We were lucky to catch up with Simona Gocan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Simona, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I remember being very creative from an early age. I loved  drawing and painting, and I loved music as well. I started to  play piano around the age of six, I went to music school for  eight years but in the end I chose fine arts, without ever  abandoning music, though. I still play, it helps me relax and  focus at the same time.  

I majored in Fine Art Photography in my native Romania ( I  moved to the U.S. ten years ago, after living in Italy, the Middle  East and Chile, for many years), but I’ve never stopped drawing  and painting, which is my main practice today.  

The art schools I attended were great for learning technical skills  and discipline, for experimenting with different mediums, for  building a strong network, etc. In my case, I was also lucky  enough to have my father as well ( an accomplished sculptor and  professor) who taught me a lot that I know today. 

I believe there’s no recipe on how to become better at what  you’re doing other than practicing all the time, spending hours  in the studio and being persistent and passionate about it. Artists  know very well, creating can be rewarding but there are real  struggles along the way and I’m sure that everyone went through  several moments of painful doubt every once in a while, but the  key is never to give up, and the more you work, the better you  get at it, for sure.

Simona, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Simona Gocan and I am a freelance visual artist  living in Phoenix, Arizona. I work primarily in oils and acrylics  but I like to experiment with other mediums as well (pencil,  charcoal, ink, ceramic, fabric dyes, fiber, etc).  

I draw inspiration mainly from my surroundings. I constantly  make mental notes (or I take pictures) for a new painting or a  series of paintings. As I work from observation, I try to absorb  and incorporate elements that spark my imagination into my  artwork. Most of my abstract creations over the past years  reflect the new interest I have for the desert scenery.  

I participate in shows and art fairs locally and internationally  every time I have the opportunity. I also sell prints from original  or digitally created work. I’ve partnered with a couple of art  consulting companies that sell and place my prints mainly into  office buildings (my website lists all the galleries I work with).  

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

One of the questions I am often asked by people that come to  my studio is how much time I spent on a particular piece and I  usually respond by saying that it took me about…twenty years!  The truth is that talent and inspiration are definitely not enough,  and even after many, many years of practice and study, there’s  still a lot of work involved in order to be able to create easily.  You can have a good day and do something great in a couple of  hours or you can struggle (as we all do!) and finish a piece in  days or weeks or.. well.. never. As Picasso famously said,  ‘Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working’.  

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

There were brief moments throughout my life when I chose  different paths (I worked in advertising, interior design,  theatrical lighting design) I but I’ve always return to the studio, trying to identify what I’m best at, what challenges are there and  how to accomplish what I have in mind by pushing myself to get  better and by trying to get out of my comfort zone as well, so I  don’t get repetitive. I believe that one of the most rewarding  aspects of being an artist is showing your work with other  people and watching their reaction, which always generates  interesting conversations. In my case, abstraction makes people ‘see’ different things in each painting, based on their experiences  and perceptions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://simonagocan.com
• Instagram: @simona_gocan
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimonaGocanArt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simona-gocan-75a518116/