Meet Loretta Pena

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Loretta Pena. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Loretta below.

Loretta, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I was bullied when I was a child. I didn’t fit in and no one wanted to play with me. Also, my parents were always fighting so life at home was just as bad. At first, I cried every day. As years passed, I got used to it. Those experiences taught me how to be alone. I firmly believe everyone is a product of their environment. It is up to the individual to take those experiences and do something with them. There is nothing that could hurt me like the past had. My experiences as a child helped me to develop thick skin. As an adult, I reflect on those experiences everyday, and understand that those experiences are what made me who I am today. I tell myself if I was able to survive my childhood, there is nothing I can’t overcome. I know I could bounce back from anything.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a self-taught artist from Union City, California. I started painting in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. I was working for a company that demanded more than I could handle. I turned to painting, with the encouragement of my son, to relieve stress and express all of the emotions I was feeling during this very challenging time. The stress caused me to breakdown mentally and eventually, I came to the realization that I needed to make a decision on my future. It was a no brainer. I am now painting full-time. I have since joined exhibitions in Milan, London, Miami, Monaco, Madrid and Zurich, to name a few. My art is all about my life’s journey, filled with emotion and lots of color. I hope someday to be able to partner with an organization that could use my art in ways that would help feed the hungry. That is my wish so if there is anyone out there with any ideas, please reach out to me at www.artpiecebypeace.com.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Ironically, I believe the best thing for me was that I was self-taught. Being self-taught, I did not know the rules. I was ignorantly brave creating paintings not knowing for example, that green represented hope. It made my art seem different and fearless, when all it was, was the fact that I never had formal training and perhaps I took advantage of the freedom that comes with that. The second quality I feel was beneficial was creating my specific type or brand of art without boundaries. I think it is important to create art that is real and pleases one’s self instead of creating art that one would feel pleases everyone else. The third quality is being able to tap into the emotions and occurrences of the past. Lucky for me there is a lot of material to cover! In short, I feel the best thing anyone could do for themselves, with anything in life, is to be authentic, fearless, kind, and to always stay humble!

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I would have to say Dr, Rattu my therapist (Instagram handle @drmini.co,) was most instrumental in helping me overcome my past and the things that were holding me back. I feel I owe her my life. She is the reason why I would be brave enough to do an interview like this. It’s something I would have never done had I not met her. I am who I am today because of her.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artpiecebypeace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artpiecebypeace
• Other: Email – lorettapena@artpiecebypeace.com