The strength and grace of women

Interview with Alexi Elias

1.     Please tell us something about your background and your art journey so far. 

I am a self-taught artist, meaning I have no formal education or training in art. My first memories of art were as an adolescent. I have always been creative and have used a variety of media to express myself. I was influenced by my surroundings in Queens as a kid which mostly consisted of street art, graffiti, tattoos and fashion. I later moved to Florida in high school and rarely had opportunities there to foster my creative side and felt extremely uninspired, so I moved to Los Angeles in my early twenties. It was there that I really started to develop my artistic voice and style. Living in Los Angeles I was surrounded by a lot of beautiful people in the entertainment industry like celebrities, models, and actors. I realized that I truly loved photography—people’s faces—and wanted to know their unique stories. I began by creating feminine portraits with a lot of symbolism by using charcoals, inks, and liquid watercolors and selling them on the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

Later that transpired into wanting to add more depth into my portraits and wanting a sustainable way to make money with art; therefore, I got my art teacher certification and started studying videos on YouTube, Patreon, and MasterClass in most of my free time. I began layering acrylics with other materials like paint markers and masking fluids then adding mixed media backgrounds that I rendered digitally. The style I had developed in my twenties still has a presence in my artwork today and is the system I use to create all of my artwork. Making art causes me to challenge myself, which is very important to my journey as an artist and in life.

2.     Can you tell us more about the theme in your art and your inspiration?  

My art is a reflection of emotions, experiences, and admiration. Each piece is a journey. I believe art is directly linked to all aspects of life. Every time we open our eyes we are observing art in some way. I am heavily inspired by fashion, photography, various media, and film. I think living in places like New York, Florida, and California has set the foundation for what kind of art I make today. I view myself as a sort of storyteller, as well, and enjoy telling stories through my visual artwork. There are a lot of themes in my artwork that have to do with the duality of life such as joy and sorrow, beauty, love and loss. I try to juxtapose a lot of beautiful images with neutral facial expressions to leave it up to the viewer what to take away from the person in the picture. Typically themes about the strength and grace of women are recurring.

3. How does your art life impact other parts of your life?

I think being an artist has allowed me to be a more reflective and introspective person. I slow down more and analyze my surroundings. I used to be more of a very fast-paced, hasty individual and practicing my art over the last several years has caused me to slow down and evaluate myself more, such as how I interact with people, how I react to situations, and reflecting about choices. I also have a very different view of the world since allowing myself to be more consumed with my art. I don’t necessarily define success in ways that I once had previously. For example, having a lot of money does not actually equal success to me. Nor does having any sort of fame or power define success for me. Now, success is more about how happy I am with the life I am living, how my personal relationships are doing. It is more about achieving a sense of fulfillment and overall well being.

4. What practical advice can you give to fellow artists?  

The most practical advice I can give to anyone who is an artist or who wants to be an artist is: 1) Commit to the habit and 2) Be prepared to have other sources of income. It is essential to carve out time and to have discipline in your craft if you want to progress. I like to compare this to playing a sport (not that I am athletic by any means); it is easy for people to understand that very good athletes get better by practicing. I believe it is the same with artists. If an artist is constantly waiting for inspiration to hit or rarely dedicates time to actually completing an artwork, then they will not get very far. Discipline separates serious, accomplished artists from hobbyists who wait for inspiration to strike. Having other streams of income is also imperative because, unfortunately, most artists do not make a full-time income on their art, especially today with the increased use of AI replacing human artists.

5. Is the artist's life lonely? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

Yes. In my personal experience I do believe being a visual artist is lonely. Being an artist is A LOT of work. It can take up a significant amount of your free time and can make it hard to balance friends, family, and other “normal” life things that people do. It is extremely introspective and solitary. I spend a lot of time in my own head, coming up with ideas, and NEEDING to get those ideas out into the world.  However, with that said, art is my refuge and the place where I feel at most myself. I enjoy spending time alone and art has pushed me to transform the ideas in my head into something visual and tangible for the world. I think you need a certain level of prolonged loneliness to do that effectively.

6. What are you working on at the moment and are there any upcoming events you would like to talk about?

Right now I am working on developing my own consistent style and making more sales on original artwork. Eventually I would like to own my own business where I have an art studio that functions as selling artwork but also hosting classes for kids after school as well as adult parties and lessons. I am looking into some events in the South Florida area during the Fall and Winter time when the weather is cooler.

AlexiEliasArt

Website: www.alexi-elias.com