We were lucky to catch up with Veronica Longoria recently and have shared our conversation below.

Veronica, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Art has always been a form of therapy for me, so most of my pieces are deeply personal and tell some type of story. The most personal of them all is a dress series I began painting in 2017. The series is an attempt to illustrate the seven stages of grief after learning about the continued sexual abuse of my daughter by an ex- family member. Each dress is an expression of emotions after suffering trauma. Shock, anger, depression, guilt, mourning, bargaining and acceptance were some of the stages on the emotional journey of healing over the course of several years. Because of the shame associated with this topic, it was very difficult for me to discuss, so I found it easier to express my pain through each dress. Even though the inspiration behind the paintings is a heavy subject matter, I wanted people to know that it is possible for beauty to come from pain.

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

Like mentioned before, painting was always my form of therapy. I painted my feelings and emotions to communicate to the world in the form of imagery rather than words. I began to enjoy and become good at visual communications. It led me into a career of graphic design and animation. Because of my art and digital media background I am able to provide my clients with a unique solution to their creative needs. I provide services in art, graphic design, animation, photography and video editing.

I take pride in my work, and want people to know that everything I create takes careful thought and preparation. I’m not a quick artist, or an “on the whim” type of painter. Most of my work takes a tremendous amount of planning and my process is meticulous, so many will find it to be extremely detail-oriented.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2014, I began to get serious about painting, and it’s the year I began to showcase my artwork publicly. At the time, I was a single mother, working a full-time job, and focusing on creating art late at night after my job and mom duties were over. I was doing art shows or fairs on the weekends to build my name up within the art community in Houston, and took quite a bit of perseverance not to give up. In December of 2016 I was laid off from my job of seven years, then I was laid off again from a different company a year later. It was at that time I decided to focus on my business and art career full time. I told myself if I spent my savings after six months I would go back to work. Business has had its ups and downs, but we’re in 2024, and I still haven’t gone back for a regular job since. There’s no price to the freedom I now have as an artist, and have definitely enjoyed the time away from the office.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My only goal is to be better than I was yesterday. If I never sell another painting again, I would continue to paint for the love of it, for the expression, and for the challenge of creating something with my hands.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vrocstudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v.roc_studios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vrocstudios
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronica-longoria/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/VROC_Studios
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VROCStudios