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JYAREE CHANTEL BUSTOS

@artbybustos

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University of Calgary.
commissions open !!
@chantel.bustos

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A Room of Almost by me
Thank you to everyone who went to go see it #iloveyou taken in Nickle Galleries by @artbybustos

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6 months ago

SILENCE
OIL ON CANVAS
MARCH 2026

Guys omg i totally fatified my face in this UGHHHHH. dw will render soon #ozempic

In Silence, I present a family portrait of myself and my parents within the unfinished space of the basement. While our faces and skin are rendered in colour, the rest of our bodies dissolve into black and white, merging with the exposed structure around us. My parents meet the viewer’s gaze directly, while I look away, creating a tension between confrontation and withdrawal. This dynamic reflects patterns within my family where emotions tied to shame, guilt, or disappointment often go unspoken. As immigrants, difficult conversations are frequently avoided to maintain harmony, resulting in a quiet but persistent emotional distance that extends into my relationships beyond the home.

My parents’ steady gaze suggests a desire to be seen and understood within the weight of their sacrifices and expectations for success. In contrast, I internalize these pressures, retreating into a state of inaction I describe as the “Room of Almost,” where perfection is preserved by never being tested. Visually, this tension is reinforced as our bodies blend into the unfinished basement—my parents remain grounded and present, while I resist engagement, even as their hands rest on my shoulders. The work ultimately frames procrastination not just as a delay in action, but as an emotional condition—one that manifests through silence, avoidance, and the strain it places on connection. by @artbybustos

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5 months ago

be there or be so square

better with pictures not words so please guys don’t ask questions at the exhibit just sit still look pretty like daya said. #thankyouiloveyou by @artbybustos

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6 months ago

the last supper in three cups, one apple
OIL ON CANVAS

decided to venture into some abstract by @artbybustos

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5 months ago

DISSONANCE
OIL ON CANVAS

lol my least fave painting of the bunch, BECAUSE I STILL CANNOT GET MY FACE RIGHTTTT but love brooke and what she decided to wear this day
#outsideclothesinthebedyuck

Dissonance examines the cycles of obsessive attention and perfectionism that shape my creative process, creating a tension between intention and interruption. The figures on the bed are rendered with meticulous detail, while the surrounding space remains deliberately unfinished, reflecting how other areas of life become suspended or neglected under hyperfixation. This contrast mirrors the push and pull between perfectionism and avoidance—what is prioritized versus what is left behind.

The scene of myself and a friend playing cards represents everyday moments of distraction, where leisure coexists with the pressure of unfinished tasks. These pauses become a form of avoidance, subtly overshadowed by what remains undone. By leaving parts of the painting incomplete, the work turns neglect into a visible presence, evoking guilt and anxiety while emphasizing how hyperfocus in one area can leave the rest unresolved. Ultimately, Dissonance captures the instability of striving for perfection while accumulating fragments of neglect that persist in the background. by @artbybustos

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5 months ago

INERTIA
OIL ON CANVAS

#yourbabyisgonnaburn
who knew what blue could do

Inertia explores the paradoxical comfort found in avoidance. The painting depicts a figure—myself—lying on a couch as flames slowly consume the room. Rather than reacting with urgency, the figure remains still, appearing almost soothed. This disrupts the expected logic of danger, creating tension between the escalating environment and the absence of response.

Here, inertia operates psychologically rather than physically. The figure is held in place by internal resistance—fear of failure, pressure, and expectation—where remaining still feels momentarily safer than acting. The fire functions as a metaphor for accumulating emotional strain: unresolved tasks, anxiety, and internalized demands. Though it signals danger, it also emits a deceptive warmth, reflecting how avoidance can offer temporary relief while sustaining distress.

This contradiction lies at the core of procrastination: the very behavior that produces distress can also feel familiar and momentarily controllable. Inertia captures this suspended state—where awareness and inaction coexist, and doing nothing becomes both a form of protection and a slow form of self-destruction.* by @artbybustos

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5 months ago

I THINK I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE ME
OIL ON CANVAS, MIXED MEDIA, WOOD FRAME
APRIL 2026

when i first did this piece it was so fucking ugly. shout out judy anderson for making me rework this . so much happier w it now #livelovelaugh

I Think I Love You More Than You Love Me serves as the culmination of A Room of Almost. In this painting, I depict myself nude, lying upside down and pushed toward the viewer, as if slipping off the bed and into the surrounding space. Behind me, a dense collage of unfinished and previously hidden works fills the background, bordered by wood-like structures that mimic the exposed framing of a basement. These fragments of abandoned works reflect a form of chaos that is not purely negative, but intrinsic to the creative process. Here, the mass of unfinished works becomes both a source of pressure and a condition of making, reinforcing the tension between paralysis and creation while collapsing the boundary between figure and environment.

By incorporating older works I once concealed out of shame, I reframe procrastination not as absence, but as something materially present—layered, inescapable, and formative. These fragments act as both evidence and weight, pushing my figure toward dissolution into the unfinished abyss, inseparable from the “almosts” that define my experience.

If I am so aware of all of procrastination’s detrimental and suffering consequences why is it inevitable that I fall back in its cycle of destructive behaviours? Rather than resolving this question along with many, I remain within them. I do not frame procrastination as something I have overcome, but as a condition I continue to return to—aware of its consequences, yet unable to fully detach. My relationship with procrastination is toxic, it is one sided and does not serve me in the way I repeatedly and foolishly serve it. by @artbybustos

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5 months ago

uhhhh maybe turn your brightness up????

black color study. lowk liked this one more than i thought i would. going to start posting art of mine that i have gatekept. stay tuned by @artbybustos

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6 months ago

The 2026 BFA Honours exhibition “A Room on Almost” is on now!

Featuring a series of large-scale oil paintings and mixed media works from Chantel Bustos (@artbybustos), this exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the emotional weight and complexity behind a condition that is often dismissed as simple avoidance or lack of discipline.

📅 April 7 - 30, 2026
📍Upper Floor, Nickle Galleries

Nickle Galleries. Always Free. Everyone Welcome. by @artbybustos

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6 months ago

KNOCK FIRST
OIL ON CANVAS

this painting fucking killed me

COME SEE MY EXHIBIT AT THE NICKLE GALLERIES !!!! APRIL 7-30 by @artbybustos

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7 months ago

Loved painting this !!
Commission for @cmagination

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Special thanks to @wiktoriazaba._ for doing the photoshop work! by @artbybustos

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8 months ago

Check out our latest young artist submission!

Artist: Chantel Bustos
Instagram: @artbybustos
Artwork:
-When Ambition Consumes
-Madness to the Method
-MARLBOROUGH'S BITCH
Location: Calgary, Alberta

👉 Learn more:
www.artlaunch.ca/blog-art/when-ambition-consumes
www.artlaunch.ca/blog-art/madness-to-the-method
www.artlaunch.ca/blog-art/marlboroughs-b

Are you a young artist (29 & under)?
Share your own work at ArtLaunch.ca! by @artbybustos

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9 months ago