Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amarilis Rosario-Tillema. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amarilis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have lived many lives. I have been a creative soul since my early childhood. I imagined, created, danced, and dreamed of all the things I wanted to be a part of. I struggled within the confines of a traditional family that maintained more practical views of what being a woman meant. I was not stopped, but I lacked the support and encouragement to find where that voice inside of me was leading me towards. My first fearless moment was studying Middle Eastern dance. I spent years training and working until finally opening my own studio and dance company. I had my daughter at 27 and began to attend college, but the road to anything is slow when you are a single parent. I shifted toward more stability in my career by becoming a licensed cosmetologist and eventually opening my own boutique salon. I maintained my creativity, but yearned for more. I married in 2014 and though my life was beautiful and happy and fulfilling, I felt like something was missing. It took a tragic turn of events to crack open the door to art for me. In early 2018, my husband was diagnosed with late stage Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I spent the next year living in hospitals and being a full time caregiver. It was during this time that I began using art as a form of therapy. I became close friends with a Watercolorist that was undergoing a similar treatment to my husbands and we fueled each others creativity. As my husband recovered from a successful bone marrow transplant, I decided to go back to school and earn my first degree, an Associates of Art. I am currently entering my final semester for my Bachelors of Art with an emphasis in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I went back and forth regretting not having started sooner, not having pushed through my fears and forced my way through, but nothing worth having in this life comes easily and the best things come when things are not rushed. Though my life has taken many paths, I do not regret the journey, or the time.

Amarilis, 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?

Having started my art career later in life has had its challenges, mostly self-imposed. Fear has consistently kept it’s foot in the door in my path towards my undergrad degree and career as an artist. I try to bring myself back to the importance of my role and space in the art world. I have a voice. An important voice. My many years have brought me well earned wisdom that I feel is not only relevant to the time we are living in right now, but to the importance of female artists sharing their stories. My art is viewed as mostly conceptual, political, and feminist and and leans towards women’s autonomy, presence, and voice. I find myself mentoring my much younger cohorts by sharing stories that give them a better understanding and perspective of the political climate that we are in. My art is viewed as political in that I start the discussion of bodily autonomy of women, the importance of our indigenous people, the right to maintain our heritage, and I value that space enough to be unapologetic about it.
I currently work with Sarah King, owner of The King Art Studio in Henderson, Nevada. I help manage her fine arts studio were we work with incredible students ranging from 7 to adults. Bringing fine art to the Las Vegas valley is an important mission and one I take seriously. Working alongside Sarah has been rewarding and inspiring. I look forward passing on my knowledge and love of art to the next generations.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Sharing what I learn is one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist. I cherish all of the professors, mentors and guides I have had the privileged of working with or alongside. I fear that in this digital age, the traditions of classic art will fade. I believe that it is important to share the foundations of art and art history to maintain a connection that can stand the test of time and technology. Continuing to pass the torch on the skills and knowledge is really a gift.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I find that non-creatives struggle with the amount of change in a creative persons life and path. The mind of an artist never seizes to create, even in sleep sometimes. Shifting from one idea to another, be it in the medium, the concept, the scope, or the process, change is inevitable. I have had many conversations with non-creatives about this and find that the struggle is less about the change itself and more about the continuous change. But art is ever changing, ever growing and art is a mirror to life. Painters have always painted the pulse of life, even in a landscape, the season is present. The important moments of Kings and Queens have been made immortal by artist. And as days change, years change, politics change, the environment changes, so will art and so will the artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amarilisrosariotillema.art
• Instagram: aestheticbyartlv

Image Credits

All images photographed by Amarilis Rosario-Tillema 2020-2025