By Adam Blanchard
SUNY Plattsburgh senior Alexis “Doc” Adamkowski stands above her peers with her thoughtful approach to her artwork.
Adamkowski’s academic career led her to become a double major in anthropology and art with a focus in painting and drawing. She incorporates her knowledge of botany and anatomy into her works.
Adamkowski grew up in a small village named Vernon, New York. She would live in a garden center owned by her parents. During her childhood, both of Adamkowski’s passions would form and blossom.
“I just remembered I was like 10 or so when I drew a bearded iris for the first time,” Adamkowski said. “That’s kind of when it clicked into place for me, honestly.”
Adamkowski’s career path had not always included art. Faced with naysayers and doubters day after day in high school, Adamkowski would stray away from art for the first two years of her college career. There was no erasing her love for art, however, as she would come to adopt it as one of her majors, despite financial concerns.
“At the end of the day, there’s no accounting for passion,” Adamkowski said. “I’d rather be middle-class and happy than upper-class and miserable.”
Now having studied art collegiately for three semesters, Adamkowski has developed an art style like no other. She uses bright colored mediums such as soft pastel, oil paint and acrylic paint. Adamkowski used the term hypercolor to describe her art. Her works consist of a wide spectrum of colors that aren’t ordinarily used, requiring a deeper examination of each piece.
“Anything that I can have a very color dominant piece is always going to be something I work well with,” Adamkowski said.
Adamkowski finds herself continuing to improve upon her work every semester, with her progress being most evident in her current series, Echoes of Eden. The series focuses on feminine sexuality, with each work incorporating botanicals and a nude model. She draws her inspiration from the Renaissance and Ancient classical Greco-Roman art, evident in the realism her works portray.
Adamkowski’s process in creation requires distinct methods because of her subject matter. The most difficult part, Adamkowski said, is finding models that are willing to be drawn nude or have their pictures taken for reference. To remedy this, Adamkowski tends to invite her friends to model, as they are familiar with her work and have a preestablished connection.
“I sit down with them and we have an hour or two long interview with them about my project,” Adamkowski said.
The questions focus on the subject’s sexuality, allowing Adamkowski to get a deeper understanding of the individual. As she gathers information, Adamkowski chooses how to compose the piece, what botanicals to use and how to have the subject pose. She compensates every model out of her own pocket and hands them a print once the work is finished in order to build even stronger relationships.
“When I broached this subject with a couple of them, I was worried that it was going to be awkward,” Adamkowski said. “But they were very excited to get into my process.”
In addition to her current series, Adamkowski has become an accomplished artist and continues to reach higher. Adamkowski has an art piece displayed in the Studio Select exhibit in the John Myers Fine Arts building, which is part of her current series. She has also requested to have one of her pieces be put into the Munson Williams Art Museum’s Sidewalk Art Show, located in Utica.
In the future, Adamkowski hopes to become a freelance artist or gallery artist, but isn’t opposed to teaching, as she has a background in teaching already. She has held a position as a substitute teacher at Vernon Verona Sherrill high school since 2022.
“There’s always new art, new movements coming out,” Adamkowski said. “And I want to stay in that atmosphere of youth and creativity.”
Art is a cornerstone of Adamkowski’s existence and has permeated every facet of her life. She believes that art is misunderstood by many, yet it subsists in every aspect of one’s life.
“The best part about art is that you can have two people on opposite sides of the world look at the same piece and identify with it in a similar way,” Adamkowski said. “It’s a connection that transcends language borders, politics, everything. It’s universal.”
