We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hilda Rueda. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hilda below.
Alright, Hilda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Deciding to become a full-time artist, for me, came with all the ups and downs of emotional and financial instability. I started in this path about twenty years ago after a career in the oil industry, area in which, I had my university degree. The corporate world, in particular the oil and gas business were a profitable, stable, secure industry and although, at my time, a very misogynistic industry, you as an engineer, could progress and advance at a steady pace. A diploma to prove your knowledge and your experience were enough to keep you moving forward. However, petroleum engineering was not in my heart. It was a path chosen for me, by a well-intended family member, who saw in it a way to end the poverty history that was then prevalent in my family. I learned a lot from my engineering career, not just technical things but also about myself, about what I wanted and did not want to do. I had always enjoyed writing and although I had had no experience, nor training in visual arts I discovered that I truly enjoyed drawing and sketching. I had a normal childhood, but we had no art materials at all, no art hanged in the house and there were no museums or art galleries where you could appreciate art. The idea of spending your life as an artist was simply unconceivable, and outrageous.
But at 30, my life changed. I was taking a break from the oil industry to take care of my children and it hit me. I wanted to pursue art. At the beginning I hided it from everyone, even my closest family members. I did not want my intellect to be questioned. I did not want people to know I was pursuing art. I had the personal believe that art was inferior or degraded. Besides, I never, ever had had any art instruction. How was I going to do something that I did not know how to do? How was I going to know if what I was doing was any good?
I started reading art books from the library and following examples and instruction from the books I borrowed and my passion for it grew and grew. I registered for instruction at Glassell School in Houston, and when we moved to Canada, and years later to Brazil, I continued taking lessons and painting. I tried to go back to work for the oil industry at several times during those years to help support my growing children, but I had lost track of the advances of the industry, and I was engaged completely in my art. I started exhibiting in Canada and by the time we moved back to Houston, I had decided to call myself an artist and to go in that direction. However, making a living of art, takes a lot of time, and bills need to be paid. I decided to start teaching languages and art. Languages, which I knew well and art which I truly loved. I still do that in personal and school environments. Clearly, the financial part of that business is never as stable, secure, and guaranteed as the oil industry, but I am happier, I feel accomplished and although at times self-reliance, self-confidence and stability falter, I can say with certainty that it is always worth the risk.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Colombian born Artist trained as a petroleum engineer with a master’s degree in International Business. I worked in the Oil field for several years, but my passion was always the visual and literary arts. I changed carriers and studied art at Glasell School Houston, Calgary Arts, Canada, and with the recognized Brazilian artist, Augusto Sousa Rodriguez. I received instruction from Rob Liberace, Carolyn Anderson, Huihan Liu, Clayton Beck and other masters. I Currently reside in Houston, where I have my studio. I am an active member of several art organizations that contribute to the promotion of education in the visual arts. I also write poetry which sometimes is incorporated into my paintings. My art is in private collections in Canada, Brazil and The United States. I have exhibited in several countries and my work has received multiple awards and positive critic review. I currently teach art and languages in school and private settings.
In relation to my product, I believe art is the universal language that transcends geographical borders, ethnicity, religion and time. My art is inspired both by the dramatic play of light and peasant scenes of classical paintings such as the works of Vermeer and Caravaggio and by the bold, impressionistic, more modern art of Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla and Russian painter Nicolai Fechin.
My human figures are not simply a representation of an individual. They are soul portraits of the deep emotions, feelings, and passions that every human being goes through in his/her existence. I intend through strong colors and textures, bold brush stroke and composition communicate to the viewer the emotional clues the model portraits in his/her manner and demeanor, many times bringing to mind a particular subject or theme of the past. These emotional clues, the energy of happiness and sadness, the suffering, and ecstasies and all the mixtures that constitute the wonderful tapestry of life, are not unique to the model but are instead universal to all of us, and I aim, through paint and words, to awaken a sense of connection and interrelation between the viewer and the model.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
WHAT DO YOU DO? “I AM AN ARTIST.”
June 22, 2015 by Hilda Lockley Rueda ·
How far into your artist career did you start answering to the ever-present question, “What do you do?” with a smile and an assertive reply “I AM AN ARTIST”? This is a query I presented to all my mentors at the beginning of my artistic career some years ago after switching from Petroleum Engineering and International business fields.
I would like to revisit this question once more on behalf of all those people out there considering changing paths in life and crossing the bridge to becoming full-time artists. To the question above, some artists said they always responded with “I AM AN ARTIST” but most replied that they avoided the question, sidetracked it, redirected it or simply ignored it to avoid the obnoxious looks from friends and family expecting them to have grown up and taken a “serious track.” In the words of the artist Ben Shahn, “I believe that if it were left to artists to choose their own labels most would choose none.”
Is an art career even worth pursuing? After all, only the most determined artists can sustain themselves with art-related income. Isn’t it true that many artists have been ignored all their lives only to be recognized for their vision, genius and creativity until much later after their deaths? We admire and revere the works of artists such as Brunelleschi, DaVinci, Caravaggio, Van Gogh, Modigliani, Vermeer, El Greco, Rembrandt, Gaugin and other artistic geniuses. Weren’t they for many years the outcasts or had careers marred by debt. Some, nobody knew about until their works were found in dark monasteries, forgotten and uncared for, then studied, revived and given the value they deserved, decades or even centuries after the artists were deceased?
“Starving Artist” is a cliché that has been casted by well-intentioned people to deter us from being successful and happy. Art is, in my opinion, a very rewarding career, but it is not an easy tag to put on your head and display proudly to those close to you. Art in our society tends to be perceived as the choice of irresponsible, unreliable people and that of dreamers. Family pressure to stir you out of your path is often very painful and difficult to overcome.
Of all those artist-to-be, some who are strong and stubborn enough will pursue an art degree even at the cost of their family disapproval. Others, like myself, will take up a different career altogether, following the advice of elders and peers. Those who persisted and managed to go to art school enjoy tremendously the learning process and the exhilarating sense of creating out of simple thoughts what they perceive as a reality. However when school was over, and there were no projects to submit, no classes to attend, no teachers to please and no peers to offer support, many art graduates found the irreconcilable truth that their creativity was drained and creating was now a painful process. Many went into other fields just to avoid the risk of displeasing the world. Many denied they were artists choosing to wear a different hat and label.
On the other hand, those of us for whom the influence of our peers, siblings, parents, teachers, guides succeeded in rerouting our destiny, go through life carrying with ourselves mixed feelings of guilt, remorse, regret and a sense of an unlived life, questioning who we are and what we are supposed to become, where and why we strayed. In both cases, it is only by the tenacious and persistent tug of your “true call” that a trained but forgotten artist in the first scenario or the hidden artist in the second, becomes a real artist.
Many people in the engineering, medical, science fields are returning home to what they feel is their true path: doing art. Workshops, ateliers, art schools, continuing education classes are full of those lost artists, talented, determined, ready to shake the shame off and create. I did it several years ago, transferring from petroleum engineering to art, without any previous knowledge or experience and not knowing where to start, but being blindly guided by an intense desire to do what I came here to do. I applaud those people, who like me years ago, are jumping in now, because giving up a financially prosperous career, steady income, promotions, benefits, stability, in lieu of a profession where nothing is certain, requires a monumental leap of faith and an unfathomable amount of perseverance and courage.
I can assure you, having been through it, that once on the other side, you will never regret it. The happiness of living your true call is absolutely priceless, especially when you can experience the most exhilarating moments immersed in your own creations and the immense possibilities that your mind will open to you in a creative career such as in the arts.
The transition cannot be left unplanned though. There are several strategies that you can use to make the leap less strenuous. I am listing below the ABC’s that personally helped me with a swift and smooth shift.
•Art books and guidance books such as Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland, The Artist Way by Julia Cameron and Accelerating on the Curves by Katharine T. Carter will boost your creativity and will help you find the courage and confidence needed for the switch.
•Be prepared. Prepare a financial plan that allows you to leave your current job without monetary distress. Assessing your resources, expenses and savings will reduce the pressure of meeting financial obligations on top of the transition.
•Connect. Find a mentor, willing to support you from the beginning. Look for artists whose art you admire and enquiry on mentorships. Contact art communities, Art Leagues, and colleges where you can associate with other artists. These groups will motivate you, and encourage you to improve and grow.
•Develop your skills by doing art daily and by registering for classes, workshops at art schools, art organizations or individual teachers near you. On this topic, I’ve heard this wise quote from Bart Lindstrom, “Step one is to get really good. Step two is to get out there. The better you do step one, the easier step two is.”
•Establish realistic goals both short and long term. Knowing where you want to go will help you see the opportunities available to reach your set objectives.
If you are in the midst of making the decision of crossing the bridge, I would recommend you to go ahead and do it. Start by proudly calling yourself AN ARTIST!
In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson “What lies behind us and what lies before us is tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
www.hruedart.com
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
When I started in my art career I had to learn on my own and I made the same mistakes over an over, trying to figure out the correct materials, technique or simple composition. It was a long process. I do not believe that cutting corners is a way to gain experience, but nowdays there are an infinite number of resources online to learn from. You can learn new approaches, materials etc, by watching you tube videos, or by following an artist you like. There are many art organizations where you can join a group of creative people and participate in free or low cost art activities, like painting groups, or demos. Nothing replaces your own practice, but being part of an art community greatly improves the quality of your art.
Contact Info:
- Website: HRuedart.com
- Instagram: HRuedart
- Facebook: Hilda Rueda
- Other: DaVinci Artist Gallery, Tomball Art Studio 314, Tomball