We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miguel Mendoza a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Miguel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I think like most artists it starts out when we’re young, we’re allowed to explore our creative side. I was always fond of creating, making characters, and having my bad manga phase. It wasn’t till high school when I realized I wanted to take it more serious. During my senior year I had a teacher who was very encouraging and pushed me further into wanting to become an artist. So I did just that, my path led me to Long Beach city college where I received my associates in art and transferred over to Long Beach state and received my BFA in Drawing and Painting. Though still early in my career I’m glad it was the path I took.
Miguel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m an artist from Long Beach, I primarily make figurative paintings. Though I still work in other mediums like ceramic and fibers. My works primarily use my experiences as a gay man to inform my works, focusing on ideas such as sexuality and body image. Creating a combination of spaces between real and imagined to take the viewers into the eyes of a gay man’s fantasy/reality. In many works I use myself as the focal point, so putting myself into these works creates this vulnerability that people could relate to, and I think that’s what makes me most proud, when someone can go to to a painting and see themselves whether physical or in feeling. Though with these ideas there’s still a sense of wanting to belong and sense of sadness that often goes into most of my works, much like life you can’t always have rainbows and sunshine, you need the rain to grow and change.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
When I was still in college a big thing the professors always emphasized was community building and I agree. Being an artist gets lonely if it’s just you rolling in paint. I’ve been able to meet so many creatively driven people and learned about their practice and what drives them and it’s inspiring. Networking and making friends with other artists is probably one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist. I will always appreciate the love and support these friends show.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I always had a couple goals in mind when it came to my art, One would be able to have more people look and relate to the content that I create to achieve that sense of community I mentioned earlier. But in addition to that, as I become more of an established artist I would love to give back to artists in my current position, helping achieve their dreams and helping them grow further. Uplifting those around me is a continuous goal that I continuously strive for.
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