Meet Valeria Granda

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Valeria Granda. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Valeria, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Art has been a very big part of my life ever since I was little. My earliest childhood memories involve me coloring in different themed coloring books and having all assortments of packs full of art supplies. I took crayons, colored pencils, markers, and notebooks to draw and color with me everywhere. Art was something I truly enjoyed and I naturally took up. I continue to enjoy it to this day. Art is my calling and I have answered the call all throughout my life. I took art classes in elementary school and always chose art for my elective classes in middle school. I studied visual arts in the Visual Arts Academy throughout all four years at the magnet high school Robert Morgan Educational Center. I’m continuing to pursue my passion for art and obtaining my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art at university. I continuously put in the hard work to be the artist I am today. Art has always been my purpose and I knew it immediately ever since I was very young. It is innate to me.

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 an artist born and raised in Miami, Florida. I’m currently pursuing my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art at Florida International University. My artwork combines drawing, painting, and text to investigate themes of self-identity and self-empowerment while also empowering others in the process. While I use a variety of materials where necessary to create my vision for my artwork, I primarily use acrylic on canvas, and graphite and ink on paper. The kind of ink I use varies from printer ink to ink from a permanent marker to do my text-based work. I also use block ink to create my printmaking work such as linocut and monotype prints. I’m influenced by the use of text in conceptual art movements. This provoked me to use writing in my own artwork to express my personal thoughts without boundaries or fear.

One of my goals as an artist is to express my identity further with my art. The parts of my identity this includes are expressing my thoughts from both negative and positive emotional states, my thought process, and my internal dialogue and how I talk to and treat myself centered around my self-esteem and confidence, and how I process different situations.

I am also heavily influenced by abstract expressionism and minimalism. My abstract work as a painter includes fields of brushstrokes of colors, sharp lines, and layers combining the like with other elements. The direction that I envision for my future artistic endeavors is to continue to expand my abstract style along with my conceptual and text-based work and express myself as an artist.

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?

The skills and areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey are drawing and painting, art history, and the constant exploration of themes, ideas, and references. The basics of drawing and painting are fundamental to any artistic journey. It helps to know how to draw and paint certain things first such as still lifes, portraits, and figures. Color theory is also very important when deciding which colors to use in a project. These exercises and knowledge served as building blocks and established a foundation for me to be able to expand upon what I really like to do and want to explore as an artist. Learning about art history and all kinds of artists and art movements has been a major tool for me throughout my career. Art history is a great resource for me because I’m able to pull from my knowledge and use it as inspiration for my projects. Along with this, I’m constantly gathering and saving a multitude of references which include a variety of images and text that also help to inspire me. I’m always exploring and identifying the themes and ideas of my work as part of my process to convey what I want in my work.

My advice for those who are early in their journey as artists is to practice and really hone their skills in different mediums of art especially drawing and painting because it can really jump-start their creativity. They should maintain a discipline to progress through their artistic journey and over time, they will develop as artists and become better and better. While doing all of this, don’t be afraid to use your voice and really let your personal style and message shine through.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

It’s better to go all in on our strengths. Although, it’s a good thing to learn new things and areas of techniques as well. While I create art in a variety of mediums, my primary focus is drawing, painting, and printmaking. That wasn’t always the case. Mediums such as drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, and digital art where all I knew until I had the opportunity to learn about printmaking and immediately fell in love with it. I had always been intrigued by the process of printmaking. I was excited and nervous because it was a skill I had never learned before. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to adapt and get the hang of it. During my first day in the printmaking lab, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. Just the thought of the task of making prints with these huge presses that I encountered for the first time ever in my life was daunting. As time passed and I made prints through different techniques, I became more comfortable with the whole process. I felt particularly connected to the monotype printing technique and as such, it’s a significant part of my body of work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @valeriagrandastudio

Image Credits

Valeria Granda