We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Desiree Thaniel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Desiree below.

Desiree, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’m a self-taught artist and started making art when I was nine years old. I had a best friend who shared the same name and I use to think her drawings were so cool so she taught me how to draw fashion dolls. I went home that day and found my “Scaredy Squirrel” book and attempted to draw one of the images. I finished and realized I might actually know how to draw! I started drawing every day until I wanted to try something different when I was thirteen. I picked up my paintbrush and asked myself “What can I do with this?”. I painted a self-portrait for the first time! Since then I never put the brush down. I painted as often as I could replicating paintings that I liked such as Henri Matisse’s ‘Woman in a Hat’, For years I was building my skills and portfolio simply because I enjoyed what I was doing. I think that’s the most important first step in order to excel. Since then, I have been teaching myself more about my crafts until I had the opportunity to attend MICA and discover other mediums like ink, gouache, weaving, and sewing. Once I learned the basics I began to experiment with what else I could make knowing I had these new skills.

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 was always interested in art for as long as I could remember. After I discovered my nick for drawing my mother told me that she use to draw when she was little too. She showed some tricks that she knew and it made me feel even more inspired to keep going. Once I got to high school I knew I wanted to be an artist full time making work that helped me build my skills, talk about my feelings, and topics I thought people should talk about. It wasn’t until college that I started doing more commissioned work. Most problems I had to solve when working with clients was the accuracy of the image they wanted. Most people would assume that it would be photorealistic when I had to reassure them that it was a *painting* and not a photo. So that encouraged me to not do commissions for a while to build my personal portfolio instead. That’s when I started to understand myself more. I believe my attention to detail and subject matter sets me apart from other artists. Because of that, I am most proud of my decision to look within and be more vulnerable in my work. Now my work documents my mental and spiritual journey in a way I haven’t been able to talk about before. It makes me feel like I’m making “real” work now which is very liberating.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist to me is the permission to be like a child. When we create we play we experiment we communicate we see the world differently and invite others to literally see and feel the same thing. A child is always creating and letting their imagination fly. As creatives, we get to do the same thing! Whether that is a form of healing, awareness, beauty, or even sadness. We turn nothing into something. From a blank canvas to an entire universe. As a spiritual person, I like to think of it as similar to how God makes things. He creates out of love from an abyss.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the best way is to obviously buy their work! If that isn’t an option, I would say show support for their work in any way that you can online. Simple and small things like leaving a like, comment, or sharing work go a long way. I think there should be more opportunities to support multiple artists as well. It seems to be hard to search for exhibits and grants to apply to because galleries are usually only looking to support members of their fellowships and who they represent. To even be a member can be expensive. So more group activities where artists can show and critique their work would be great.     

Contact Info:

• Website: dezthanielart.com
• Instagram: dez.thaniel
• Facebook: dez.thaniel
• Youtube: Desiree Thaniel

Image Credits
Photos and original works by Desiree Thaniel