Casty

Artist Statement

Hey everyone! I'm just someone that is trying to inspire people to do more in this world! Just like many people I have been through my own set of challenges and struggles but they made me who I am today. It took me a long time to come to terms with my sexuality and it has also taken me a long time to get my drawing skills to where they are. My goal and dream is to travel all over the world to showcase my art! I also want more people to be aware of the Yoruba culture, through art pieces, comics or both. I also do artwork for the furry community, one that actually helped me to improve my art and myself. I am a part of the Yoruba culture, and have been crowned Obatala many years ago. There are many women of color that are also artists and I just wanted to make sure that those that are thinking of pursuing art are not discouraged! Just go for it!

That's all I have to say about myself. Take care and stay safe.

Biography

Cynthia Castillo is an artist who grew up with parents that were born in Cuba, during the high times of the Castro regime. Her parents were deported in the 80s and by the grace of the universe, they started a new life in the US which started in New York and later in Tampa, Florida. She started with pens and paper, being inspired by the golden era of Disney movies and Anime. Later on, she started to take an interest in comics due to her growing artistic abilities and sadly, due to some harsh times that she had to go through. She later attended IADT of Tampa where she graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. Cynthia did not become interested in realism art until 2014, when she started to work with pencil and drew a fan piece based on the character Liara from Mass Effect. Cynthia still pursued her comicbook projects and worked both in realism and comicbook styles. Cynthia later decided to take on the convention vending circuit, where she saw more and more sales and people that were truly captivated by her work. By then, she created many pieces that showcased the skills that she continues to improve upon along with doing both traditional and digital art.

Cynthia loves animals, fantasy and anything pertaining to her culture. Being Afro-latina and also Pansexual, she feels she needs to continue to pursue the arts to both inspire the next generation of young LBGTQ+ artist to allow their creativity to show more of their worlds to many people.

Exhibition History (CV)