Reggae music has a way of bringing my blood pressure down, and in a city as hyperactive as New York, hearing it while walking down the street was an immediate breath of relief. I gravitated towards the sound of “Green Apples” by Dennis Brown being played out of a speaker by the Washington Square Park Fountain.

As I got closer to the sound of the music, I saw a woman immersed in painting beautiful pieces of artwork. She had a benevolent mystique and was humming to the song’s tune while working on her art with precision. She saw me admiring her work, looked up, and said a sweet and spirited hello. Her name was Kayla Eleven.

Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Eleven has been painting since just the age of five, “I have been painting my whole life. I come from a family of artists, so it is naturally always something I saw. My aunt and grandfather did graffiti, and my mother drew and worked with her hands. My grandmother was a kindergarten teacher, and we used to make our own paint and do paper mache. And my aunt used to draw fashion and make dresses, and I would trace over her sketches. That’s when I realized how much I really liked to draw.”

Kayla’s personal journey to painting was one of self-discovery. It may not have been what many would expect by looking at her undeniable beauty and talent, “I started painting because I used to get bullied. Nobody liked my face; they didn’t like my teeth; they didn’t like my head; they didn’t like anything about me. So I was like, oh my gosh, am I that terrible? So then I would look in the mirror and study my face, then I would draw my face and try to understand what part of me they didn’t get.”

Saddened and surprised to hear this coming from such a stunning soul, I couldn’t help but think of how many people experience bullying throughout their childhood and the hurt that follows from it. However, what Kayla has done to turn that pain into something exceptionally beautiful is a true inspiration.

Knowing that people may feel connected to her story, I asked Kayla what she would say to people who would like to follow in her footsteps of becoming an artist, “Start with yourself. Like a lot of times, people don’t know what to paint, and the first thing you can paint is yourself because it is the being that is with you all the time that will pose for you, sit still for you, and you can track your growth.” she continued, “When you draw or paint yourself multiple times, all that changes is your skill and technique. Then you are also learning about stuff at the same time. It pairs together skill, techniques, and self-knowing.”

Now sitting confidently and creating pieces currently featured in libraries and galleries across the city, Kayla is just getting started. She says her ultimate dream would be to start an art organization that provides free housing to artists, “We don’t have regular jobs, we don’t have pay stubs, and it is harder to lease. I want a place that is just to support artists and have a building where they can sell their work to pay the rent, and then everybody can live there too, and that is also their studio.”

Kayla’s selflessness and internal power were infectious, and I left our conversation feeling moved. I took a lot away from my time with her, but mostly that in order to seek depth and growth in life, we must start with ourselves. To literally or figuratively hold a mirror up to ourselves and realize that the person looking back at us will always be with us. It is compelling to know it is within our power to mold ourselves into the person we want to be. We can be our own pieces of art that we choose to reflect upon and work on throughout our lives.

You can follow Kayla and her work on Instagram at @el_gahada.