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

Alright, Denisse thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

After graduating I started working as an editorial and graphic designer in the cultural field. This job had ups and downs because when you work for other people there’s always some kind of limitation, but it constantly gave me the satisfaction of being close to art, working for cultural dissemination gave a unique meaning to my practice, even if your work is not a hundred percent creative. Now that I’ve experienced creating for myself I can say that I’m happy with this choice. The stability of a full-time job can also mean a healthier environment to generate ideas, but this comfort made me feel stuck at some point, in top of that it was hard to see illustration as a side project when your job is demanding all of your energy, probably many artists know what I mean by this. When I look at my artistic work, I recognize the joy that it brings into my life, it comes from a personal need of expression which makes me continue creating. I would say, as everthing is a matter of balance, and this will be different for everyone.

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 studied graphic design and specialized as an editorial designer. For about five years, I worked creating posters, books, and identities for cultural festivals. While doing all of this, I realized that the constant in my work was always illustration. It was slowly leaking into my professional practice, but I thought illustration was only a tool for design, and when I realized it was so much more, I decided to deepen that. I started taking workshops and online classes, and finally I applied to an MFA in Illustration Practice at Maryland Institute College of Art to experiment and find my voice through this medium.
I’m in my last semester of the program and can confirm that illustration and drawing are my main languages. I have learned to translate ideas from others with collaborative, commissioned, and commercial projects, but I also found what image-making means to me as an artist.
I’m currently in search of new processes. I can say that I have a defined line of work or style, but I wanted to challenge myself, questioning why I do things the way I do. Now I am using techniques outside the digital medium, such as gouache, paper, wood, and ceramics, and it changed the concepts and look of my work.
Putting myself in a state of uncertainty, play, and experimentation has generated ideas and results that wouldn’t come out in other ways. I want to keep playing with new processes, I’m excited to see how this can continue transforming my work.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The main intention of my work right now is to apply play to projects that have personal meaning. I know that somehow this could be contradictory, but the fusion of these two elements is present in the pieces I had enjoyed the most making. Aside from many specific projects in mind, the core of my practice is to keep representing and translating my surroundings, including abstract concepts. I know this is a very open intention, but this child-like openness to the practice is the one that seems more exciting to me.
Another goal is to turn my experimentation and research into something I can share with others through teaching. I consider the learning process the most important for new artists, and I hope I can share all my experiences and outcomes with them.

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

This might sound like a typical response, but I think the only way to change the condition of artists is to create consciousness of the importance of art in society and the fact that it is an actual job. People are more aware of this nowadays, but it’s still considered that being creative is a hustle, something you take risks for, struggle to achieve or you don’t necessarily get paid for. Art is a profession as important as any other, but as artists, we still have to convince ourselves of this when it is something we shouldn’t be questioning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.behance.net/denissebeltran
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sundae_sunday_