“When life gives you lemons, paint that shit gold”

Hometown: Iceland

Favorite food: Roasted leg of Icelandic lamb

Inspiration: Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, Vermeer…and Vicky Sark.

If you were a color…: Black. Black is said to absorb all colors and light. Plus it looks really good on me.

Favorite part about UAB: Watching people paint and seeing all the different outcomes

Her advice to you: Have at it! Don’t be afraid; art isn’t about being perfect, it’s about expressing yourself. Some of the best paintings in the world are mistakes.

Helena can thank her grandmother for learning how to paint at a young age. She studied art at the Reykjavik School of Visual Art in Iceland. She is inspired by her life and surroundings. If you ask her what painting she most describes herself as, she says the Mona Lisa. Helena loves the mystery behind her face. That sort of attitude makes her a great addition to the Urban Art Bar.

“Painting is like boxing; you can’t paint from your heels. You’ve really got to see the work, size it up and hit it…with paint!”

Hometown: Quincy and Southie

Favorite food: “Three way tie: Buffalo wings, but they have to be just right. Lobstah, hot and fresh with plent of buttah! And mac and cheese. But I gotta say, no one can top my recipe.”

Inspiration: Robert Rauchenberg, Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Arshille Gorky

If you were a color…”Blue. The ocea, the sky, water, ice. It’s calm and peaceful. To me it represents expansion, space and freedom.”

Favorite part about UAB: “It’s my opportunity to pull the curtain back to reveal the great OZ. Many people develop a fear or insecurity about creating art, but I believe creating is a primal part of our psyche. All we have to do is uncover the urge and follow through.”

His advice to you “Don’t be so critical of yourself!”

Art runs in Terrence’s family. His father and grandfather were both artists and he compares his mom, who is a hairdresser, to a type of artist as well. They stirred his love for art. It was Run-DMC however that made him the artist he is today. Hip-hop inspired him to create graffiti; and art and music became a huge part of his life. Terrence graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2010 and is also a vocalist for Boston-based metal band, Boarcorpose.