Today we’d like to introduce you to Lex Terrell.
Hi Lex, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In its most basic form, I am a person trying to convey my thoughts. It doesn’t fall under a specific style, genre, or medium. Life set me up to be an artist being that I was surrounded by them from the very beginning. My father influenced my style with music ranging from the 60s to 2000s, so that was a big impact within itself. Hearing people like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Outkast only stimulates creativity and gives you comfort in the journey of finding yourself. The interest in fashion also came from them in my younger years. Besides my realization in kindergarten after drawing my first rainbow, my brother also inspired me to take drawing further because I wanted to be just as good as him. He says now that I have surpassed him, but I like to say art is relative. The initial start of Creative Abstract was in 2015-2016 and the main focus was on clothes and streetwear. I worked on and off on it for the next few years. Once I got into Scad, as most art students, art school became my life. However, there was a part of me that felt lost during my time there. Eventually, I decided to leave and start the artist journey on my own and taking the knowledge I gained along with me. For the next year or two, I focused in on various aspects of my life such as beliefs, values, and my true perception of the world to dial in on who I was as a person as well as an artist. As of now, I have realized a lot of that can alter and shift throughout this journey we call life. So for now, my goal is to simply share how my perception changes along the way. I have been heavily impacted by so many different things and people while still learning and evolving everyday. My art whether it is fashion, paintings, digital work, visuals, music, or anything the mind can create will be forever changing as I am.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Life is not a smooth road, so I knew choosing to be an artist was not going to make it any easier. I have learned that I am perfectly fine doing the work once I get the ball rolling, however, it is getting over the self-doubt, overthinking, and perfectionism that are my main struggles. Although, I am beyond grateful for my support system because they remind me to step back and take my time. Another difficultly that I experienced is balancing my creative endeavors with making time for other life enjoyments such as spending time with people I care about. Balance is such an essential part of life and should be practiced throughout everything and even more-so as an entrepreneur and an artist.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As of now, I mainly consider myself a visual artist. People know me for my brand Creative Abstract (formally just a clothing brand), however that is expanding. It is now known as XA and will consist of all the different mediums I work with. As of now, that is clothing, graphic design, and painting. As far as accomplishments, I am very proud of my first solo art experience I curated earlier this year. There were about ten digital/painted pieces, photographs from a shoot I creative directed, a visual, and some clothing pieces. What sets me apart is that this is all coming from me directly- my own thoughts, my own brainstorming, my own experience. I touch on those topics of changing perceptions, self-realization, overthinking, and other mental struggles directly because it affects me directly and I know people relate so why not talk about it and create from it.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The Unknown. Genuine Motives. Balance. My main advice that I consistently remind myself of is that the world around us is constantly changing and so are we — Therefore find the beauty in the unknown. Another piece of advice is to keep genuine motives in all your endeavors. Lastly, find a way to balance your dreams with the simple things in life to keep yourself grounded and less overwhelmed.
Contact Info:
- Email: lexnterrell@gmail.com
- Instagram: @X.abstract and @Lexnterrell
Image Credits
@itsgroovy @masithecreator
