JAVA June 2019

Photos by Kayla Clancy
A
bright and prolific artist who has become a figure in the Phoenix
art scene seemingly overnight, Nyla Lee has been adding her
colorful portraits to the scenery around metro Phoenix for the past
two years. Her striking pieces have only recently started appearing
on walls, but they’re already becoming as recognizable as longer-standing
public art pieces. At this pace and with this skill level, it’s only a matter of
time before her art career is launched to new heights.
We meet at a downtown café a few days before First Friday. Nyla manages
to squeeze in a small amount of time to talk before heading back to her
current work in progress, a tall mural featuring a young woman cradling
a tiger and a bouquet of flowers, all in bright, almost neon colors. Located
on a large outer wall of the Churchill, a multi-business, primarily dining
space made mostly of shipping containers, hers is one of several murals
that have appeared over the past week. “It’s called 1½ Street, and it opens
on this First Friday – ten artists with ten new murals. I’m so happy to be a
part of that, and I got one of the tallest walls! I’m next to Breeze and Lalo.
It’s crazy.”
A couple of years ago, Lee’s work was virtually unknown to the public.
Shortly after a mural went up on the side of Tacos de Juarez on 7th Street
and Roosevelt, her brightly colored faces started appearing on more and
more walls around downtown. Lee insists that her very swift transition was
an organic process. “Last year was the first that I started making money
doing walls, and this year, my income has been just this. I talk to a lot of
people, and I’m always telling them what I do and that I’d be down to paint
their wall. It’s happened so organically that now I can just do this full-time.”
JAVA 13
MAGAZINE