Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalia Juncadella.
Hi Natalia, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My desire to be an artist first sparked when I was five years old and watched my mom, who is also an artist and art teacher, paint portraits. I was captivated watching how she would enter a flow state and magically transform a blank canvas into beautiful images. I wanted to understand this world for myself. I was always surrounded by art and painting growing up, studied painting throughout my childhood into high school, and then majored in Graphic Design and Painting at The University of Pennsylvania. I went on to work in graphic design for six years – all the while painting on the side – but decided to finally take the plunge and pursue my passion to paint full-time this past year in June 2021.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s never been a smooth road being an artist as I’ve always balanced painting with my full-time job. To not have enough time to work on my painting practice always felt limiting. It was a roadblock in pushing my work forward at a quicker pace. For many years, deciding whether to pursue painting full-time was always a nerve-racking thought. You don’t know if you’re going to be ‘successful’ as an artist or if you’re going to sell work consistently, and this can be scary. After all, there is the practical side – I need to make a living and financially make ends meet. Regardless of these doubts, I knew I needed to go after my lifelong desire to paint. To sustain my practice now, I continue to do freelance graphic design work on the side. Luckily, working as a freelance designer has helped me create a work schedule around my painting practice and not the other way around. I’m happy waking up knowing I can paint every day and feel invigorated to work on something that excites me and pushes me to be better.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
One of my proudest moments was on November 28, 2021. That morning, my husband and I drove into a bustling parking lot filled with freight trucks full of incredible art to deliver one of my paintings to Art Miami – a fair I had visited year after year to admire work by other artists, but never my own. I had actually written “Art Basel 2022” on a post-it note in my studio back in July 2021 when I left my full-time graphic design career to pursue painting full time. Admittedly, I thought the goal was out of reach, to exhibit during such a prominent art week only one year after that. Nevertheless, I wanted to work toward that goal. I could not believe it when Hashimoto Contemporary, an incredible gallery I’ve been working with which has locations in NYC, San Francisco and Los Angeles, called to ask if I would like to exhibit work in their booth at Art Miami during Basel week not in 2022, but in 2021. What an honor to be asked to exhibit my work with them. I had an immense sense of gratitude as I walked in the day of the show opening with my parents and husband to see my very own painting displayed amongst so much incredible art I had gone to visit each year before.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I owe my success to many, many people. From a very young age, my parents encouraged me to pursue anything that brings me happiness. That was a privilege to know and receive support in pursuing whatever brought me joy. The freedom and privilege was granted to me by my grandparents and parents, who immigrated to Miami from Cuba and Colombia. Through their example, they instilled in me a dedicated work ethic, they showed me that it takes hard work and perseverance to achieve one’s goals and be successful, no matter what you choose to work in. They taught me that if you fail once or many times, you pick yourself back up and keep moving forward despite your hardships and I’ve applied this lesson to both my life and artistic profession.
I’ve had great art mentors, starting with my incredible mom, who I mentioned is also a painter and art teacher. She taught me so much of what I know technically about my painting practice, but also how to truly “see” and appreciate the spaces and things around me to continuously inspire my work. At my high school alma mater, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, my art teachers Mrs. Patti Wiesen and Ms. Kari Snyder further inspired me to pursue painting and introduced me to ceramics, printmaking and other forms of artmaking. They were always tough and gave me great constructive criticism, which I appreciate even more now. I’ll never forget that during a live model drawing class, I decided to start drawing the model from the neck down since I disliked drawing faces. Mrs. Wiesen came over to my easel with a disapproving face and made me attach a new piece of paper to the top of my drawing to practice drawing the faces that I had always avoided! I wasn’t particularly happy about it then (and probably made a few eye rolls), but I admire her pushing me to work on the things I thought were difficult and I continue to try to work on this in my practice today.
At the University of Pennsylvania, my painting professor, Joan Curran, and printmaking professor and thesis mentor, Matt Neff, taught me to trust my intuition and just “make stuff” because more often than not (at least in my own practice), too much thinking will make me feel stuck and not let me create good work that is personal and true to me. This mentality has really helped me find a better balance of thinking and making, especially since pursuing painting full-time.
I’m grateful for all of my supporters including artists, galleries, collectors and even acquaintances I’ve made on Instagram who consistently shares kind words about my work and gives me moral support. Last, I’m so grateful to have the most amazing and supportive parents, husband, brother, sister, extended family and friends who constantly support me emotionally and have cheered me on every single step of the way!
Contact Info:
- Email: Natijuncadella@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.nataliajuncadella.com/bio
- Instagram: @nataliajuncadella
Image Credits
Natalia Juncadella in her studio this year Natalia Juncadella working on paintings for upcoming group exhibitions in February at Hashimoto Contemporary in NYC and LA Juncadella’s painting, La Merienda, being exhibited at Hashimoto Contemporary’s booth in Art Miami in December 2021 La Merienda, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 in, 2021