a lot and then eventually something will work out.
He said he hopes people will like his artwork, but their opinions don’t matter as much to him as long as he likes his own work.
“If they don’t like it, then I don’t give a shit,” Shapiro said. “I am going to keep doing it.”
Shapiro said he paints mostly for himself and he is never going to give up doing what he loves. For every painting he has ever made, Shapiro said he can remember exactly what he was feeling and what he was doing when he made it.
“Everything I am making is part of me. It’s personal,” he said.
Shapiro said he wants to be the best at what he does and go down in history.
“That’s what art is,” Shapiro said. “It’s an extension of me, and it will be around a lot longer than I am.”
