We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Myla Gonzales a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Myla, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?
Our spirits are put into this universe and into this specific lifetime. In order to experience what it is we are meant to see, to feel and to be aware consciously and subconsciously, I believe that we should expect the unexpected. We are faced with the good and the not so great, the beautiful and the not so attractive. In whatever size and form it may be from relationships with people and animals, to minute encounters, from a few words from a stranger or a simple smile from a passerby. We are told to live in the moment and those tiny moments make up our lives. Math was never my strong suit, so I stopped counting the moments that I thought I had failed. I became a young mother right out of high school, having three children by the age of twenty-four. My husband was in the military and constantly deployed for extended amounts of periods, up to a year at a time. The separation and the physical and emotional stress took quite a toll, and the reverberations from these circumstances began to impact my mind, my body and my spirit. I suppose it is how you interpret it from different angles, so that you are able to expound rather than point fingers. I learned to accept my path and fail forward.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Our lives are layers upon layers of sunshine on our faces, beautiful rainstorms in the Amazon jungle, and everything in between. It is solely up to our souls to allow what is best and to release what it deems necessary. When I understood that my path was MY path, how I react is a reflection of my insecurities, and accepting the ideology of detachment, coupled with the fact that I am a bit of an empath, I must say it has been a trek. As a child growing up on the east coast in Virginia, my third eye was wide open and remains open to this day, able to see and feel things beyond the visual scope.
Before the age of computers and with limited supplies, book report covers, posters, mobiles and dioramas put me in my happy place. In the sixth grade, I bought a box of pastels, and carried them around in my book bag, yet never used them. I suppose my subconscious knew I would someday.
About 2009, I lived in Oahu,Hawaii, a good friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to picnic with her. I accepted, no problem. She didn’t tell me it was an organization that was setting up tents in the middle of a neighbourhood that was to providing games, entertainment and food to disadvantaged youths. I volunteered at a booth where a child would toss a ball for free to hit something and win a prize, which was a piece of candy. From what I recall, I don’t think you could lose, so essentially each child just got back in line to play all over again just to get the free candy. I decided to challenge them by asking each a random question like, “What is 10x 9?” or “what is the capital of Hawaii?”. Some had the answer quickly and some did not. Regardless, each become more excited as they continued to get in line to see what I would ask next.
I believe earning something, in any form, gives one a sense of self worth. When the picnic was over, two boys ran up to me and started asking me questions. When we said goodbye, one asked, “When are you coming back?’ That stuck. I haven’t been back there since. That was the moment I decided to finally go to art school, I was ready to unearth the suppressed goals and aspirations that laid dormant for so long. Nine years later, I graduated from The Academy of Art University with a degree in Art Education.
I knew in my heart that I did not want to teach in a traditional school settiing, so soon after, I worked at a Boys and Girls Club in the art room in Huntington Beach, CA. There I learned how to interact with children with every type of background and personality you can imagine. After a year, I felt my time was there was finished. I did a few group art shows in Laguna Beach and a few paintings hung at the Chakra Art Gallery. Then that period where every one had to wear masks came about. Things were at a stand still. I had to reassess my situation. I was working at Color My World Art Studio at the time, and will always be forever grateful to Radhika, owner, who blessed me with the opportunity to teach fine art to children, no glitter or glue here. It has been eight years and still at awe that I am able to do what I do. One day she challenged me to a “One Hundred Day Challenge”. She had just finished it creating one hundred watercolor cartoon and superhero characters. For the next hundred days, I created one 5 x 5 inch acrylic painting that eventually became my Endangered Species Series. Before that, I had never really painted animals. What a journey that was learning to prioritize and organize. Finally, Dec. 30, 2020 I finished the hundred. I had no intentions of selling them as it was all about the challenge. My favorite cafe, Steel Cup Cafe had its first artist call, so I took a chance and submitted four animals. I sold them all and the owner asked if I had any more. I smiled as I stared at the ninety-six animals I had left looking at me.
I remember looking at a Jackson Pollock and saying to myself, I can do that. It’s just splattering paint, right? What I didn’t realize at the time was what actually is involved. After reading about his life and the circumstances that surrounded it, I then felt differently about each drip of paint that touched his canvas. When I first laid my eyes on one of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, tears began to bubble up. I felt the movement and admired the thickness of the paint that you cannot see or feel from a picture. I looked at hundreds of thousands of pieces from an array of artists, their style, technique, intention, purpose. I had to come up with my own, but how do you do that? Behind each painting I want to emit energy. It could be within the eyes of the animal or love from the Buddha. It took some time to figure out my specific style. I am still a work in progress, and everyday we become a better version of ourselves.
I must say it is quite intimidating for me as a creative to expose myself to the world. I do believe that all things are interconnected in this universe. When I create anything, the energy around me must be positive because it will be absorbed by me and onto my paintings. Whenever a negative energy enters my space, I stop. If someone acquires it, the energy should emanate from within the canvas, the brushstrokes, the swipes of the palette knife, the carefully placed paper. Each dot, with a touch of my barbecue stick, represents all that is around us. We can accept those within ourselves and simultaneously letting some go.
Oftentimes, people ask how long it takes to create that painting. There are no timers. I could start one day and not touch it until the following month or even years. Where there is no definitive answer, I can simply say, it takes me at least a million moments. Many also ask why paint abstract Buddha figures or meditation paintings. There is an energy driving it that I cannot explain. I just know it has to be done, and I continued to paint one after another. I haven’t stopped yet. I began questioning my purpose and asked the universe, Is there something else I am suppose to do in this life? It answered. The following week, I was selling some art at a festival and met a beautiful heart that happened to be a spiritual leader. We talked and she told me that I was a messenger. You are suppose to relay a message behind each painting. So, if you happen to stumble upon one of my paintings, I want you to lay your hand on it, feel the texture. Turn it around and read if the message is for you. Each piece is a one of one, and I believe there is a special home intended for each one.
My works range in size from mini 4 x 4 inches to over four feet. Subjects include Buddhas, animals and filipino inspired acrylic and mixed media pieces that incorporate some ink and paper. I have participated in a few festivals and pop-up events Kabataan Culture, Long Beach Filipino Festival, I have a variety of animals for sale at Steel Cup Cafe in Long Beach, meditation pieces at Right Mealz Healthy Eatery in Long Beach, the flag of the Philippines displayed and for purchase at Teofilo Coffee Company in Los Alamitos and Love, Lyn Floral Shop in Artesia. I have works at the LagunaArtGallery.com at the Shops of Mission Viejo. Last November, I was excited to sign a one year collaboration with the Monat Gallery in Madrid, Spain. This year, 2024, began with my work included at the International Contemporary Art Show at the Paris Expo in January and the (Un)fair in Milan, Italy in March. You can see some of my work on Instagram @canvas_onthe_hill.
With this type of career, you must put yourself out there and sell yourself. Being assertive is a must, which proved to be a bit taxing to a semi introvert at first. A pastor once said, “Worry is a non-refundable downpayment on something that did not even occur” and “FEAR is False Events Appearing Real, which produces anxiety.” So basically, why waste your energy on something that doesn’t even exist. That made sense. I had to garner my confidence, manifest what I wanted into my reality and take the jump every single time. When I finally self-adjusted, things seem to fall in place.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I did rack by braincells a bit trying intensely to comprehend the breadth of what NFTs actually entails, yet to no avail, I believe I lost a cell or two. I believe my art work needs to be seen in person. The texture that can be felt, the energy from within and the the glimmer of the gold would all be lost in the blockchain abyss.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I am truly excited for what is in store in the coming months. My husband gave me an idea last year and the cogs in my brain started turning. I find it important to travel and meet people around the world. I ate termites in the jungle of Belize and took a bath in the Amazon river. You must step outside your comfort zone and feel uncomfortable, only then will you be able to grow. Being exposed to different environments and cultures are necessary and aids in my creativity opening my mind to other possibilities in my artwork.
This coming May, 2024, I will be going to the Philippines with my parents. I will be teaching art at the elementary school that my mom attended, Alcala East Central School for a month. It is located on the northern end of the island of Luzon. I recently mailed boxes full of art materials, crossing my fingers that they arrive within forty-five day expected delivery time. I’m making lists, preparing lesson plans, gathering more and more supplies. I don’t want to call this a project, rather something I’ve always wanted to do, to open the eyes of children just a little more to the world around them. I am so grateful to be able to do this.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @canvas_onthe_hill
- Other: email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Cara Gonzales