Written by Liza Kolbasov

For most people, Instagram is simply a social media platform meant for enjoying lighthearted entertainment and sharing photos with friends. For junior Kara Jacobsen, however, it is also a platform to share art with people around the world. Jacobsen is part of an ever-growing community of artists who utilize Instagram to spread knowledge of their work and gain inspiration from others.

Jacobsen started her art account as an opportunity to share her passion with a larger group of people. When she was younger, Jacobsen enjoyed showing her art to her parents and friends, so creating an art account was the logical next step. “I’ve done art for a really long time in lessons, and the idea of being able to share what I create always interested me,” she said. She tries not to let her account restrict her in any way.

Jacobsen sees her account as a platform that allows her to be flexible and creative without following any strict rules as to when and how to post. “I don’t really hold myself to anything crazy strict about everything in my art account,” she said. “I kind of just share what I want to share when I share it.”

With the variety of artists that post their art online, it can o en be di cult to be original and stand out, but Jacobsen’s unique style allows her to di erentiate herself from other artists. “You don’t want to be the same as someone else; you want to have some kind of factor that makes you di erent,” she said. Jacobsen’s account has allowed her to track her improvement over the past few years. Since first starting her account, Jacobsen has discovered the mediums and styles she most likes working with and has become more relaxed with her art. “When I first started… I would just experiment with things because I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with what I was doing,” she said. Now, however, Jacobsen is more comfortable with sharing her art and working in a style that suits her.

Through running her account, Jacobsen has also been able to gain confidence in her art skills. “In my early art, I remember very clearly having to map everything out and do everything very meticulously,” she said. “As I went on, it was less and less about getting my art right and more about getting things down.” Over the past few years of running the account, Jacobsen has refined her style and found out what she most enjoys drawing.
In general, what Jacobsen enjoys most about art is the creative license she has to explore di erent ideas that come up with- out having to plan them out. “I really enjoy just drawing what I think in the moment and not really planning anything and kind of just going for it,” she said.