How Artist Forest Aliya Turns Nature and Music into Abstract Art

Forest Aliya, born in Knoxville, TN, in 1970, is an artist living with her son in Nevada City, CA. In this interview, Forest shares how she has been passionate about colors and art since childhood and how this passion grew into a career focused on abstract painting and sound. She explains how she finds inspiration in nature and music, combining these elements to create art full of feeling and meaning. She also opens up about how she works through creative blocks and her deep connection with each piece she creates.

Forest Aliya was born in Knoxville, TN, in 1970. Currently, she lives in Nevada City, CA, with her son. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Pacific Northwest College of the Arts in 2019, focusing on color theory, abstract painting, and soundscapes. From 2020 to 2021, she received a Holographic Sound Healing Certificate from Dr. Paul Hubbert in Austin, TX. Her work has been exhibited in San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Santa Fe, NM, and Portland, OR. Her work has been published in “Music, Art, Lit” magazine 2020, “Contemporary Artist” 2023 Spring Edition by Jen Tough Gallery, “Art Close Up” December 2023, and “100 Emerging Artworks: Women’s Edition” 2023 by Art to Hearts Project. Her work is held in private collections. To name a few: San Francisco, CA; Cape Town, South Africa; Ashland, OR; Seattle, WA; Grass Valley, CA; and Davis Medical Center, Davis, CA. Her public mural art resides in Berkeley, CA, Oakland, CA, Napa, CA, Grass Valley, CA, and Nevada City, CA.

In her good fortune, she sees harmonies of color and hears harmonies of sounds, experiencing a synesthetic reaction. Her work is described as a symphony of color and sound, expressed through abstract compositions featuring colors, mushrooms, plant life, animals, moon cycles, and figures. She creates places of the present moment, new beginnings, and perspectives embody temporalities and materialities, peace, abundance, communities, paradoxes, and journeys. She believes that color holds narratives we can experience with the naked eye, while her soundscapes unify the work by giving substance to concepts that are not immediately visible or easily expressed in words.

1. What inspired you to become an artist?

I was born an artist. I was always attracted to colorful things and loved putting different colors next to each other. When I was given my first paintbrush at age 4, I remember it being awkward in my hand, but I was fascinated by how it worked. Art time was always my favorite activity. I think I inspired myself. I love looking at other people’s work and figuring out the medium process, but my inspiration comes from within.

I love looking at other peoples work and try to figure out the medium process but my inspiration comes from within.

_{Forest Aliya}

2. What is your creative process like from start to finish?

I take long walks in nature and study how the light travels through things. I look at how things work scientifically as well as spiritually. Sometimes, I take photos at the golden hour to capture the light. There is a lot of experimentation with color mixing and mediums. The paper or panel always starts off lying flat on the ground. Lots of water and bright, bold colors are applied intuitively. I let it dry, and then I come back to it. I search for the composition within the color shapes and go from there. I start building a composition with different values of color shapes. This phase can go on for a while. When I see a physical shape like a figure, tree, plant, mushroom, mountain range, or animal, I will paint that in. My color choices are more thought out in this phase. As I paint, I keep the feeling I experienced while walking in nature. Being in nature and the elements all day, I feel very content and magical. My paintings are the highlights of my walking adventures. My compositions are one highlight of my experiences; many are in one space. When I look at my work and have no more thoughts about it, I know it is complete.

3. Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

Observing how the elements in untouched nature interact and listening to music.

4. Are there any upcoming exhibitions or projects you’re particularly excited about?

This part of my creative journey I am focusing on soundscapes. There will be paintings but I am making the soundscape first before I make the visual part. So I am flipping it around this time. I usually paint and then write a soundscape.

My compositions are not just one highlight of my experiences but many experiences in one space. When I look at my work and I have no more thoughts about it, then I know it is complete.

_{Forest Aliya}

5. How do you handle creative blocks or periods of low inspiration?

I dream and keep painting and drawing even if I do not like it. I had over a year to paint my last art show. I got a creative block a couple of months into working on it. I knew the subject matter of what I wanted to paint, but the compositions were not working out. Nothing was flowing or in harmony. I felt like I was going through the motions but not connecting to anything. I lost count of how many times I changed the color scheme and compositions. I did not give up. Four months later, I started liking what I painted again. Slowly, things started to flow. I began to get excited over ideas, and things happened again. I think this process was me just coming into the present time as an artist.

Forest Aliya’s path as an artist is about exploring new ideas, staying strong, and being deeply connected to the world around her. Using colors, sounds, and different materials, she creates art that captures beautiful moments and invites people to feel a deeper emotional and spiritual connection. To learn more about Forest, visit the links below.