So, my name is Belinda Tagoe (pronounced TAY-Goh). I’m an artist living in metro Atlanta, GA. I’ve been drawing and painting pictures since 1999, when I was 3 years old (yes, I’m an early bloomer!). Although I’ve taken a drawing class at Clayton State University (never finished) and a high school art class (finished that one), I’m mostly self-taught. When I’m not drawing or painting, I enjoy reading about the weather and cooking. I may also play the occasional video game once in a while!

What Inspires Your Artwork?

That’s a long list of different things. I draw inspiration from many sources. I’ll start with my fine art.

I draw a lot of inspiration from the likes of Bob Ross and Impressionist painters (see Claude Monet). Their paintings are very vibrant and colorful to me, and I love a painting that’s vivid and lively. Lots of people do!

The fun thing about painting is that it’s like you’re creating new life. You start out with a blank canvas, then just 4 hours later, you’ve got a sprawling mountain range that looms above an autumn forest. Maybe you’ve got a mystical forest.

For my more unusual paintings, I think of painters like Salvador Dali, who’s probably one of my favorite surrealist painters of all time. Sometimes, I like to introduce the weirder side of my mind. Speaking of the weirder side of my mind, let me show my cartoons as well.

Although I have a serious, professional side, I like to share a good laugh, sometimes. For me, Screwball Zoo is the best way to do just that. What I love about cartoons is that anything can happen. You want kaiju-sized, funny animal monsters? You’ve got it! You want sharks that play jazz? Go ahead!

As for what inspires my cartoons, that ranges from classic American and Japanese cartoons to ancient mythology. For example, if you’re a fan of DBZ, Mickey Mouse, or Felix the Cat, you’ll find good company with me. In fact, if it wasn’t for shows like Camp Lazlo, I wouldn’t draw cartoon elephants the way I do today.

Ancient myths from around the world have a lot of fascinating tales of mythical lions, rhinoceroses, elephants, wolves, sharks, bulls, horses, and whatnot. The tales are endless! I learned about some of them during my middle school World History class, and I was hooked! I remember reading about Airavata, a mythical white elephant of Hindu fame, as well as the Nemean Lion in Greek myth. Outside of class, I found museum exhibits of hippopotamus statues that were created in ancient Egypt. Those were big inspirations for me.

Anyway, that’s about all I can say about my artwork. Hope you love what you see!

Art isn’t bound by reality. Make whatever you like. The only limit is your imagination.