My name is Claudia Ylagan (E-la-gon). I’m a local artist born and raised in San Diego, California. I’ve been drawing ever since I was around 8-years old when I had this weird obsession with doodling arctic puffins. I took some art classes throughout my middle school days which is where I really got to experiment with all sorts of mediums. In high school, I learned about art history, unique artist techniques and, most thankfully I had full creative freedom in the classroom. Huge thank you to both my middle school and high school art teacher, Mr. Paluso and Mr. Van Dyke, for being great mentors to look up to and for supporting my artistic pursuits. I hope to one day return the favor by supporting young artists the same way!

Nowadays, I consider myself a "mixed media" artist because I enjoy working with various types of art mediums like pen, colored pencils, acrylic paint, chalk pastels, block prints as well as digital media. Currently, my work focuses on the use of a single blue ball point pen and cross-hatching. This started out as a simple exercise, and has now turned into a full blown passion! Check out my instagram account for real time updates on my work.

My art muse revolves around my curiosity behind nature’s creatures and wild moments. I’m an advocate for spending time outside. The outdoors is one of THE most inspiring and relaxing environments to be in. I like to spend my time outdoors either hiking for those beautiful peak views, catching waves at the beach, trying to fish, and or exploring local spots in SD. I would say that I feel drawn to both land animals and marine life. As a kid, I grew up spending summer days with my cousins at the SD Zoo & Sea World, watching programs and documentaries like Animal Planet, and reading any National Geographic magazine I could get my hands on. Originally, I was pondering about earning my bachelors in marine biology, but instead decided to pursue business so I could gather the skillsets I’d need to make my artwork a full time career. Throughout college I actually went through a major art block, and I was also focusing on a business pursuit revolved around aquaponics through the ZIP Launchpad at SDSU. Those years were spent taking on a different type of creative challenge, but one I’ll forever be thankful for. Shout out to the folks at ZIP for providing real world experiences that I could never get inside a classroom. It wasn’t until after I graduated college the creative flow started again.

I spent some time working in an office where I started working with a blue ball point pen. Over some time, I realized it was time to dive into art full-time. So currently that’s where I’m at in life. I’m taking on the challenge of pursuing a career full of creativity and passion.

Now that's a bit about me and my art journey! If you read my entire About section, I appreciate you!