Meet Amber Cobelle of Waltz into Dust in West LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Cobelle.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Amber. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Art is just like everything else in my life. Easy to imagine, hard to get ahold of and the moments you can hold with joy are very fleeting.

Art is inclusive, evasive and hard to find. It’s something that took me a while to understand, but once I had it within my hand, I was quick to grasp it and not let it go. When I was young, I’d see others’ art and feel so inferior because theirs was beautiful and mine was so terribly ugly. That pencil just couldn’t stop misbehaving, so I swore that drawing was snubbing me; giving me the cold shoulder and so I turned my back on it as well.

And I did turn my back on drawing, for the most part. Drawing never made me feel anything but silly and inept. So, I started writing, in pen, not pencil, because that pencil was just too disheartening, and that was where I actually found a lot of healing.

Fast forward some years later, about nine years ago, I decided to pick up a pencil again out of the blue. I looked at a photo and started drawing a portrait and felt shocked that this talent had snuck into my fingers. Looking back on the piece now, it’s laughable, but I applaud my young heart at thinking I had done something worthwhile. What started as face study portraits of musicians and actors, turned into putting these people and their emotions into a visual emotion told through more than just their eyes. It became an entire scene, my minds cinematography brought out by my hands and captured on paper instead of film.

Then I started selling on Etsy about eight years ago, and I was surprised, and still am, that people wanted to buy my work. It has become the greatest platform for me, reaching out and interacting with clients.

Six years ago, I moved to Los Angeles and continued to work as an artist and started modeling, doing both commercial and runway, another career path I never thought to have. Things were going along quite well until a few years ago when another wing was torn off and I started to fall from that delicate sky again.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Two and a half years ago, my art completely shifted direction. My momma became sick and completely bedridden, and with that, I became her full-time caregiver. It really took a subconscious effect on what I wanted to portray in my art. My work is still thematic, I still work with a lot of music and cinematic themes and the religious overtones have become more and more apparent.

My light pieces are very whimsical and bright-hearted and my dark pieces delve into the crevice of the soul.

Throughout my life, I’ve come to understand that every trial I go through is a trial of humility, an opportunity to stay humble and never take things for granted. As they can quickly be taken away. I lost my mother on April 2, 2019. This woman inspired me in many ways, ways that I will continue to realize now and in the future.

I wasn’t blind to the ways she shaped me during her life, but I know that her work within me is not done. Those last few years are the most cherished to me, they haunt me.

Waltz into Dust – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in hyper-realism. That seems to be my claim and what I am most proud of, as that’s what I’ve worked so hard to obtain.

Often, people question whether or not my work is a photograph or one of the mediums I use, and that is beyond a compliment to me. When people tell me that I can bring someone to life for them, it means the world.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Every day that I am able to work as an artist is a moment of happiness, and I am proud of that, so few people have a chance to be able to realize their dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/waltzintodust
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ambercobelle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waltzintodust/
• Other: http://waltzintodust.cobelle.net/

Image Credit:
Amber Cobelle | Waltz into Dust

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