We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ana Carolina Mitchell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ana Carolina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Coming from a family of artists, I was always exposed to various forms of art. Art has always been a part of my life, one way or another. I really wish I had started pursuing my professional art career sooner. It certainly isn’t too late to start but I feel like if I had started younger I would be at a different place now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Ana Carolina, a visual artist originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My father was an avid spear fisherman and I grew up visiting the beaches of Brazil. My family on both sides are very artistic, which influenced me in my upbringing to incorporate some form of art in my life. I moved to California as a teen and moved to Hawaii where I lived for ten years. The ocean, the beach, tropical scenes, and water in general inspire me to create visually stunning paintings. Even as I live in Austin, Texas, my art is still heavily influenced by water. Art has always been a part of my life, but during the 2020 lockdown I immersed myself in my craft. The isolation from friends and family compelled me to stay connected to my loved ones by painting them 4×6 postcards in watercolor. and sending them in the mail After I ran out of family members and friends to send cards to, I started sending them to retirement homes and hospitals. After it was all said and done I sent out over 100 original postcards to people all over the world. Making those cards and receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback encouraged me to keep creating. Since then, I have painted several original seascapes and landscapes, I have been commissioned to paint some pieces, I have painted murals for businesses and have participated in art festivals and events. In an effort to broaden my reach, I now have a website and my social media pages offer a way to shop for my art.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Painting can be a lonely activity. In order for me to fully focus, I prefer to be alone, with my earphones on while I give my undivided attention to work on a piece. After spending around 30 hours on a large piece, I love showing it off, be it on social media, at an art festival, or art gallery. Everyone sees art differently, so I enjoy hearing the viewers’ perspective of my work, what they see, what they like, and giving them my back story or talking about my process.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Before I found my spark to pursue my artistic career, my only job was working at an elementary school as the administrative assistant to the principal. I enjoy what I do, and I still work there. But after the fire was ignited on me to make art, I had to reconcile both lives: a nine-to-five job and a visual art journey to start at the age of forty.

Contact Info:

• Website: anacarolina-fineart.square.site
• Instagram: anacarolina.fineart
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArtistAnaCarolina

Image Credits
Mike Brymer Photography