Art is beautiful. It manages to tell stories that words couldn’t describe. They bring us to alternate universes and make us picture life through someone else’s life. A Gen Z artista who is doing just that is Aisha Coello, an artist from New Jersey. She paints stunning images and takes us to her world. We got the chance to speak with her about her art, and how she’s painting all the colors of the wind!

It takes a very skilled, and patient person to be able to paint. Aisha has been doing art for a while now. She told us, “I was always aware that I enjoyed being inside the realm of creativity. I poured my heart out dancing to every rhythmic beat, I explored writing poetry in rhymes to match my emotions, and lastly acting and partaking with any form of theatrics. There was one form I never really touched upon was the talent I would never take for granted. Drawing and Painting was my newest form of expression and it all started with practicing anime characters. My closest friend Yailin was drawing anime at the same time which jumps started my efforts to try. Informing me of the basics. From there I decided to move on to a variety of art mediums.” Art is a beautiful thing, and it has paved the way for so many famous stories. Stories like Van Gogh, and even Frida Kahlo. Artists come from greatness and Aisha is just getting started!

Aisha has done so many paintings that she must have a favorite! She told us, “My favorite creation has to be one of my recent drawings during the quarantine. As I was listening to The Weeknd’s new album After Hours and the idea struck to do my interpretation of his album. Drawing this creation felt like a revival within my soul because I haven’t done the hobby I adored in awhile. Those three days putting all my fixation towards the colors, proportions, and concepts that can coexist.” She has painted phone cases, murals and so much more! We can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us! In the future, she wishes to study law or political science. She mentioned, “I would love to keep my art as a side hustle for sure. As of right now, I have plans of studying Law or Political Science. I believe that Justice or Peace hasn’t been restored in many aspects of society and I would love for change to happen. The change starts with us.” What an incredible role model!

Every artist has their inspirations. For Aisha, she stated, “My inspirations would be those close to me. My grandmother who recently passed. I keep her clearly in my heart as I paint. Seeing her smile as I evolve as an artist. She would be proud of the recent and future works to come. Another inspiration is my sister's friend Jeremy who I inspired as well. He told me one day as I was viewing his artwork, ‘You know your drawings were the reason why I started doing art.’ Looking at how genuine he was saying this made me feel important on his journey and be so honored. He inspires me further that I am planting seedlings for the evolution of many more upcoming artists. Pushing me to new limits in the world of art.” A Gen Z artist who can paint and build bridges for more people like her. It is never easy to draw. It takes strength, and a keen eye to be able to create images with hands. Aisha is just getting started in showing the world that her art is transformational.

In her hometown, she got the chance to create a mural outside of a restaurant. She said, “This painting was a blessing in disguise. I describe it like this because this painting is what lifted me up from a scary abyss I was encountering personally. With college coming next year, the recent loss I had, self-depreciation that I cannot do much due to a pandemic. I questioned a lot, I was really hitting the rocks. Being asked by the owner ‘Aisha would you like to paint the back of our patio that will be soon renovated?’ When I tell you my spirits felt lifted and I thought about one thing: painting. Those days and hours working on my mural it feels like a million stars staring back at you saying ‘you're doing amazing kiddo.’ Every time in the back of my mind I thought of my Abuela as she would have sat back at that table admiring how far I’ve come. I personally dedicated that to her as my way of finishing the painting I wanted to give her. I truly cannot thank the owner of Piccolino’s enough for this opportunity to share my imaginative mind into his world.” You can visit the mural itself at Piccolino’s in New Jersey. The painting got a lot of recognition and it is so great that she got the chance to be able to display her creation!

Aisha Coello is going to do amazing things with both her art and her intelligence. In the future, she wishes to keep art close with her. Aisha said, “When I am asked about my future with art, I haven’t ruminated enough but I believe I’d like to make an impact on many more as I have with Jeremy. I’d love to have my creations be seen for a younger audience to discover the talent they never knew they had. I would also love to do more art pieces for the community. Seeing residents and their eyes beam with awestruck as they are surrounded by the vibrancy of colors and ideas. This was the same exact feeling I had about Bayonne's artwork surrounding me. I would love for others to feel lo mismo of amor and unity in the neighborhood they live in.” We are so proud of you, and we hope you continue every aspect of life with a paintbrush in one hand and your spark of creativity in the other. Continue doing you Aisha, the world is your canvas!
 
​Every artist has their inspirations. For Aisha, she stated, “My inspirations would be those close to me. My grandmother who recently passed. I keep her clearly in my heart as I paint. Seeing her smile as I evolve as an artist. She would be proud of the recent and future works to come. Another inspiration is my sister's friend Jeremy who I inspired as well. He told me one day as I was viewing his artwork, ‘You know your drawings were the reason why I started doing art.’ Looking at how genuine he was saying this made me feel important on his journey and be so honored. He inspires me further that I am planting seedlings for the evolution of many more upcoming artists. Pushing me to new limits in the world of art.” A Gen Z artist who can paint and build bridges for more people like her. It is never easy to draw. It takes strength, and a keen eye to be able to create images with hands. Aisha is just getting started in showing the world that her art is transformational.

In her hometown, she got the chance to create a mural outside of a restaurant. She said, “This painting was a blessing in disguise. I describe it like this because this painting is what lifted me up from a scary abyss I was encountering personally. With college coming next year, the recent loss I had, self-depreciation that I cannot do much due to a pandemic. I questioned a lot, I was really hitting the rocks. Being asked by the owner ‘Aisha would you like to paint the back of our patio that will be soon renovated?’ When I tell you my spirits felt lifted and I thought about one thing: painting. Those days and hours working on my mural it feels like a million stars staring back at you saying ‘you're doing amazing kiddo.’ Every time in the back of my mind I thought of my Abuela as she would have sat back at that table admiring how far I’ve come. I personally dedicated that to her as my way of finishing the painting I wanted to give her. I truly cannot thank the owner of Piccolino’s enough for this opportunity to share my imaginative mind into his world.” You can visit the mural itself at Piccolino’s in New Jersey. The painting got a lot of recognition and it is so great that she got the chance to be able to display her creation!
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Zenerations was started in Hudson County by Sophia Delrosario, an amazing writer, and artist. Lilly Marsh has been working with Zenerations since the beginning. She told us how working with Zenerations has been such a rewarding experience. “It's amazing! I discovered my love for digital art during quarantine and I thought that my drawings would never leave my Ipad. Zenerations allows my art to have an incredible impact.” Her work is incredible. She also told us, “The process is pretty simple. Sophia will either give me a photo of the person in the article, the topic, or any ideas she has for the graphic and then I will draw it. I've been doing it every day for the last three months so I am getting pretty good at executing her vision.” When asked why she enjoys she said, “I love it because it gives my art meaning. If a drawing I create just sits on my iPad, it has no impact. But when something I created is seen by millions of people and educates or helps them, it is the best feeling in the world.” Be sure to visit Zenerations on Instagram @zenerations. 

As stated before, being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. Despite challenges Lilly truly shows that Gen Z is more than just TikTok videos and social media. She proves that starting a business can be anyone's turf. Her biggest advice to those trying to start a business is, “If you want to create something, now is the time. Because we are so young, we don't have to worry about making enough money to pay for a house, taxes, etc. There is no stress, so you can just enjoy the experience and have fun.” Her future is as bright as the sun. Speaking of her future, she told us that she hopes to bring more of her designs in local stores. She said, “A couple of years ago I got the opportunity to have some of my jewelry in the Washington General Store in Hoboken. I loved seeing my products in a store and I had planned on trying to get into more stores in my community but because of the pandemic, I have had to put that plan off to the side. However, I am planning on making that happen as soon as I can! I am also looking forward to making new collections and helping more and more people.” Lilly Marsh, you are an entrepreneur extraordinaire, take your journey and run with it! ​