An Artist’s Journey: Between Intuition, Creation, and Survival
- Verónica Leándrez
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Interview with Verónica Leándrez
1. Please tell us something about your background and your art journey so far.
My art journey began when I was a child. I was always naturally inclined to draw. I was a quiet and introverted kid and so adults gifted me with art supplies when my birthday came around. I guess they saw I had a natural ability.
I was later told by a famous New Orleans medium that I was an artist in a past life but that I had not received recognition in that lifetime because others had taken credit for my work. She said this was why the desire to be an artist carried over into this lifetime, even though that wasn’t my main purpose for this incarnation.
It has taken me a long time to accept this fate, because since I was young, all I did was draw and paint. Even into high school, no other job felt right for me. I could have chosen from a dozen careers because I was always a bright student and I got excellent marks, but when I imagined myself in any other job or working in an office, I felt sad about life.
There have been many things to overcome on the path to being an artist again.
2. Describe what a normal day looks like as an artist.
I have always had a natural aversion to routine, so a normal day for me is one where I have the most freedom to choose, moment by moment, what I want or should do. I have built my life to have as much freedom of expression as possible, and this has been a process of trial and error, including much failure in holding down normal jobs.
My day usually includes looking at the current astrological forecast, a short meditation or some yoga, or maybe a tarot pull while I drink my tea, depending on whether my overactive mind allows it. I always need my personal space to be orderly before I can start working on any creative project. It’s like a ritual that helps my mind prepare for the act of creation.
I usually paint on days when I have the most free time, because I find that creating art, and painting specifically, is not conducive to the left-brain, digitized, fast-paced lifestyle we are currently required to operate in.
3. Can you tell us more about the theme in your art and your inspiration?
My inspiration has always been my own inner questioning regarding the meaning of life and why we are here. At fifteen years old, I read a book called How to Uncover Your Past Lives, and after inducing many self-hypnosis sessions, I filled an entire sketchbook with intuitive drawings of my past lives and the faces of what I may have looked like in previous incarnations.
Growing up in Miami, my greatest frustration as a child was not having enough skill to accurately describe visually what I wanted. My mother allowed me to test into and ultimately attend special magnet schools dedicated to creative learning.
I truly believe that if I had gone to normal schools, I might have ended up on drugs or suicidal. I had deeply profound, esoteric inclinations from an early age that needed expression.
4. How does your art life impact other parts of your life?
How does it not?
My artistic life has always impacted my other responsibilities, including the choice of when to be a mother. As a young artist in New Orleans, I was afraid that motherhood would deter my artistic career, and like many other women, I faced an abortion.
That period of my life was riddled with guilt, and my earlier work reflects that struggle. I did not see a way to reconcile these two paths. In our patriarchal capitalist system, mothers are pushed into the private sphere without the economic and social support needed to do both. Inevitably, the child’s life takes precedence over any other desire she might have.
This is a burden carried almost exclusively by women. Men are never required to unwillingly sacrifice their careers in order to be fathers.
5. Could you share any difficulties and hardships you had to face in life and how or if you managed to overcome them?
The greatest hardship has been navigating recurring economic instability. My mother always feared this for me, but I was an irreverent and passionate child and didn’t heed her warnings.
If an artist does not want to “sell out” to the corporate capitalist machine, economic hardship is likely, because our world is not designed to give creatives the time and space they need. Society values productivity, supply and demand, and bottom lines, while art requires time, security, space, and deep reflection.
Da Vinci had the House of Medici. Dalí came from wealth. Van Gogh died poor and unrecognized, and even he relied on his brother’s support to create his work. History repeatedly shows that the main struggle for artists is economic.
I was fortunate to be intelligent and stubborn enough to pull myself out of poverty multiple times. I tried many times to be a “normal” person with a normal job, but it never worked, for me or for those around me.
I truly believe that if our systems supported artists, many of the world’s problems would dissolve. Art is central to the human experience and nourishes the deepest needs of our soul.
6. Tell us about your best experience in the art world so far.
My best experience was being invited to speak at the United States Library of Congress. This happened in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina, while I was living in New Orleans.
A gallery in Washington, D.C. contacted several artists from New Orleans and invited us to organize a group show. Alongside the exhibition, we were asked to give a conference about how the city and its art community were rebuilding after the hurricane.
The reception was deeply affirming, and it remains one of the most meaningful moments of my career.
7. Share your worst experience in the art world.
Being told by galleries, “We love this piece. Can you make ten more just like it?” That, and having my art stolen. Both have happened more than once.
I suspect that one day, some of my stolen paintings will resurface, probably after I’m dead and no longer concerned.
8. What practical advice can you give to fellow artists?
I’m not sure I can offer practical advice beyond the cliché of “follow your heart.” I believe deeply in intuition. It often understands reality better than intellect because it perceives what is unseen.
Society prioritizes rationality and intellect, but especially in art, the most brilliant decisions are often non-rational. As cliché as it sounds, following your heart is always the right path.
9. Is the artist’s life lonely? Please share your thoughts and experiences.
By its very nature, the artist’s path is lonely. That said, loneliness is a universal human experience. One of our greatest struggles is our sense of separation.
If education systems addressed the spiritual dimensions of existence, we could cultivate compassion and eradicate much conflict. Practices such as meditation and contemplative inquiry help us understand separation and transform it into connection.
I was fortunate to grow up in a home where spirituality was encouraged, and I have always navigated loneliness through contemplative and artistic practices. These experiences have shaped all of my work.
10. What are you working on at the moment and are there any upcoming events you would like to talk about?
For over twenty years, I have focused on the feminine figure and women’s portraiture. I am now beginning a new series of male portraits. The series is still in its early stages and will likely take another year or two to complete, especially since I recently moved and have not yet set up my studio.
For years, people asked why I only painted goddesses and no male deities. My short answer was often cutting: “Because I have met many goddesses in my life, but no man worthy of being called a deity.”
The longer answer is that humanity is currently healing feminine energy and polarity, and my work has been part of that process. However, continued healing also requires acknowledging the wounded masculine.
I don’t want to give too much away, as that can stifle the creative process, but I am painting a series of male deities based on very famous contemporary figures. I began with Elon Musk as the god Mars. That portrait is already on my website, but the rest will remain private until the series is complete.
Website : https://www.veronicaleandrez.com
Instagram (English): https://www.instagram.com/vero.leandrez/
Instagram (Spanish): @bilingualwitch
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HEIA7
