Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Valeria Prieto. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Valeria, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

It is difficult to name just one project that has been significant because everything I work on is always related to an important moment in my life, to name a few broadly from 2019 I started working on human portraits accompanied by animals, these projects were personal paintings that I made according to the animals that were appearing in my dreams or with which I was feeling identified, they became significant for me because once an animal appeared in my dreams I looked for the meaning, and I realized that they were giving messages to me, always positive messages to move forward with my dreams, with my goals, to move towards the positive, especially if I went through some difficult time. For me it was like working with spiritual guide animals which accompanied me during the processes that I painted them, and it was in some way a healing process.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Mexican Artist, born in 1982, based in USA. I studied Graphic Design at the Institute of Architecture, Design and Art at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and during that time I was more focused about photography and teaching painting in Mexico.

I moved to the United States in 2012 where I continue my creative expression in cities like Colorado Springs CO, Des Moines IA and St. Louis MO. during 2012. I became an independent Artist painter, Illustrator and Jewelry designer in Des Moines, but my art started to be noticed and sold till 2015 when I really realized that painting and creating was the only thing that I wanted to do and I made it formally for full time.

About my work
My passion is to experiment with many elements of nature, encompassing animals, portraits, flowers, minerals and other components of the natural world. I enjoy blending and balancing imagery and symbolism in my paintings through an abstract realism lens hoping to provoke emotions and expressions in love, magic, and beauty.

I like to work with oils, acrylics /mix media on a myriad of surfaces and different styles of canvases that allows me to conceive different variations in style and expression. I also enjoy exploring the world of digital art and illustrations.

Since I was a child, I have liked nature, my mother showed me the love for plants since I grew up in the desert, an area located in the north of Mexico. In 2015 when I moved to Iowa, for me it was a great discovery, surrounded by green landscapes and vast fields of flowers and herbs, I knew that my contact with nature had barely begun. In that instant I knew that I wanted to preserve the beauty of nature and share it with others.

As an artist I managed a way to paint on dried leaves and preserve them as paintings, to keep flowers inside glass or resin and make them as accessories. All the leaves and the majority of the flowers are hand picked by me during my walks or trips.

I want to make people aware of the beauty of nature, and in this way we both can honor and give it a second chance.

My work has been presented and sold around many counties around the world, with a special display in London (TATE) United Kingdom, also my work has been collected by Celebrities as the French-Mexican actress Angelique Boyer and Luke Spiller the leader signer from the British band The Struts.

During my arrival to St. Louis (2019= My work has been exhibited in Fontbonne Fine Art Gallery, Soulard Art Gallery and I had the opportunity to paint a piano for Webster Arts.

This year I have started to teach again, I offer online painting clases in spanish and english to teenagers and adults.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the greatest reward besides the recognition and economic support is the effect of happiness that I can cause to the people who admire or buy my art, knowing that we connect through something that I felt and it was captured in a design or painting is like a bond we share even when we don’t know each other.

Those who collect my art and support my art, they support my happiness my life and my hopes, this is a very noble feeling from both ways-artist and collector- Art collectors are not only people spending money buying nice things, they are real leaders by opening way to art diffusion and preservation.

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

I think one of my most important missions is to maintain genuine, genuine about my thoughts and actions and that can be reflected on my art, making people happy with my art makes me happy and that is priceless.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/valeriaprieto
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valerialejandra_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valeriaprietoartist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valeriaprietoart/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpY1kYtjzNBIa14XxrxkhXQ
• Other: Etsy Store https://www.etsy.com/shop/ValeriaPrietoArtwork

Image Credits
All images taken by Valeria Prieto