About
Alyssa Kat Bamboo River is a disabled artist and tribal citizen of the Wyandotte Nation with ancestry from the Bear Clan. She currently resides in the East Coast of the U.S.
Bamboo River has a versatile background in different art mediums including watercolor, acrylic, gouache, charcoal, graphite, ink, collage, and oil painting. She also has experimented and developed her own techniques of coffee staining her artwork using brewed coffee, black tea, and coffee grounds.
Bamboo River studied Fine Arts and Art History at her local university with a completed Minor in Criminal Justice. She has sold artwork at the local zoo art festival and the downtown bookstore. She has also exhibited her work during the "Wild Things" exhibit in one of her city's art galleries and had two of her works published in her university's research journal. At her city's downtown hospital, Bamboo River created artwork under the guidance of a nonprofit organization for the patients in the Pediatric Oncology Department.
Peers and viewers have described Bamboo River's artwork as "gentle", "soft", and reminds them of "storybook illustrations".
Willow, 2020
Watercolor, ink, collage on paper
Frame: 18"x14"
African Lion, 2020
Watercolor, watercolor marker, collage on paper
Frame: ~ 11"x11"
Queen of the Mountains, 2020-2021
Watercolor, watercolor pencil, collage on paper
Frame: 14"x14"
I frame most of my artwork myself by thrifting and repurposing old frames.
Artist Statement
"My inspiration for art comes from experiences that resonate beauty, tranquility, and dream-like qualities. A lot of subjects I'm drawn to originate in nature, with a particular connection to big cats and other wildlife. The quintessence of my artistic process is intuitive mark-making and capturing the essence of my experiences and fascinations much like how the Impressionists captured the 'impressions' of their subjects." -Bamboo River
What does my artist name mean?
In 2019 my family and I were living by the river which inspired me to pick up painting again. That year we also adopted our cat, Kaguya, from the local animal shelter. She's named after the Moon Princess born from a bamboo shoot as told in the Japanese folklore "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter". I refer to Kaguya as my little Bamboo Princess. She loves to sit with me and watch me paint.