(Screen Shot NY1 News/ Cheyenne Sookoo’s paintings)
Cheyenne Sookoo, a Brooklyn teen spends hours inside her family’s apartment creating stunning paintings that detail nature and the merits of women of color.
“So the blue one over there represents water, her name is Oshun, the green one is earth, her name is Eden, this one is Neolani, she represents air, that one is fire, her name is Enya and this one is the ether, her name is Aerglo,” she told NY1 News while naming each painting.
The 18-year-old was named one of the “Top Ten Young Entrepreneurs” in the World for her artistry quest, NY1 News reported. The girl has talent with over 10,000 hours in her trade, 100 paintings plus sold, and won the “National Youth Entrepreneurship” competition according to her website’s page.
With her mother also being an artist, Sookoo pushed towards her passion at an early age. She attended Brooklyn High School of the Arts and commenced her business at age 14 with her site “Paints by Chey”. The young entrepreneur sells custom designer clothing and remarkable canvases.
She also produced a new venture with the help of her economics teacher and mentor to start a live painting event.
(NY1 Cheyenne Sookoo)
“‘Events on Canvas’ is a company that specializes in live painting at events ranging from weddings to corporate events. So it will be a new form of entertainment to make your event stand out,” the teenager explained.
Sookoo’s new business quest has helped predominately young Black and Hispanic people with business expertise and trades. The event competitions are sponsored by Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a non-profit organization.
“And these business plan competitions are sort of like Shark Tank for Teens. You pitch your eight-minute business presentation through Powerpoint to a panel of judges and you are asked some questions,” the artist stated.
Sookoo said she may work 12 hours a day because of her dedication and stresses she wants to continue following her passion.
“I am happy doing what I love to do and I don’t need to work retail or nine to five, I’m going to be my own boss”, she expressed.
