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

Natali, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My interest in all creative processes has always been intense. And when I was a kid, I could see various practices all around me. When I was a toddler, I started coloring and drawing, and I immediately started practicing when I got to preschool. I discovered that I spent time both at home and in school researching and making art. Elementary school, middle school, highschool and college. My work started to visualize my own life stories and visions after years of developing my eye and improving technical skills. I extensively engaged in other visual and fine arts practices throughout this time. Painting. Clothing design and sewing. Poetry with music. Writing. Moving. Theatrics. Murals. Face painting. Airbrushing. Commissions and wall art. I believe that I will always pursue my passion for being a life artist and learning new crafts.

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’m Natali Zarate, and I’ve been living for 26 years, 21 of which have been devoted to the arts. In my family, coloring and creativity were introduced to me at an early age. I was first exposed to more arts and crafts when I started prekindergarten lessons. Many of the challenges I had in life kept me grounded in my creative and artistic endeavors.

As I grew older, I noticed that I was constantly seeking the trade and that I wanted to study more and use it as a means of support. Upon starting college and earning money from my artwork, I was greatly inspired to pursue a business or career in creation.
Soon after, I found myself in a relationship where I had to voluntarily give up everything I had worked for for it to function, and in 2021, I finally called it quits. At the time, I had no idea that my lowest point would also be the catalyst for my realization of my lifelong desire of becoming a life artist.

I started chasing my dreams of becoming everything I wanted to be for the rest of my existence. I started making and selling art the way I had always wanted to. I registered Zarate Visionaries as my business name. I applied for sales and vending tax permits. I made a website and social media accounts. As a young artist, I developed in Austin, Texas, taking part in shows and providing my artistic services just in the past few years. Soon after, I started teaching art at Texas Empowerment Academy, a nearby charter school, and it has been one of my most fulfilling experiences. particularly because I went to the school as a small kid and adolescent and had many teachers who supported and loved me through hard times. Because I have overcome difficulty and experienced traumatic situations in my life, my enthusiasm for creating artwork has increased, setting my business and art services apart from many others. My company makes it possible to assist people with their ideas and aspirations to become realities.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my abilities or myself, but my family, friends, peers, and siblings always gave me the motivation to keep going. I also came to the realization that certain family members had doubted me based only on the obstacles I had to face to succeed as a creative. After I started to experience more adversity and the loss of close loved ones, I put all of my energy into becoming a life artist. The people who raised me—my mother, my father, and my grandmother are no longer here to witness or encourage me in my goals. Those setbacks and making my living only from my art inspired me to strive for greatness. Understanding that my loved ones are paying attention from a distance to my accomplishments essentially inspires me to always strive to be the best artist and person I can be

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Although I am not the best at social media, I have discovered that it is necessary to have in order to expand a business and build relationships with other creatives and companies. I do not have a great audience on social media but it’s not troublesome to me since I am still deeply linked in real time to creating and delivering my art services to the community. I’ve heard that building an audience on media pages requires consistent application. Additionally, I think that some platforms, like TikTok, where content creators’ films frequently receive a lot of attention are easier to expand on.

Contact Info:

• Website: Zaratevisionaries.com
• Instagram: Natzarate
• Facebook: Zarate Visionaries
• TikTok: natzarateviz