We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cecilia Mericis Peña a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cecilia Mericis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

In 2013, I decided to move to Los Angeles from Miami Beach. My friend had an empty room and was looking for a roommate. I started to look for a job as soon as i got there, but two months later, I was still unemployed. While sitting in a cafe one morning, I started to draw some mandalas in my notebook. A salon owner passed by and asked if I did murals. Unfortunately I did not, but after she walked out of the cafe, I knew one thing: I could make a career from my art. After that, I stopped calling my artwork “doodles”, and I made a concerted effort to begin showcasing it on my social media. I received my first commission a couple months later, and that’s when my art career started.

Cecilia Mericis, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After getting commissioned for my mandalas, my confidence grew with my art. I attended Fashion Institute of Technology (FYT) in NYC for textile design. This broadened my mind into patterns and floral designs. I later studied color theory and watercolor extensively on my own. I attended live figure drawings at Oolite Arts in South Beach, which lead portrait paintings and murals.

What I love most is showing people the simple beauty they may have missed from everyday spaces, nature and humanity. I also love working with children. Before covid, I would fly to Boston every spring to teach an intensive two week art program for youth at the Hurley Elementary School. I like to make art available to everyone.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew about grant funding earlier on. I started my art journey all on my own, and I came to know about grants 10 years later. I grew my business via word-of-mouth and networking, but grants would have helped a lot. I also could have benefited a lot from mentorships with established artists. I tried to tap into artistic communities but always felt there was a clique-mentally and a judgmental feeling towards emerging artists. Thankfully, I have a wonderful community of friends that have supported and championed my work throughout my career.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There’s a workshop by Ana Tinajero called “RESOURCE MAPPING FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS” which helped me bring out my thoughts and map them out. Sometimes as an artist we want to do EVERYTHING by ourselves and we just need a lil guidance. She provides this guidance. I’ve taken it twice. I recommend any artist of any medium and level to take it. This course has helped me write and publish my first book “Galáctica”, a mandala coloring and drawing book, that is now available on Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.mericis.com
• Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/ceciliamericis
• Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/ceciliamericis

Image Credits

All photos and art pieces are mine.