We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Migdalia Quintana a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Migdalia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I have learned over the years that life consists of stages or steps, learning and growth as long as we are wise in our processes. I started my full time art career in about 2008. At first I didn’t sell my paintings, I just dedicated myself to sharing it through art exhibitions . First in Puerto Rico, the island where I was born and where I lived most of my life, then I moved to Chicago where I had several art exhibitions and currently I live in Jacksonville FL where I have a permanent exhibition in my own art gallery: Artis by Migdalia Quintana . Now I sell my art but I keep some because are part of my private collection. For years, apart from acrylic painting , which is my main medium, I drew a lot. With all this art production that I kept, I was able to start a business . Currently I produce other products such as watercolor paintings, hand painted accessories and art printed products with my arts like art prints, bookmarks, greeting cards, notepads for all budgets.

Migdalia , 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?

Many of us are born artists, only that we have to educate our abilities and skills. Since I was a child I had the ability to draw and calligraphy. But I was also very applied in all school subjects. I like science and I studied Marine Biology. I graduated from university and the photography became a hobby that I learned to master very well. I took seminars, joined a photography organization of professional photographers, and later had my own photo studio. It was a successful career where I achieved a Master’s degree in professional photography . I retouched the photographs with dyes when the photography was not digital. Then came the transition to digital photography. I learned Photoshop and worked for a few years. But I lost the passion for what I was doing because it stopped challenging me. When we do things just for money we can fall into boredom and mediocrity and I didn’t want that. I liked better the art brush. I closed the studio in 2005 and started taking painting classes. The passion is there, it is a challenge every day to create an art piece. For me, art has a purpose: Communication, influence, awakening sublime emotions where the viewers raise their gaze beyond the everyday, which is sometimes no good, and moves their gaze to the high, to the deep and to the eternal.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I like to write and I accompany most of the paintings with quotes or reflections where there is a link between both. Many customers enter to the art gallery and take their time to read and look at the art piece. Art has a purpose, it is not only a decorative piece, it is influence. Being able to lift a downed, depressed and sad spirit and see him or her come out full of joy, faith and hope is enough for me whether or not buy a painting or art product. That is the best reward!

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?

I was a professional photographer for many years. I specialized in wedding and portrait photography. One of the reasons I closed my photography studio and embarked on this art journey was to have the space and freedom to create whatever God put in my heart. Photography is a creative medium but it has limits when you’re dealing with clients . In my present journey, clients constantly come to ask if I do portraits . My answer is no. They ask why since it is a business to paint portraits. First, I don’t have the time and second, there are many paintings inside me waiting to emerge!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.migdaliaquintana.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/pintoramigdalia
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artis.fl