Makayla Castillo is an emerging mixed media painter whose practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art is grounded in a deep exploration of material and emotional resonance. Her work engages a dialogue between acrylic paint, printmaking, drawing, and layered textures, using these mediums to construct vibrant surfaces that oscillate between representation and abstraction. Castillo’s canvases are rooted in personal narrative, reflection on current events, and the human figure, yet they resist fixed interpretation, inviting viewers into a shifting space of personal symbolism.

Color functions as a central language in her practice—freed from the confines of realism, it operates as a vehicle for emotional impact and intuitive storytelling. Each piece emerges from her own visual lexicon, where hues and forms are charged with meaning that evolves through the act of layering. Influenced by Post-Impressionism and the Vienna Secession, her compositions honor proportion and gesture while simultaneously breaking traditional physical norms, reflecting her background in illustration. Beyond the studio, Castillo is committed to community engagement through mural work, exhibitions, and educational initiatives, sharing her practice publicly and through @mjoycreative. Her art exists at the intersection of experimentation, history, and community, cultivating spaces for open dialogue and reflection.