We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angelica Ahumada DeJesus a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Angelica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

I believe the best investment anyone can make is to invest in themselves. When you invest in yourself and put in the time and work to grow, that’s how you prosper. I made the decision a few years ago to better myself and my life. Part of that journey was aligning myself with things that would give back to me. One of the things I began doing was painting. I have always had an appreciation and love for the arts, but I never truly tried my hand at it.
Once I began I couldn’t stop. It became a relaxing time, a decompressing time, and an outlet for my feelings and the things I have experienced. After about a year, it became more serious for me, it was a skill I wanted to hone and perfect as much as I could. I started putting more time into practicing, watching videos, and researching the field. One thing that was, and still is super helpful for me, is that my husband is an artist as well. He has helped me improve immensely as an artist and a creative thinker.

When that journey began for me I started researching new materials, new paints, brushes, canvases, and other mediums. My artwork scaled up visually after I invested in more professional materials over my initial crafting level supplies. That and after so many horrible attempts.

During COVID I started selling artwork left and right and it really clicked for me. My husband encouraged me to take the risk and apply to galleries and events. Not every attempt was successful but I kept at it. Before I knew it I was in gallery shows and tabling at events.

One of my most recent accomplishments is participating in the Parade of Hearts here in Kansas City. The heart I painted is temporarily on display at Berkley Riverfront Park and is inspired by the Kansas City Current team. The Current will soon call the first stadium ever built for a professional women’s sports team home! I never would have imagined a few years ago that I would have the opportunity to create artwork that would be so closely associated to something this monumental. Also, something that will play a part in helping to raise funds for charities.

I’m very happy and proud that I took the time to pour into myself and never gave up. It’s one of the best choices I have ever made.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a local Mexican American who is a multi-medium Artist in Kansas City. My main mediums are acrylic paints and card stock paper. Over the past few years, I have worked to create my contemporary geometric style that I use to express the beauty in individuality. That is the focus point in my artistic practice but I also create art that incorporates my culture and my experience as a woman.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I prefer to sell my artwork in person or on my own website. In my opinion most platforms have too many fees or take too high of a percentage of what your artwork sells for. Some can be very convenient such as the print on demands sites, which I have tried. In the end I feel like I’m not earning what my hard work is worth.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There have been several gallery shows, events or artist calls that I was not chosen for but it never deterred me from applying the next time. A perfect example would be the Parade of Hearts. The first year they had an artist call I did apply with three different designs. None of my designs were chosen but it did not stop my from applying next year. If you never try, you’ll never know so why stop? The second round I submitted one design and luckily I was picked! Being resilient does pay off.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://angelicadejesus.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelica__dejesus/