Meet Andrea Miralles

We recently connected with Andrea Miralles and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us today. We’re excited to dive into your story and your work, but first let’s start with a broader topic that might be stopping many of our readers from pursuing their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. How have you managed to persist despite haters and nay-sayers that inevitably follow folks who are doing something unique, special or off the beaten path?

I have a deep connection between my mind, body, and spirit. When I want something, my mind is made up, and my body works with me to make it happen. When my spirit knows something is for me, it might take time, but it pulls my mind and body toward its vision. My body has similarly powerful carnal and physical-activity-oriented needs. I’m not saying all of these needs are necessary or healthy, thankfully most of them are.

So, when I want something—a new career, to pursue a new sport, try a new activity or hobby, or to talk to a stranger—I turn off the parts of me that protest and follow the vision. If I can detail compelling enough reasoning to want something, I don’t let myself get in my own way. It’s like having blinders on. If I won’t let myself get in my own way (the biggest obstacle), I sure as hell won’t let anyone else.

Naysayers and haters are like the fake obstacles in the road in online driving tests. You see them, you might crash into them, but over time, you learn to avoid them and don’t even need to check your rear view mirror if you cleared them, because you’re sure you did and they don’t matter on your path forward.

I’ve received a lot of advice from my various careers and jobs. In tech, I heard an earful. In art, everybody’s got advice. Sometimes it hurts when the people you thought could give you sound advice end up directly or indirectly shooting you down or trying to scare you, giving you nothing actionable to take home with you. At the end of the day, it says more about them than you. You learn what type of person they are or what mood they were in that day and you take it in stride.

The sad truth is, people aren’t all impeccable with their word. It’s hard to be at all times! At the same time, actions speak louder than words. I take everything with a grain of salt, cross reference everything, gather multiple perspectives, and look to see if action and data backs what people say. All of that was important in software engineering, and it’s critical in art and design as well.

I’m a big journaler. I’m on my 14th journal since college! I do a lot of positive affirmations, prayer, and gassing myself up. It hurts when people say or do mean things. It’s okay to be affected, but it’s not okay to let it stop you from doing you. I’ve learned to let myself feel hurt, rage at it, process however I need to (throwing a lacrosse ball at the wall, hitting the gym, painting in silence, blasting music, dancing), and then I ground myself, give myself positive affirmations, pray for peace, and with time, I let it go. Nothing is as important as my vision for my life, and no one gets power to affect that other than me and the people that I say matter.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m coming up on my third year of running my art and design business Andrea Miralles Studio. It’s been such an exciting year because I went full time last year—it’s had its ups and downs, but the best part is that I’ve met so many kind and interesting people, and I see the potential to do bigger and bigger things. The most important thing for me is to spread my medicine through my art, to share very basic messages of empathy, love, and environmentalism through art and design and how I live my life.

I love to work with folks growing their businesses or communities, helping their brand bloom from the inside out with art and design that aligns their vision with impact. I provide illustration, graphic design, and web design services as a graphic artist. I am relaunching my productized services at the end of November so that it’s more aligned with the spirit of my business and accessible to the folks I want to work with. I love collaborating with heart-led individuals with a mission for positive impact, whether its through wellness, outdoor gear, art, community, or food and beverage. Anyone can create positive change, and I try to align with folks who share this vision.

Helping others through art and design and channeling ideas into visual language and immersive experiences gets me excited to get out of bed in the morning. I love sharing positive messages with others as much as I love writing self-affirmations. I see that the world can use a lot more good vibes, unity, and peace. Behind the work, I aim to build genuine connections and truly enjoy my time with my clients.

In my traditional art practice, I paint primarily with acrylic, but also oil, gouache, watercolor, and ink. I sell original paintings, prints, apparel, and crafts on my online shop and at pop ups in NYC and NJ. As a cofounder of Tsismosas Collective, an all-woman Filipina art collective, I curate and organize art shows and community events like vendor markets. Cultural and identity work is extremely important to me as a second generation Filipino American—I work to elevate and empower Filipinos, AAPI, QTBIPOC artists; that’s the mission of our collective. We just had our third art show together in October! I’m excited to keep painting and connecting with the art community.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I worked in tech for seven years and proudly wore the badge of a woman in tech and woman in STEM. Now a woman in STEAM, I recognize the value of my background in tech and at a fintech startup. It’s extremely important for artists to take risks and fail fast and keep pushing. It’s also important to know that there’s always going to be someone smarter and better than you, but by keeping a growth mindset, you will attain mastery with enough time and persistence. I learned all that as an engineer working with some of the most intelligent, gritty people I ever met. I hope I carry some of those traits forward.

The last piece of advice comes from my unique experience as a highly cognizant intersectional woman: true belonging starts from within. Sometimes you need to change your environment to look and feel more like you in order to feel belonging. This helps you feel safe enough to share your voice and light with those around you (people in the majority culturally or ethnically will never know this experience). But, until you learn unconditional self-love (it takes a lifetime so don’t be hard on yourself), you will always find yourself wanting. Whether you’re the only skater girl at the park, the only Filipino in the meeting, shortest girl in the room or what have you, own it and love yourself because of it. Your authenticity is what sets you apart and makes people notice.

My actionable advice to new artists: go out and experience things outside of art—that gives you your unique perspective, and if you can, travel.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

My work is industry-independent, but I would love to connect with more folks in health and wellness, fashion and beauty, community work, outdoor gear, and food and beverage. My focus is helping these businesses connect with their audience through branding and visuals that align with their voice and vision. They might feel disconnected from their art and design assets, like it’s not cohesive or compelling and does not accurately tell their story. When a brand’s mission and product speaks through their branding, it comes to life. Art and design work together to tell stories and call people to action. It’s something to get excited about!

If you’re feeling disappointed or embarrassed with your brand assets and want to turn over a new leaf with collateral that converts, blooms with purpose, and draws eyes to your business, let’s work together. Your art and design assets should feel effortless and exciting and be true to you.

You can tell me about your project through my website andreamiralles.com/contact. My website redesign and service offers (launching at the end of November!) detail my different services, rates, and delicious outcomes for your business. Go check it out!

Separately, I would love any referrals to art galleries, gallerists, and art organizations, as painting is a huge passion of mine. Working on fine art is another side of me that feels fully alive when I’m in my creative flow in solitude. It’s my sagittarius moon in action, getting messy with paints, working analog, world building natural dreamscapes that house loving people, flora, and fauna. I would love to continue to nurture this practice and meet people I can share it with.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Andrea Miralles (for all other photos)
Roland Hyde Photography @rolandstoned (for personal photo)

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