Charlotte-based multi-hyphenate creative Saloan Goodwin Dunlap, aka Queen Loany, may be known present-day for her digital pop art creations, but her artistic journey goes much deeper. Initially working in photography, she landed clients both locally and across the nation. After she and her husband made the decision to expand their family in 2019, she found it difficult to create through this medium like she wanted to.
“I started designing digital pop art in late 2019 when I was just too pregnant to shoot anymore,” Dunlap tells ESSENCE. “The first piece was the ODB piece that I still share a lot, as well as a Rihanna piece that I have yet to release. In February 2020, I created my Black hair experience piece, and it went viral. Right after that, the world shut down.”
What began as a creative outlet during a transitional period in her life soon blossomed into a powerful form of self-expression. She found herself drawing inspiration from the Black experience, pop culture moments within Black America, as well as her own core memories and things she saw in and around her community. Because of the familiarity of it all, her work instantly resonated with people across the internet, especially Black women who saw themselves reflected in her pieces. “Once I see a picture that moves me, it’s almost like I no longer have control of my hands,” the artist says. “I’ll turn on some music and just go for it.”
This ability to let a photo spark her creative juices in such a way that it produces something so captivating, also caught the eye of popular fashion stylist June Ambrose. Much like the rest of the world, Ambrose found new outlets during the pandemic, and she asked Dunlap to design the art for her and her daughter’s virtual live show—it was a match made in heaven.
“I got a DM from June saying, ‘you got the job!’ It took me by surprise because I wasn’t sure what happened or didn’t even remember applying for anything,” Dunlap recalls. “People had tagged her in a piece that I did, and she reached out to me about my work and asked me to create the cover photos for her live show. I guess the pandemic was truly a blessing in disguise because it also forced people to kind of slow down and pay attention to things more.”
Despite finding success so quickly, Dunlap also realized exactly what it was she wanted when it came to her art. Yes, going viral was amazing, but it also placed unwanted expectations on her to create on other people’s terms versus her own. She found that only she could feel when a piece was truly in its best and final form.
“I know it’s hard for people to look at digital artists as real artists, so I was already fighting against that,” she explains. “On top of getting requests here and there from people that required me to chop up my art based on how they wanted it to look. It all became overwhelming and I kind of just shut down.”
Stepping away for a while, she came back in 2021 with a renewed focus on affirmation-based artwork. These empowering designs, featuring uplifting messages, have continued to build her loyal community of supporters. She’s even upped the ante by designing decks of affirmation cards that feature her creations, too.
“It started as a hashtag, ‘note to self, note to you,’” Dunlap states. “When I put my pieces out into the world, I’m not sharing just so you know my story, I also want people to be inspired. Because at some point, I’ve experienced and gone through it. That’s where my affirmations come from. At first, I was just trying to feed me, but it became a need to also feed the people. There was this intentionality that bloomed after the initial wave of it just being popular.”
That same need to operate with intention has also pushed her to create more pieces that positively reflect the Black male experience in America, too. She wants Black men to feel just as seen through her work as Black women do, especially amid today’s social climate.
“I draw inspiration from Black men just off the strength of my dad and my husband, as well as other men around me,” Dunlap explains. “Of course, creating work that speaks to Black women comes easy, because it’s my lived reality. But when it comes to Black men, I want to incorporate them more because I don’t think they get often reflected in such a beautiful way and I want them to have that experience as well.”
Looking ahead, Queen Loany is excited about an opportunity to work closely with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in the future. In the interim, she’s hoping to launch her debut solo art exhibition later this year in her hometown of Charlotte.
When it’s all said and done, she wants her art to be viewed as a healing medium, one that allows her to connect with people in a meaningful way. “I want people to reconnect with that same energy that kept us alive as children. When they take in my pieces, I hope that it speaks to those core memories that were filled with joy and the simplicity of life.”
Through her vibrant digital creations, she is definitely doing just that, while uplifting her community and preserving the beauty of the Black American experience.