Learn more about her story and inspiration in this artist Q&A.

Name:

Siobhan O'Dwyer

Location:

NYC

Medium:

Photography 

I am currently based in New York City, working as a part-time pharmacist and creative graphic artist. 

Day-to-day varies, but almost every day starts with my cup of coffee and starting or finishing a new artwork of mine before jumping into whatever schedule I have lined up. Whether that is a shift at my pharmacy, or a free day to focus on my artwork with a good workout, cooking, emails, errands, and friends, I’ll always finish with creating at the end of my days as well. It’s my favorite way to wake up and go to sleep. 

I went to college and graduated with my doctorate in pharmacy, and began working as a fulltime pharmacist in Northern California in 2014. At this time in my life, travel and photography became true loves of mine, and 2 years later (2016) I made a big move to New York City. 

My world felt flipped upside down from the California nature and landscapes, to big city hustle and bustle; I knew I had to take to my creative ways to deal with such changes in my life. My subway rides to my pharmacy during these days were flipping through older photos of my California mornings. I started to take these photos and add more color and florals to portray how I see such corners of the world, and from then on my signature floral art pieces become my “thing.”

I usually create with a vision already in my mind, first thing in the morning and before bed at night. Every image you see is a compilation of all original photographs I’ve snapped. I use my Sony DSLR camera I’ve had for 5 years now, with various lenses- the 50 and 35 mm lens being my favorite. I create using a collage technique on platforms such as Adobe Photoshop, and end each image using Lightroom to play with contrast, saturation, etc

This question is always my favorite. My inspiration is always from nature and my own life experiences. The basis of my artwork is always nature inspired, and my visions flourish from my own internal emotions and how I may be feeling. The creations I am always most proud of are usually the ones that come when I am going through more challenging emotions. Life’s imperfect moments, memories I’ve made, music, Woodstock, the feeling of freedom and nostalgia are all forms of inspiration for me. 

The bright and bold sunflowers of Vincent Van Gogh is my main influence, along with the delicate techniques of Claude Monet. Musical artists such as Tourist, Lane 8, Ben Bohmer, Fog Lake, the Shout Out Loud’s all influence me when I create my artwork as well. 

Being able to just express myself fully. Hands down it’s the best part- my art is my soul, it’s who I am, so there is no better feeling than the ability to express that freely.

My signature floral designs came about pretty early on in my artistic journey, which are now launching on ArtStar. 

When I first began creating, it was always the bright, wildflower arrangements that grew naturally along the California coast that left me in awe every time. I began to take these and incorporate them into my own photographs, and within a short time I started to create with just these arrangements using various colors to make each piece different from the next. My love for the California coast and such beautiful, natural wildflowers have and will always be so special to me.

Peony Dreams and Ranunculus World are my favorite pieces launching on ArtStar. 

Peony Dreams is one of my very first signature floral pieces so it will always be so special to me, and Ranunculus World I love as this piece was the first I decided to create as a full-floral design, with flowers snapped at the Union Square Farmer’s Market in NYC. 

Peony Dreams was created on the subway, which is so special to me. When I am far removed from the things I love and tested with a challenge, in a way it pushes me more to desire and crave the things I love in life, and this really resembles my artwork and this piece specifically. Being on the crowded 6 line listening to Lane 8’s Ghost Voices (I love electronic music and he is one of my favorite artists), I simply flipped through older photos of California wildflowers and created this vision of mine as Peony Dreams. 

Ranunculus World is special as I mentioned above, these florals used were snapped in NYC, a place you don’t normally think of to capture a lot of flowers. I was walking through the Union Square Farmers Market and my eye was caught by these beautiful blooms at a stand. I stopped and bought a bouquet of these, as I loved the different peach and orange tonalities throughout. When I got home I immediately started capturing them, and eventually used them in this artwork.

I will always hope for my art to be relatable to anyone and everyone, with hope of brightening someone’s day. The coolest outcomes from the success of my art are the personal messages I receive from my audience. I can’t tell you the number of beautiful messages I’ve read where my art has helped with someone’s depression, made them smile, or made them inspired in their own artistic way and for me nothing can top the feeling of reading such messages. I can only hope this continues going forward- connecting and relating to others through my art will always be the most important thing for me.