KCRW’s Young Creators Project is showcasing visual art submissions from young, LA-based artists under 21. We kick-off our showcase with Alhambra resident Sterling Molldrem.
His piece is titled “BALI,” and it’s a colorful, large-scale drawing of three faces, inspired by characters from Hindu and Polynesian mythology.
Molldrem first started painting when he was 5 years old, splashing paint on the walls and doodling on his homework assignments —and upsetting his parents along the way. But by 12, he says he took his creativity to the next level.
“I take it as seriously as someone would with a sport,” he tells KCRW. “I was coming out of gymnastics and I was pretty intense. It was like four and a half hours, five days a week. I took that same discipline that I learned within that, then just applied it to my art,” he tells KCRW.
Alhambra resident Sterling Molldrem’s submission to KCRW’s Young Creators project is a painting titled “BALI. Photo courtesy of Sterling Molldrem.
Molldrem also paints murals for local restaurants and print shops: “ People saw my work and were like, ‘Okay, let's get this kid over here, paint something up’ and it blossomed off of that.”
Today, Molldrem says he’s most drawn to large murals, like “BALI.”
“It's like big, in your face. There's a lot of attitude and style to it. Kids can be rolling by, ‘Yo, what the F is that big mural?’ That gives me a lot of happiness.”
Keep up with new work by Sterling Molldrem by checking out his website, and following him on Instagram @Silverstreetz. Want his work on a shirt? He also sells original apparel on his online shop here!
