Today we’d like to introduce you to Violeta Encarnación.
Hi Violeta, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, where I began drawing at the age of two. I had the privilege of growing up creating beside my father in his home studio, surrounded by the vibrant culture and scenery of the island. Most people draw in their youth, but my dad made me love and believe in the power of telling stories through images from the start. His work fascinated me and pulled me in, even though I didn’t quite understand it at the time. He injected his profession, and soon to be mine, into every aspect of our life, which taught me to be observant since art exists in everything around us.
That is what attracted me most about a career in illustration. In many ways, my job is to represent the mundanities of life in a way that highlights a particular idea, feeling, or critique that often can be easily overlooked. To document reality and what it means to be alive today as opposed to ten years ago or ten years from now. In search of different ways of communicating, I have studied music, fashion design, fine arts, sculpture, and printmaking. With that knowledge, after moving to New York City and studying illustration at the School of Visual Arts, I created a space for myself to combine all the different ways of expression into one. Allowing them to inform my practice when choosing between materials and surfaces. I have been a sponge questioning everything I thought I knew about myself and my work, to discover what else could be there under societal expectations, the pressure to be liked and successful, and all the other voices artists must battle when they sit down before a blank page.
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?
One of my biggest struggles for some time was that I was trying too hard to reach my goals too quickly, forgetting in the process that creating is supposed to be fun. My family and I were forced to flee our home in Cuba due to the political situation, and my parents had to sacrifice so much that even my father barely paints anymore. My family also struggled financially, so I had to make a lot of difficult choices in order to be awarded the needed scholarships to attend my chosen university in the city of my dreams. I really felt the responsibility that came with the gift of getting to live in the United States and the urgency to make the most of it quickly. I felt behind for some time simply because I would think I had missed out on so much since I did not grow up here and of course, many people enjoyed reminding me how much I did not belong. Discrimination was so severe in my first schools that I hid my culture almost completely from myself and my art practice. I can’t believe I ever did such a thing. I am so proud of where I’m from and it is such a big part of who I am, no one can make me feel embarrassed anymore, but we do silly things when we are kids and we are trying to fit in.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I really admire the ability and necessity people have for human connection. This is why one of my biggest pursuits as an illustrator is to create a universal language to better contribute towards any conversation. With that in mind, I work on book illustrations, editorial publications, animated music videos, and more!
As a bilingual person, something that happens quite often when I try to explain an idea is that I get frustrated because the perfect word to express what I mean is in another language and a direct translation does not exist. At times, I find myself in a similar situation with my work when I am choosing how to approach a new piece. Before, I would decide on a style and keep it consistent throughout the illustration, but now, I try to allow them to inform one another and give each a moment within the same image to describe. Like a patchwork quilt, my work is beginning to feel more honest in terms of what I wish to convey. Rather than having to commit to an answer, I get to play and try on a few ways of finishing it through the use of a variety of materials despite the changing subject matter. Thanks to digital programs such as Photoshop and Procreate, I can go back in time and change out anything that no longer works. The aleatory textures and colors help create an atmosphere and harmony as well as guide the eye around the narrative. The knowledge of these “words in different languages” lets me respond to an article, an editorial commission, and personal work in a way that feels true to my experience of the world, and I try to make different cultures, races, and sexes the stars of the piece whenever possible. In addition, I have recently begun to expand my work into the universe of animation. I have always loved creating images full of movement and the fact that I can make them actually move now is extremely fun.
I still don’t know all the right techniques for everything, but the journey to uncover them excites me. I currently work from my home as a freelance illustrator and as a tattoo artist at a shop in New York. I enjoy experiencing new things to continue learning more ways of telling stories, and I have found that for discovery, just sitting and looking is a great way to catch interesting things.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I don’t know if I have reached the ideal vision of success I have for myself, but just getting to do my favorite thing every day, which is drawing, sounds like a great start. I think that the quality that earns the most credit for getting me where I am is my acceptance of the fact that I will always be on a learning journey and loving it. I love testing new techniques and getting to know other artists and the way they make their artistic choices. I find people and our world to be always on the move, so it would be unnatural to expect yourself or your practice to be still and constant. From being a young girl in Cuba, I remember being curious about everything and enjoying long talks with people from all walks of life. Opening yourself up to your surroundings can really be a beautiful experience that lets you share it with others in return.
Contact Info:
- Email: violeta.illustrations@gmail.com
- Website: violetaencarnacion.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_violeta.encarnacion_/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH81WDMPe0M
