We were lucky to catch up with Natalia Cardona Puerta recently and have shared our conversation below.

Natalia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My first Mural Project at Hammer & Jacks is definitely the most rewarding and meaningful project I’ve done so far!

I’ve dreamed about painting a mural for a long time, and this year I set myself to accomplish it. I reached out to one of my good friends: renowned Portland artist Mike Bennett and he put me in contact with Jillian and Andrew, the owners of the local toy store Hammer & Jacks. Upon meeting them we instantly clicked and they had the perfect wall for me to paint: the entrance to their new Playroom. This whooping 113 sqft surface was given to me to create! And the only direction they gave me was: Make it colorful!

Jillian and Andrew were extremely supportive during the project. I told them upfront that this was my first time trying these out, and they provided me with all the supplies and support anyone could as for. Together we worked for an extensive 6 days of painting, and we were able to create a gorgeous accent wall full of color and whimsical characters that represented Portland’s flair. Now, every time a customer and their kids visit their store, our mural makes them smile.

Aside from being able to achieve my dream to paint this amazing mural, this project reminded me of the importance of knitting a community through art. Without my friends and their support, this project could have never happened. Also, I was able to make wonderful connections and new friends, who to this date I still work and collaborate with.

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?

Hi! My name is Natalia Cardona Puerta and I’m an illustrator and designer living in Portland OR.

I started my professional career as an Industrial Design student back in 2010 when artistic college programs had limited options in Colombia. Since I was interested in applied arts, Industrial Design seemed like the best option at the time. Even though I.D was not very fulfilling to me, I got to learn about graphic design and I realized that I was craving a career that would allow me to express my emotions through visual communication. Finally in 2015 I met a few talented Colombian illustrators that served as a reference of the kind of professional path I wanted to be in. They showed me that Illustration was in fact a professional path where I could make a living! And this kind of representation gave me a lot of courage and inspiration to make bold moves and change the course of my life.

Thanks to the support of my family, in 2016 I was able to immigrate to Savannah, GA and pursue my MFA in Illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduating I had this realization that Illustrator had been my true calling since childhood. I found a career in which being myself, expressing my feelings, and telling my stories opened a door to professional success, to connect to my audience and build a community of clients and artists friends.

Nowadays I spend every day in my studio working on projects that bring me lots of joy. And recently I officially started my own business and opened my online store at https://nataliacardona.com! I love taking on different projects such as illustrations for newspapers, designing colorful murals for local businesses, designing stationery for my online shop, illustrating graphics for t-shirts, hand painting wooden cutouts, and more.

So far, some of my clients include: The Washington Post, The LA Times, Rebel Girls, Vice Colombia, Nucleus Galery, Galery GoGo, Lovelane Designs, Editorial Planeta, Hammer & Jacks, Completely Arbortrairy Podcast, Urban Art Network, Stenhouse Publishers and more.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Being born and raised in countryside Colombia’s coffee region gave me the unique opportunity to grow up surrounded by natural beauty. The sunshine against the blue sky, the hot pink flowers in my mother’s garden, the bamboo forest surrounding my home. The warmth of my people, the flavors of our traditional food, and the whimsical nature of our landscapes. These, and more are some of the elements I want my illustration work to express and convey. Now that I’m living abroad, I feel like a part of my mission as an artist is to share these qualities about my country. To bring a smile to people’s faces, to share joy, curiosity and enchantment. I strive for my work to brighten my audience’s day, to give them inspiration and motivation to share the joy with others as well.

My whole life I have struggled with depression and anxiety. I’m also well aware that the current state of the world is extremely overwhelming, stressful and sad. So, in a world that is constantly bombarding us with gloom and doom, I want my work to be a safe haven of softness, a safe space for love, an explosion of color and joy.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I believe that success looks very different for all of us creatives out there. For me, the more rewarding aspect of being an artist is to see how people’s eyes light up upon seeing my work. Every time I hear a little girl scream: “THIS IS SO CUTE!” my heart skips a beat! I love to see how my audience connects to my art!

My inner kid feels so happy to know that I might be inspiring someone else to follow their dreams. And I hope that I can be an example (specially for the Colombian youth) that being an artist is a completely valid career path. We need to quit telling our kids that pursuing fine arts implies being a “starving artist”. Everything around us, everything that we consume has artwork embedded on it: books, movies, video games, clothes, and even the food we eat. So, I really hope we are able to retire that old trope, and instead encourage young people to follow their creative calling. The more representation we can provide to future generations, the better!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nataliacardona.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natsandme/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nataliacardonapuertaillustrations/

Image Credits
All Images rights reserved to ⒸNatalia Cardona Puerta