When you’re good at something, we have all found it’s hard to stop doing it, and for people like Jaylonna Couzens, it’s hard to stop making art, but can you blame her? “When I can’t formulate the words to describe how I’m feeling, I draw,” says Jaylonna. When it comes to creating art, to her it’s a way to express herself.

Jaylonna’s art is mostly cartoon-like, a lot of the time images of mermaids. “I just think they’re really pretty and I can use all the colors of the rainbow.” Sometimes she is inspired by her favorite artist Simpleagle on Instagram. They are mostly a fan-artist who do digital art of Jacksepticeye, and Markiplier, (relatively famous you tubers),  “Their style is Realistic and Cartoonish, definitely the type of artist I aspire to be…I know they aren’t famous, but I just adore their work,” she says.

One of Jaylonna’s signature art styles involves scissors.  She admits that she went through a period of great depression and became obsessed with sharp objects.  Scissors, razor blades, blades taken out of pencil sharpeners – any thing sharp that she could get her hands on, she would use to inflict punishment upon herself.   “I was so angry, so frustrated.  My mother would say terrible things to me.” Slowly, Jaylonna started to confess and talk to her friends and the periods between self-harming would grow longer before another relapse.  “It felt good to cut something up into little tiny pieces.  It felt so much better to cut up paper than inflict harm upon myself.” Jaylonna switched to cutting out pieces of paper and creating an image with them, “It’s mostly vent art, I put my anger into cutting up the paper and make a picture to show how I feel with the pieces…” she says. “I’m in therapy.  Now I only cut paper when things get really bad.” 

This piece was inspired by a song called “My Last Resort” – song by Papa Roach, where he talks about cutting himself and  self-mutilating.  “For three years that’s all I did.  I would sit in my room for hours thinking about killing myself and cutting.” Jaylonna was brave enough to realize she needed help and she is a much happier person today.

To Jaylonna, art isn’t just a hobby, it’s an escape from reality, and to aspiring artist she says, “…don’t get discouraged by others’ work. I know it’s really easy to compare your art work to others, but instead of quitting, use their work to inspire you to become better.”  Jaylonna aspires to become an animator or a tattoo artist, two things that associate with her love of art!