We recently connected with Yaxaira McNear-Echeverria and have shared our conversation below.
Yaxaira , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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 draw for a living. And while the visual arts often are characterized with nebulous words like “gifted” or “talent”, learning how to draw has little to do with either of those things.
While used with positive intentions, they unwittingly invalidate the hard work, discipline, and practice that is required to create art at a mastery level. Correcting the misconception of talent, I believe drawing is more likened to professions like medicine, engineering or physics. The latter three are collectively recognized by the intense dedication, study, and intellect to succeed in those disciplines. Art is no different. To create art at the level of say a Renaissance master, or contemporary virtuosos like Hayao Miyazaki, the late Kim Jung Gi, or Alberto Mielgo, requires an equal level dedication, study, and intellect.
Anyone can draw, the problem is that most people will draw badly because they do not have the skill. The visual arts now exists in a state of dissonance between being undervalued and undermined, while the phrase “I can’t even draw a straight line” is repeated ad nauseam. There still exists an allure to the creative arts, where we seem blind to the raw skill and search for loftier methods towards artistic greatness, whether through “talent” or the enticement of AI. Because sitting your rear end down and practicing for hours is a much less sexy option and counterintuitive to the mythos behind creativity.
Talent, in my humble opinion, exists more as an intense interest or eagerness in a particular subject that positions a person to excel. So if someone wants to learn the craft of drawing, the first thing they have to recognize is that drawing is not a talent, it is a skill that requires a lifetime to master.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I work in animation as a visual development artist. Basically a visual development artist develops the visual look of whatever property they’re working on, whether it’s a film, television show, etc.
Before going into animation, I worked as a theatrical costume designer for a number of years before ultimately deciding to pivot my career.
Most of my work is for independent studios which I really love because it allows for a lot of creative freedom and flexibility with a strong entrepreneurial streak. I have had the privilege of working with some very inspiring people whose work serves as a constant inspiration for me as I continue to learn and grow as an artist.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There have been many books, movies, music that have influenced me in more nebulous ways, in manners of life and creativity. Whether they be writings from Albert Camus and Dostoevsky, or ’80s-paperback-grocery-store-discount-romance-novels that are one hell of a time to read.
Right now I’m reading the English translation of Julio Cortázar’s “Hopscotch” that breaks all literary conventions and I love it. More than anything art that evokes a sense of freedom from convention, bucking trends, doing the opposite of what any rules might dictate, where sheer joy and provocation live simultaneously. This is where I think entrepreneurial and philosophical thinking can intersect; asking for forgiveness rather than asking for permission. Bending those rules and taking those risks to create opportunities for one’s self.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think the thing I would say is that being a “creative” doesn’t feel so much like a choice as it does a compulsion, sometimes bordering on obsession over the smallest most minute details. I feel deeply, deeply compelled to draw and I don’t really know why, because it’s not necessarily an enjoyable experience.
The notion that drawing is calming or meditative feels alien to me. To create a painting feels more like a battle where you wrestle with the color and light and shape and form, your brain hurts, your wrist is sore, and yet you continue for some mysterious reason. Maybe there’s enjoyment or satisfaction in the struggle, conquering an enemy through oil paints, chasing this odd form of adrenaline. Who knows . . .
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yaxairamcnear.myportfolio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivalacougar/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaxaira-mcnear/