We were lucky to catch up with Ariel Quiroz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ariel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

My name is Ariel Quiroz, a Chilean-born artist now living in Maui. I am an independent and full-time artist, passionate about sharing my love for art with others.

Born in Chile amidst a dictatorship and extreme poverty, I was never afraid of being poor, but rather of not receiving the education that my parents lacked. At the age of 13, I realized that I wanted to pursue a professional career in art. This passion led me to apply and be accepted into the prestigious L.E.A. Art School, an institution dedicated to nurturing the talents of young artists.
My time at L.E.A. provided me with a strong foundation in visual art techniques, specializing in painting and graphic arts. This education set me on a path toward a career in art, and in 2006, I graduated with a degree in Visual Art from UPLA University. In 2010, I earned two more bachelor’s degrees, one in Education and the other in High School Art Teaching from U.N.A.B. University. Although I have taught private classes, I have not yet had the opportunity to work as a high school teacher.

Throughout my journey, I have held various jobs since childhood in order to support myself and pay for my studies. However, it wasn’t until I began drawing caricatures on the streets of Viña del Mar, Chile that I made my first dollar as an artist. This experience solidified my passion for art and motivated me to continue pursuing a career as a professional artist.
From Chile, my journey took me to Brazil first, where I continued to explore and develop my artistic skills. My time in Brazil and Mexico provided me with new experiences, challenges, and opportunities to grow as an artist and as a person.

My early works primarily focused on realistic portraits, showcasing my skills in capturing the essence of each subject.
Upon moving to Maui, my artistic style evolved, as I began to integrate Animals, Hula Dancers, and Lovers into Hawaiian landscapes, capturing the unique beauty and spirit of the island.
During this time, I also explored the Alla Prima Technique and Plein Air paintings, which allowed me to further expand my artistic repertoire and skills in landscapes and different color theories.

As I ventured to Florianopolis, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and later to Playa del Carmen in Mexico, my travels exposed me to different landscapes, cultures, and people, each influencing and inspiring my artwork. It was in Rio de Janeiro that I met and fell in love with another foreigner originally from California. Our love story eventually led me to move to Maui, where we married in 2015 and now live together in Lahaina.

For me, art is an expression of love, beauty, and joy. It serves as a means to connect with others and share these powerful emotions, and thoughts. Intuition also plays a significant role in recognizing and embracing love, and aesthetics, not just in personal relationships, but also in the creation and appreciation of art.

The romantic connection I share with my wife and our life on the beautiful islands of Hawaii has been a constant source of inspiration for my art. This inspiration, coupled with the love and joy shared by couples and their guests during weddings in Maui, led me to start offering live wedding paintings as part of my artistic services. By capturing these special moments and the love that permeates these events, I am able to create unique, meaningful keepsakes that couples can treasure forever. To be honest, it took me some time to adapt completely to the island life, but thanks to the live wedding paintings I don’t need to work as an art consultant or depend on a gallery to sell my art.

My journey as an artist, from my early beginnings in Chile to my life in Maui, has had a profound impact on both my personal and artistic growth. Through my experiences, I have learned valuable lessons about love, intuition, and the importance of following one’s passion.
As an independent artist and small business owner, I am committed to bringing love, beauty, and joy to people through my art, hoping to inspire others and enrich their lives.

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?

Born and raised in Chile in 1981, I became best known for my portrait drawings and paintings. Since 1995, I have participated in competitions, exhibitions, and artistic projects including art exhibitions, photography, installation, performance, theater, short films, and teaching.

In 1995, at age 13, I promised myself to pursue art as a career when I applied to study Fine Arts at the L.E.A., an exclusive and prestigious art school for talented children. In 1999, I received a diploma in Visual Art Techniques, specializing in painting and graphic arts. That same year, I also received the highest honor with an Award for Outstanding Participation in the specialty of Painting.

In 2006, I received my first Magna Cum Laude degree in Visual Art from UPLA University. In 2010, I received two more bachelor’s degrees, both Cum Laude, one in Education and the other in High School Art Teaching from U.N.A.B. University.

In 2011, I ventured to Florianopolis in Brazil, and later to Rio de Janeiro, where I fell in love with another foreigner originally from California. In 2012, still wanting to share my art, explore, and be closer to my loved muse who lived in Hawaii, I voyaged to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where I joined cultural projects and galleries.

Long/short story: I agreed to move to Maui because my loved one, Vanessa, was homesick. I have been living in Maui since December 2013, married my muse Vanessa in 2015, and now we live together in Lahaina.

My past travels have exposed me to different landscapes, cultures, and people that have inspired and influenced my identity, images, and colors. My experience as a teacher, art consultant, and artist demonstrated to me that “Art is always related to Love.” There’s a love relationship between art and beauty. We are born with the necessary intuition to be attracted to what is good for us because our basic instincts tell us that it’s beautiful. The night in Rio de Janeiro when I met my wife, I was lost in the intense feelings of true beauty and natural attraction, beyond what is psychological or physical; it was spiritual. After 10 years, she still proves to me that my intuition was right, and I love her more and more. I am grateful, and I want to use this same intuitive sense and inspiration to bring love, beauty, and joy to people through art.

I’m proud of my journey as an artist, and as a person, from my early beginnings in Chile to my life in Maui with Vanessa, which has had a profound impact on both my personal and artistic growth, from a skeptical and unhappy egocentric young starving artist in Chile to a joyful husband learning to be more spiritual, she inspires me to be better every day, I want my clients to know that my inspiration comes from something beyond pride and obsession with ego and skills, it comes from an honest feeling of love, gratitude, and contemplation for what is beautiful.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

1. In high school an art teacher told us that copying was bad because we were supposed to be creatives. I believe it for a couple of years, I stopped copying pictures, from life, and from other artists, and I saw how people who don’t believe in that dogma were learning faster the necessary skills to be a figurative visual artist.
2. In University I believed in conceptualism, Marcel Duchamp, and “art as a mental thing”… yes, but it’s also a heart thing, a visceral thing, a handy thing, a spiritual thing, etc.
Lesson learned: Don’t believe it, UNDERSTAND IT.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Education: We don’t need artistic education just to create artists, the same way we don’t need to teach philosophy to generate more philosophers, or civic education, or political science to create more politicians…
We need Artistic education to have people with aesthetic criteria, know the value of art and contemplation of things that are not functional, to have more people with a love for art, like art collectors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MauiWeddingArt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arielquirozart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arielquirozart/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/arielquirozart