We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rocio G Montiel . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rocio below.

Hi Rocio, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

The fact that I realized that I couldn’t be happy without making art, is what moved me to pursue a career. It is unfulfilling and painful not to be doing what really makes your essence vibe and feel alive. The idea of living with the “What if” thought, was pretty daunting. It came to a point in my life that I realize I couldn’t continue making art just occasionally, there was something missing and I realized it. The idea of sharing my art was something so exciting, that’s why I had the motivation to share my art and send my work to galleries, the experience since the beginning was so welcoming and amazing. My work being selected through different shows was so encouraging. I just wanted to share my art with people and for them to know about my vision and what I wanted to say through my art, having my art be of interest to people, was such an exciting feeling, one for which I feel so grateful.

Art is a way to connect and build communities, that’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to pursue my artistic career. it had made me grow as a person in ways I didn’t imagine. Getting your art out there to the world is a whole different thing. It has been wonderful but it hasn’t been easy as well, had some ups and downs during my creative process, sometimes hitting a wall with opportunities, but it’s all part of it. I’m learning and training myself to take the best of all situations, it’s about learning.

Overall, I can say is that I’m happy with my decision, for taking risks, totally worth it.

Rocio, 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?

I’m a visual artist with experience in drawing, painting, illustration, and digital art. All of my artworks translate stories, feelings, and emotions using multiple patterns and organic movements, full texture, and detail. In almost all of my artworks, I excel the use of color configurations and the art of transforming geometric and curvilinear forms. Depending on the art project, the use of shapes and color can variate but definitely, most of my projects have a geometric abstraction representation. What distinguishes my portfolio is that my paintings and drawings are full of intricate details and color mixing. Each art piece, in its own different way, carries these elements.

My techniques include acrylic paints, oils, pencils, colored pencils, charcoal, and ink. I’m always experimenting and trying new styles, techniques, and mediums to add to my art; therefore, my portfolio is always evolving. This past year, I began to experiment and create digital artworks, and figurative art. Recently I created a digital series titled “A REAL BODY” which is 2 volume digital painting that speaks about inner beauty and self-love—a project to put us beyond the eye and see further the exterior of ourselves.

This project was so meaningful for me, is about self-love and body positivity. I wanted to explore that deep part of me and dig deep into my insecurities about how I conceive my body. I shamed my physical aspect, always being drawn by negative thoughts about myself, creating deep pressure on me. The constant narrative of “You have to be and look out there PERFECT in every sense and every way” constantly attacks your self-esteem and becomes so draining.

All this was a huge process for me, and it became more than just my feelings. If there is something I like to do in most of my art collections is to create a story from them, especially sharing people’s stories and being inclusive of the theme. In reality, this is a collective feeling, and I wanted to express that feeling by adding the stories from 13 random people’s thought portraits. I believe that this project is one of my favorites and one of the most I’m proud of, it took me out of my comfort zone making digital figurative art. Also, this project has been in different publications like Altiba-9 Magazine, Artist Talk Magazine, Slevin Magazine, and others and in different exhibitions with The Holy Art Gallery in London and C8 Gallery in Los Angeles.

My goal is to keep evolving my artistic process, I try to add different styles and mediums in each project, making my portfolio diverse and with a big variety. Nevertheless, my main and “favorite” style is Abstract art.

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

Being an artist is so rewarding, and it´s fulfilling to make a living out of what you love, but as with all other journeys, it comes with ups and downs, it’s about consistency and being open to learning. This has been a journey of learning, and learning leads to testing and challenging ourselves in different ways. Since I started my career as an artist, my experiences have been diverse, I cannot deny that from the beginning most of them have developed in a very natural and pleasant way; I have had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with artists from different parts of the world, I have been able to share my art in different galleries in various parts of the world, I have collaborated with art organizations and artists in various creative projects. But it has not been easy either, my creative process has gone through ups and downs, I’ve been blocked and stuck in my process, I have hesitated and let some art opportunities pass by, I have been rejected from various exhibitions, residencies, and other opportunities, but it is part of the process. In addition, the financial cost involved in starting a new career, studies, materials, and studio, all of it can be very expensive. But within the difficult moments, there are the good ones, everything has been a learning experience with challenges that can be difficult but, in the end, it gives you something. It is important to recognize that even in our difficult moments something is always learned, if one door doesn’t open, there will be others that will and give you more than expected.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Art is a way to connect and build communities, that’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to pursue my artistic career. it had made me grow as a person in ways I didn’t imagine. The idea of sharing my art is always exciting. to share a vision and story through my art. Also, having my art being of interest to people is such a wonderful feeling, I feel full of gratitude and happiness.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rgmartist.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgmartist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roc%C3%ADo-garc%C3%ADa-montiel-b96b1616b/

Image Credits
Photo credit: Paige Hall