We were lucky to catch up with Erick Mota recently and have shared our conversation below.
Erick, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Resilience is the process of moving through difficult or traumatic situations and being able to adapt and grow from the situation. As an artist, I feel resilience is an essential trait that can be cultivated and strengthened as a skill. When making the choice to create, it is artists who have the ability to propel themselves beyond a situation and imagine how it can be different. Artists can be cultural innovators, but the thought of showing your work to the world requires courage and fortitude. Therefore, artists already are resilient but they must adapt, take control, and activate spaces, displaying artwork among the people who have inspired them. By promoting resilience, creativity is directly fostered. My resilience stems from some of the challenges I had to endure over the last few years, from when I made a conscious decision to resign from my job as a retail manager and focus on my PhD studies and creating art, while dealing with difficult family situations, to getting rejected from art galleries, opportunities, and overcoming a fear of showing work (which I would later discover is very natural for any artist). The last few years have been extremely challenging while dealing with personal family situations. Over time, you learn that to embrace some of the negativity in one’s life, find a sense of purpose, adapt to situations, connect with others, and have confidence in yourself to overcome challenges and look at resilience as an asset, capable of getting stronger, in the face of adversity, securing a future, which entails having creativity and courage, and looking at newfound resilience as a moment to renew yourself and prepare for future challenges.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up in Staten Island, NY. I was always surrounded by creativity, as my father is an artist. He came to the United States at 18 years old from Venezuela, not knowing the language, but here to pursue art, while helping his uncle with his restaurant. He met my mother soon after, and they were happily married, and ultimately had my brother and myself. While working for NYU, my father would always create artwork on his free time. It was never to pursue a career as an artist, or sell his work, or display it anywhere. He would just create constantly, and to this day, he still does. To see this everyday, it would eventually motivate me to nurture my own artistic ability that was self-taught from observing my father. My mother would instill a constant quest for knowledge in both myself and my brother, always getting us books and encouraging constant learning. As I grew older, I was very inquisitive as to how things worked, and developed an inquisitive personality. While I was always sketching on anything I could get my hands on, I did not pursue painting until I was in my undergrad Psychology program. I took an introduction to oil painting class. The professor wanted us to use one paintbrush and a palette with only limited colors in order to teach us how to mix colors. However, I quickly outgrew that palette and needed more brushes, more colors, and more challenging things to paint. My first painting on canvas was a still-life oil painting of a skull next to a rose sitting on top of a pillow. Nothing special, but the person next to me wanted to purchase it. Then my next still-life painting of a vase, someone wanted to purchase. I would find myself turning the canvas upside down to get better angles, and it just felt comfortable. I started naturally knowing what to do, not requiring any instruction from the professor. This led the professor to give me a letter grade of a ‘B’ because she believed I was an experienced painter and only took this class to get an easy ‘A.’
I explained to her that this was my very first time painting, and she did not believe me. I took this as a compliment, and later took her classes again in intermediate and advanced levels, which she would now have no choice but to further evaluate my talent. My purpose as an artist began to seem clearer. I went on to obtain a BA in Psychology, a MA in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and pursued a PhD in Organizational Leadership, while balancing family life with my wife and three children.
My educational background has led me to look at life with a philosophical approach and an introspective understanding. When I first started pursuing art more intensely around six years ago, I had the confidence that I would be where I am at now, but I had no idea how to get there, or even what to paint. I was intimidated by putting meaning into my paintings, out of fear that people wouldn’t understand it, or being around artists that had an extensive education in art. I hired an art coach that was profound in easing my fears, told me to focus on natural ability and stop comparing myself to others. This helped me eliminate imposter syndrome and just delve into raw emotions and my cultural influences.
With that my artistic repertoire began to form around the rich tapestry of influence, from personal experience, observation, a passion for psychology and a dedication to making a positive impact on people. I recognized the importance of continuous learning, and began taking figurative art classes, and pursuing whatever would help mold me into a better artist. Failures became something to embrace, and a means of learning from it and adapting to whatever situation was in front of me.
Each work of art I create entails a meticulous aspect of it from when I gathered reference photos, decided what size canvas to use, what color palette to use, the ideas to convey, hidden details to add, etc. As I continue to refine my craft, I take calculated risks to push boundaries and challenge conventional norms. With a newfound sense of confidence, I create art for myself and invite the world to experience it on their own terms. As my body of work expands, I have found a sense of direction that guides my creative pursuits, as my versatility as an artist that I was once timid about, shines through in my paintings, each one its own story, with a range of subjects that showcase my artistic range.
I want my art to stands out for its innovative use of psychological elements that evoke emotions and engage the viewer. I weave together titles, imagery, and the positioning of subjects to create timeless pieces that touch the soul. I look at everything in life as an influence and an inspiration. To me, art has transformative power and is a powerful tool for self-expression, a bridge between cultures, and a window into the soul. I see art as a way for people to tap into their inner artists and communicate emotions that words can’t capture.
This year I intend to finish my PhD, while pushing myself to grow as an artist and exceed his own expectations. I have an art display with Artist Talk Magazine that will be in Times Square in June 2024, which will be my fourth time in the last two years having work displayed there, as well as features in several art galleries, the Art Expo NY and Art Basel later this year. I am also working on a novel that I have been writing on and off for the last 10+ years. No one knows the title of it or subject matter, but I am hoping to have that finished this year as well. I am also beginning to write a television series that I hope to finish this year as well, and there is a lot to learn with that as well. Whether it is the ability to create timeless and thought-provoking art, or inspiring words, I will continue to leave a lasting impact on the art world and those who encounter my work. With limitless opportunities ahead, there is no doubt that I will continue to push boundaries and inspire.
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?
Self-confidence, interpersonal skills, and ability to take criticism. I wish someone prepared me for the beginning of this journey with these. It is very easy to be discouraged, compare yourself to others, be intimidated to pursue certain projects, etc. Having self-confidence is being able to assure ourself that things will eventually work out. As an artist, it is scary to put your work out there and be in a vulnerable state where people can judge your work, or you as a person. I always feel like every person has the ability to create art, as it is a form of self-expression. However, many people are scared to show people their self-expression. There are probably millions of undiscovered artists that are fearful in pursuing this, but having self-confidence and the ability to articulate a vision and influence others, can make a powerful impact. I needed an art coach to help me see things clearer and focus more on the natural talent I have and less about comparing myself to others. Confidence as an artist was definitely something I struggled with in the beginning. I felt my educational background in psychology and degree in audio engineering wouldn’t translate in the art world. I was timid around other artists, rather than asking questions and learning from them. I didn’t know some of the formal terminology such as value, composition, etc. An art coach was proficient in helping me discover myself, and explaining to me that all that stuff is already in me, and who cares if I didn’t know the terminology. Her words made me realize that there were way bigger things to fear than that. I began to slowly gain more confidence in pursuing some of my artistic ideas and not caring what people think. It’s about making art for me, and let other people interpret it in their own ways, which helped me in gaining self-confidence.
Interpersonal skills are important as well. Being able to be patient, communicate and build relationships with others, and being an active listener are important components. I always listen to people who have been there before, ask them about their failures, accomplishments, etc. and always take something from it, even if it’s what not to do. By having good interpersonal, or “people” skills, you stay receptive to the idea that there is always room to learn.
The ability to take criticism is important. It builds resilience, and you learn to turn negative situations into positive ones. We must realize that because art is subjective, there is no such thing as the best artist. We have favorites and popular ones, but there is no way to define what makes someone the best artist. In reality, not everyone is going to like everything you do, understand everything you do, or support everything you do, but you can learn from the criticism and being receptive to feedback should be constructive.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
It can be very easy to get overwhelmed. Sometimes the feeling of being overwhelmed can be enhanced by negative people hanging around us, social media, life changes, traumatic events, etc. I think it’s important to understand that any human goes through these emotions at some point. The biggest step is being able to identify what causes this feeling. The way I deal with it when I feel overwhelmed is to break big tasks into smaller steps until it no longer feels overwhelming. Also, it helps to identify what is in our control and what we can’t control, and being able to accept a lack of control can be a powerful coping mechanism. Having close friends and family that I know support me no matter what also helps.
Contact Info:
- Website: ErickMotaArt.com
- Instagram: @erickmotaart
- Twitter: @erickmotaart
- Other: Opensea: https://opensea.io/collection/erickmotaart-collection
