Creativity is a trait Kalina Torino was born with. Perhaps it is partly due to the rain and gloom that Portland offers that kept Kalina indoors to tend to her markers and crayons. Regardless of the weather, there is no question of her inherent need to make art. It is fortunate she grew up with the humor it takes to handle one’s own artistic explorations, and above all the support system that encouraged her to pursue them.
The pages of her earlier years are filled with doodles and marker drawings ranging from unicorns and mermaids to frogs and more frogs. Inspired by Saturday morning cartoons, the books she read, and the animated movies she watched on repeat, Kalina adorned her Dad’s desk and her mom’s shelves with a plethora of dust-collecting clay creatures. What she would classify as abominations now, were works of art in the eyes of her parents, family and friends. At around the age of 7 she was commissioned her first mural by her babysitter who willingly handed over the crayons and pens to ink up the walls with. She had a sound motivational team.
Thus, there was no hesitation in the direction Kalina would take in her scholarly pursuit. She attended college at the Art Institute of Portland and graduated in 2007 with a B.S. in Media Arts & Animation. Her education in animation made her more perceptive to people’s personalities and how to portray emotions in a stylized depiction. She developed a love for characterization. It really clicked for her while sitting in the far back reaches of the classroom practicing a failed attempt at mouth-reading an inaudible instructor. Her pencil began to wander along with her imagination, and before her eyes a character emerged within her sketchbook: her instructor…in a lobster suit. One of many to be developed in her first illustration series involving characters in suits.
The most rewarding aspect for Kalina is being able to visualize a message, a feeling, or a story and in turn impact and motivate another in some way. There is a touch of her own personality in the works she creates, compounded with the personality of the people in her life and the things she finds entertaining. Her goal in life is to give back to all the people in her life that have supported and encouraged her artistic endeavors by continuing her pursuit.
