Mickayel Thurin shares insights and connects with the writers of SHOUTOUT LA in this feature, click the link below to read more:

"...what do you want your legacy to be?
I want my legacy to be that I sparked a deeper awakening in people—encouraging them to embrace their most authentic selves and fully engage with the present moment. Through my art, I aim to stir emotions, disrupt autopilot living, and connect people to the raw truth of their experience. I want to be remembered for speaking my truth unapologetically and living in alignment with my highest timeline—honest, intentional, and at peace on purpose. In 50 years, I hope people will say I illuminated a mindset that empowered others to become their best selves and live with greater awareness and love. And if I didn’t achieve that, I hope they’ll say I embodied it in my own life..."

Elizabeth Johnson: Soft Rain is a delightful work, since you capture how fog holds color through highlighting a vibrant, pastel teal and pink barn amidst violet air. Lachen Fields does just the opposite: it creates space by contrasting distant lit fields with shadows of cast clouds in the foreground. If a foggy morning suddenly gives way to clear delineation between light and dark, do you reach for a new surface to start a study or another painting, and finish the fog painting outside tomorrow or in the studio?

Jeffrey Reed: When working outside, especially in Ireland, the light and atmosphere are constantly changing, sometimes dramatically. (There are times when I have to wipe out and start over when the weather changes, but not often.) Rather than finding this frustrating, I find it liberating. Of course, decisions must be made, and I will try to lock into a moment. I had to learn that, as an artist, we are always making decisions. Along with his discovery I learned that every painting had to have an objective.