We recently connected with Victor Alexander Saint-hilaire and have shared our conversation below.

Victor Alexander, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I always knew I wanted to be an artist but it wasn’t until I attended Saunders Trades and Technical High School and enrolled under their 3-year Graphic Design major that doing it professionally started to feel possible. Through this program I met my teachers Ms. Soccodato and Mrs. Ellis who exposed me to the reality of art as a profession and gave me the tools necessary to move forward with that decision.

But it all came about quite randomly. In 8th grade, a friend told me that Saunders had an arts program and my younger self figured that would be the place to go. At the time I was still navigating moving to New York from the Dominican Republic while figuring out my way in a very diverse place and barely grasping the English language. I say this to emphasize how little I knew about the steps to take and the resources I had available to help me get to my goals. Looking back, I’m so grateful I followed the lead from my friend! Without it I wouldn’t have met the teachers whose lessons and advice have carried me through college and well into my creative career.

And it is because of my own experience that I make it a personal goal to always provide my students and people I meet through this line of work with as much encouragement and information as I can. After all, you never know how much of a difference a suggestion and a bit of information can make in someone’s life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Victor A. Saint-Hilaire, artist name VASH, and I am a Dominican multidisciplinary artist residing in Yonkers, New York who specializes in digital illustration, acrylic painting and murals. I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a BFA in 2013, and have spent the last decade working with nonprofits and collectives like Groundswell, Public Assistants, Medicine Walls and ArtsWestchester as a lead muralist and a teaching artist while maintaining a freelance career where I’ve worked for clients such as MTV, Cumbe, Kipling USA, Brooklyn Cloth and the Bronx Brewery. I’ve also sustained a consistent studio practice between client work and community focused projects which has granted me the space to navigate personal themes that relate to my interests and experiences in this life; some of which include religions, spiritual practices, folklore, mythology and historical figures. Visually, my paintings are guided by the rich Taino and African influences I grew up with in the Dominican Republic as well as hobbies like video games and cartoons; hence why my work is very colorful and brought together by bold linework. These personal works have been showcased at galleries like ArtsWestchester and the Riverfront Gallery and others respectively over the years.

So how did I officially start an artist career after college? Like most good things in my life, I stumbled upon it. Sometime during my frantic and very existential search for art jobs post graduation, a friend of mine needed help with a community mural. Upon assisting him I learned a bit about the collaborative and organic process required to create these types of murals and I decided then and there that this would be something I wanted to do moving forward; I wanted to experience working with others to realize a collective vision. Shortly after, to my surprise, the very Non-profit my friend was working with to create these murals posted a job listing on my usual search channels for an Assisting Artist position. I applied. I was hired. 10 years later, here we are.

Reflecting on it all, it truly has been a very beautiful and rewarding experience every step of the way. I’ve continuously worked with people that have enriched my life in ways I could not have foreseen and cannot thank them enough for. I believe part of why I’ve been fortunate to do this for as long as I have is because I consider the root of my work to be a continuous act of love. This allows me to be genuine and personal in how I work with others. Whether it is a traditional painting, a mural, or a digital illustration; I like to ensure my clients are an integral part of the process of creating and do my best to learn as much about them and their vision as I can while working with them.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I was better informed about grants, applications and organizations that provide services, assistance and opportunities for creatives like myself much sooner. During my first years of being a freelance artist, I had to rely a lot on networking and being consistently hired as an educator with different nonprofits. And even though networking remains an important aspect of maintaining consistent workflow, applying to grants has allowed me to expand my reach and sphere of influence by introducing myself and my work to new audiences and work on projects that may not come readily available through my usual channels.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Online visibility isn’t everything. I had to learn that the hard way. Early on in my career I found myself obsessing over followers, views and likes whenever I would promote my work on social media platforms. Every time I wasn’t met with the desired exposure, I found myself being discouraged and hesitant to continue promoting my work online or creating all together. It wasn’t until I started meeting artists who did not necessarily have a large social media presence but were highly respected veterans from the art scene, that I came to the realization that you can still have a consistent and gratifying career as an artist even if your social media reach does not necessarily reflect it.

Ultimately, the people who connect with your work will always find you and I’ve learned time and again that it only takes one person who aligns with your vision and appreciates your voice as an artist to change the trajectory of your career for the better. In that regard I’ve been truly fortunate to continue meeting clients, artists, directors and other people who support and fuel the work that I do and inspire me to continue pushing myself in new and creatively fun ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vasharts.com/
• Instagram: vash_art

Image Credits

‘Portrait’
Photographer: Anson Wu
IG: Anson_wu

‘Ofrenda’
Photographer: Francis Montoya
IG: slingshotmenace

Painting Photo
Photographer: Jose Ruiz
IG: filesaveasjose

‘Anu’
Photo by Self

‘Enter the Baraball’
Photo by Self

‘Arrival’
Photo by Self