We recently connected with Natali Zarate and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Natali thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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?

Recently, I can say that I am able to earn a full-time living from my creative work as a free lance artist and as an art educator at Texas Empowerment Academy. During the COVID-19 pandemic I was going through a lot of personal battles with my relationship, my wellbeing and family circumstances so I dwelled in my art as much as possible. As a result, I realized that I had to make the necessary moves in order to turn my passion into my livelihood especially during a time in my life where I had to start all over again. I worked meaningless jobs for a paycheck, sold art on street corners and invested as much as I could into my dream of living off of my creative work. In fact, I am grateful and humble to be able to love and live what I do as my goals as a creative are still growing.

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 am Natali Zarate and I am an artist who was born and raised in north east Austin, Texas. My parents were both creatives so I watched both of them perform their crafts as a child which pointed me in the direction of creative works. But when I entered preschool at Winn elementary, I enjoyed every aspect of arts and crafts and continued to study it throughout all levels of education. In fact, I currently teach art 3rd-12th grade at Texas Empowerment Academy which is the middle school where I attended and developed wholeheartedly as a young creative. Likewise, I am proud to represent myself as an Austin, Texas artist as I have seen my hometown change and develop to a hotspot of livelihood and business. Many individuals and families have relocated in Austin and the gentrification has changed what my community’s demographics look like and has obscured the culture of East Austin. Personally, being an Austin native is a significant statement to me as I am able to represent and give back to my community specifically to marginalized youth.

My artwork has always been traditional media as from elementary to high school I worked with graphite and colored pencils. But when I attended college at Texas A & M University I studied multiple art courses which introduced me to drawing with markers and painting with oil and acrylic paints. Accordingly, I found myself using acrylic and oil paints to create new art pieces from that point forward. Additionally, this year I had an art colleague invite me to work on a mural in downtown Austin which compelled me to engage in more grand projects. I am also inspiring to begin to cross fashion and art together where I can create clothes as well as design articles of clothing with my art. All services and inquiries are easily accessible to potential clients as my social media handles and upcoming website obtain the line of communication.

Equally, my aspiring business focuses on observations and thoughts to create new artworks and this is also a concept which I teach to my students. Even with my commission work, whatever idea or observations my clients have in mind I devote my time to bringing it to life for them. My commission work usually features portraits and memorial artworks for passed loved ones but can engulf any range of style or subjects.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Personally, I believe the most rewarding part about being an artist is the ability to express my imagination and create artwork from an initial thought or reference. Equally, I also find it rewarding to be able to see that initial thought or dream come to fruition as the final art piece. For this reason, I have named my aspiring business as “Zarate Visionaries” which focuses on the ability to be able to create your thoughts and dreams into your reality. Specifically, I have reached several milestones in my life but there were times I doubted myself or lacked the resources to reach particular goals. Under those circumstances, I put all my efforts into making my dreams a reality and I would not have been able to do so without having a visionary mindset which allowed me to dream ambitiously. Ultimately, that is why I can personally say it is a rewarding aspect in my journey as an artist to create a thought into existence.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Over the course of my life I have experienced a lot of heartbreak and loss. It is the main reason why I grew closer to my artistry over my lifetime as a way to express and cope. I have been overcoming adversity since I was a child where I grew up in a difficult upbringing surrounded by abuse, neglect and poverty. I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer when I was nine years old where my grandmother stepped in to raise my siblings and I. I began working at sixteen years old to help my grandmother out and to also provide for myself. Within that same year of working and feeling like I was obtaining resources for my family and I we had a tragic house fire which displaced us and depleted us of all resources. My father was distantly present and he eventually passed a couple years ago from liver cirrhosis. I also put myself through relationship heartbreak and troubles throughout my college years which left me mentally unstable and without resources. I actually lost my ex-partner to a car accident and it was a depressing grief I had not experienced with my other loved ones. I came back home to Austin shortly before that to take help out my family because they had expressed to me how much they needed it. Matters got worse over a few weeks on my return and I ended up taking care of my grandmother until she passed around four months later. All within the past year, I went from being practically homeless to living out my passion of being an artist and educating the youth in my community about art and creativity. All my dream chasing and aspirations are rooted in the hardships that I have endured as well as wanting to honor my loved ones who are no longer with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: zaratevisionaries.com
• Instagram: natali.zee
• Facebook: Zarate Visionaries

Image Credits
Natali Zarate