Painter Izzy Boronat blurs the lines between fine art and low art

Izzy Boronat, a graduate in Fine Arts from Georgia Southern, creates oil paintings that explore the juxtaposition between classical techniques and themes of lowbrow art. Influenced by her mother, who also studied art but never pursued it as a career, Boronat’s inspiration often stems from her passion for those closest to her. Boronat recalls always having a desire to craft and explore different mediums, first making 3D models and then discovering a deeper interest in painting in middle and high school. 

After she stepped onto the college scene, she found that engaging in academia produced a conflicting love-hate relationship towards art. While she enjoyed the structure and discipline academia brought, Boronat discovered that the source of her inspiration often comes through “low brow” art. Inspired by Walter Scott’s “Wendy” series, a slice-of-life serialized comic with a focus on the main character’s journey through art school, Boronat admired art that could balance both satirical humor and harsh reality. 

“I got into comics a few years ago and for the past few years that has inspired me,” Boronat said. “I’m not a comic artist, but I like stupid comics and my stupid original character. I think that comics have been considered, historically, low brow arts. But that’s the shit I like to consume. It helps me want to convey a story by tying in fine art with sequential art.”

What kind of subjects are you looking for in your paintings?

It usually comes with passion. If this is a person that has been important to my life or if I’m trying to convey a story, I’ll focus mainly on facial expressions. My subjects will either be partners or friendships, or just people that I have loved, people that I do love, people that I think of, or people that I miss. There’s got to be some sort of passion and personal ties to the subject if I’m being called to make art. 

How would you describe the role personal relationships play in your art?

[I am] someone that loves so hard and so deeply and feels so much passion. Commissions? That’s a chore. It’s so hard to make yourself sit down and lock into something for monetary value. Some people are good at it, but that’s not me. I have to have passion and feelings for someone in order to get in my flow state. 

How do you feel academia affected your work?

That’s a fucking can of worms. How dare you. I think it simultaneously killed my passion but also made me so much more passionate. Before undergrad I was always making art and there is a lot of routine in it as well, but then you get these prompts and you have to do foundation classes and it’s theory heavy and it’s like, “Wait, you guys, I want to paint. I want to paint my girlfriend or something.” But also being out of it, I miss it so much. I [was getting] prompts, and I [was getting] critique and getting to talk about it with other people while doing it. Critique is so helpful.

Could you talk a little bit about your work of art Lauren?

Lauren was my first girlfriend and first ex, but we were friends for years and she took that photo in high school. I’ve had a drawing of it, a fun little tongue in cheek drawing on in my room for so long and then this was also an assignment tied into a self-portrait and someone else. I was thinking about her all the time. I was missing my friends and I missed having a whimsical time with her. The reference I used for this was so goofy.

Ponyboy is Gay, 12x16in, Acrylic on Canvas, Serialized, 2023

Could you talk a little bit about “Ponyboy is Gay?”

Ponyboy is my dumb ass original character and this time soon I want to have stupid, silly comics with him. He’s usually like a self-insert character. Ponyboy is based on a song by Sophie which is called “Ponyboy” and the song is raunchy. So is Ponyboy. He’s kinky, he’s queer, and just fucking nihilistic and always like whatever—he’s always smoking. But this is a story about the night I found out—really came to terms with—being a lesbian. I had kissed so many boys before and whatever but I’ve always known that I didn’t want to date a boy.

Is Ponyboy based on a personal experience?

Yeah, so I got outside and smoked and then this boy who was so charming and cute and just weird kept flirting with me and I was going along with it and then he asked to kiss me. I don’t know if it was something that was so validating, just talking to men. There was an ease that came with it. But I remember that night thinking “This sweet, sweet boy…but I hate this.” But I was like “Okay, I get it now. I just needed this one last boy to understand.”

Out of all your pieces of art so far, which do you feel are most personal to you?

The most personal one for me I would say is the one where I have the “F-slur” on my forehead. That one is more about gender expression and identity and what it means to me to be a lesbian. There’s a specific anecdote that I use for that piece. Specifically it’s this one time I went out and this dude was just mean because I called him insecure. And this man got in my space and said “Who the fuck are you with? Your fake glasses and you look like an [expletive].” That experience was just so silly. I wish there were so many things I wish I could have done, I wish I could have said. 

What is the best advice you received as an artist?

Not being a slave to reference—seeing a piece as more holistic than getting tied up in tiny details. And sometimes turning your piece upside down helps you see what’s not great and what can be better.

What advice would you give to college students who are looking to pursue Fine Arts and painting?

Don’t be married to a style in college—maybe not ever. Style gets refined after some time and practice for years. Don’t confine yourself to one thing that you’re good at.

Boronat’s vibrant paintings, influenced by passion for those closest to her, reveal the importance of empathy as inspiration. While academia often brings a greater understanding of technique and discipline, Boronat’s artwork shows that those same techniques can be applied to modern slice-of-life moments—whether it’s the smile of an old lover, a night out at the bar, or the glimpse of self-revelation.