By Gerard Flanagan, news writer/photographer/social media, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Ayreal Allen, a senior from Campbellsville, Ky., will have a reception for her Senior Art Exhibit from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, March 24, in The Pence-Chowning Art Gallery, 205 University Drive, Campbellsville, Ky.
Allen’s exhibit is open now through March 25 at the art gallery.
Allen will graduate from Campbellsville University in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Animation Emphasis.
“Sharing my work with others has always been very important to me,” Allen said in her artist statement. “I am a creator of stories, worlds and characters; so with my artistic abilities, I am able to bring my worlds and the characters that inhabit them to life.”
Allen is an interdisciplinary artist who primarily works as a digital artist specializing in portraits, character design, illustration, storyboarding, and animation. She uses pen and paper as a medium of artmaking as well as for creative writing, one-shots and poetry.
Allen said she uses a mixture of realism and her love of fantasy to create her characters and interesting illustrations.
“I use this style to reach a larger audience and to broaden the minds of the people who view my art to hopefully inspire them to create,” she said. “Fantastical, magical, and apocalyptic worlds have always been one of my biggest inspirations for my works of art.”
Allen also said she loves doing portraits.
“I can capture the unique qualities and traits of every human just as God intended it to be,” she said. “Also with these skills, I am able to give a glimpse of someone’s lost loved one when they need it.
“Doing portraits also gives me the option of taking my characters and creating them how I envisioned tying back into my love for character design and illustration.”
Her experience includes the Naruto Commission in 2019, a portraiture in 2020 and a coloring book for Campbellsville Alumni in the 2021-2022 academic year.
During the 2020-2021 academic year, Allen was named to The National Society of Leadership and Success at Campbellsville University.
The Pence-Chowning Art Gallery hours, exhibitions, and receptions are listed on Art and Design page at https://www.campbellsville.edu/academics/programs/art-and-design/gallery/
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university that has enrolled up to 12,000 students yearly. The university offers over 100 programs of study including doctoral, masters, bachelors, associate and certification programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.