BY ADAM BLANCHARD/CARDINAL POINTS
For Amber Corbett, SUNY Plattsburgh art major, her path to becoming an artist was anything but straightforward. Growing up in Long Island, a 4-year-old Corbett dove head first into art after her parents enrolled her in lessons.
After years away from art, Corbett would pick it back up after the passing of her friend, Muhtady, who was also an artist.
“Him passing away had such an impact on my choice to pursue art in my adult life,” Corbett said. “I probably would have never picked it back up again if it wasn’t for them.”
Corbett would enroll at SUNY New Paltz in 2022 as an art major. She studied at SUNY New Paltz until 2024. In spring 2025, Corbett applied to SUNY Plattsburgh and was accepted, adopting her concentration in graphic design.
Corbett specializes in graphic design as well as mixed media, but has worked with other media such as painting, drawing and photography. For mixed media, Corbett keeps herself open to experimentation, collecting many types of materials to transform into a work of art.
When starting a project, Corbett keeps it casual and open. She chooses a subject she’s familiar with, usually looking through her phone’s camera roll for inspiration.
“I’m usually drawn to the image because of an overall composition that makes your eye travel and values that I can work with in different mediums,” Corbett said.
Corbett runs the photo through edits to get the tones she wants, usually by playing with the saturation and adjusting the contrast. Corbett has a go-to color palette consisting of turquoise, vibrant magentas and saturated yellows.
Corbett said her art is inspired by impressionism, a 19th-century art style characterized by an open composition created through small brush strokes.
“I like how suggestive the mark making is from that period,” Corbett said. “It’s really nice to understand what you’re looking at without having to see it in full completion.”
Corbett has worked with Kara Jefts, manager of collections and academic engagement, where Corbett helped design a label for an art installation. Corbett also wrote an article highlighting an archival painting set to be installed next semester. In her freetime, Corbett works on commissioned artwork.
Corbett has planned extensively for after college. Ideally, Corbett would like to go into advertising, but isn’t opposed to taking on an art apprenticeship for tattooing. Originally going for art education, Corbett would also be fine with completing a master’s in art education.
Corbett views art as something precious that can crystalize moments in time. She hopes others can look at art and see the same importance she sees.
“To me, art is like a time stamp. Anything you look at can be art, and it can take you back,” Corbett said. “Nothing else can really do that.”
