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

Yolanda , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

My first dollar earned as a creative actually came fairly early in life for me. In 5th grade I would sell drawings to my classmates for $1 a piece. I would draw cartoons from SpongeBob to Rugrats and other characters people requested. I made just enough money to buy candy and stickers.

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

I have been a creative person for as long as I can remember. At 7 years old I wrote my first song and was sure I would be a singer or a rapper. I can remember drawing from about age 8 or 9 and I would take my mom’s CD cases to draw my own covers and pretend like they were my albums.

For many years I would doodle here and there but didn’t get back into drawing until around 2016. I drew a couple of custom pieces for some friends and thought nothing of it at the time, I was just having fun with it.

When Covid hit there was so much uncertainty along with isolation at that time that I felt completely out of control of my life. I went searching for ways to cope when I landed on painting. It seemed like it was the one thing I could count on to help me relax.

I started out painting basic portraits and decided to share them online. I ended up getting tapped for a few commissions from friends and family and was happy to keep painting and learning my style.

Soon after, I was getting more commissions than I could keep up with and it finally occurred to me that I could actually turn this into a real business and pursue it as a career. Previously, career-wise I spent a lot of time in healthcare. I was a nursing assistant since high school and I finished my Lab Tech degree last year. I feel like we are conditioned to choose the safe bet as Plan A and pursue our passions either as a Plan B or as a hobby. For me, I’ve decided to pursue my passion full time, and have the safe bet in my back pocket.

My main source of inspiration comes from painting Black women. A lot of people ask if my paintings are self portraits, which in a way they are because I definitely see myself in many of my pieces. I get inspired painting Black women as my subjects because I want to give representation to the sheer beauty of not only our prominent features but our natural hairstyles. I resonate with how hard it is to find your inner beauty as a woman and want to give that representation to Black women as a whole.

I use a lot of vibrant colors in my work to depict the kaleidoscope of our beauty while celebrating our differences.

I’m most proud of being able to share work that inspires others to embrace their own natural beauty and practice self love.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

At the core of my creative journey the recurring theme has been representation. I often reflect on the types of representations I had growing up as well as the lack thereof.

I’m driven to create art that can be appreciated by all walks of people, but also has the ability to give representation to girls and women who look like me. I feel that Black women and Black culture are among the most consumed, yet under appreciated and undervalued aspects of society today. I want to bring a sense of reverence to the innate beauty that we posses, while at the same time advocating for self love.

For example, my hair is a point of pride for me now, although it hasn’t always been that way. I grew up having my hair chemically straightened and as an adult continued to process my hair this way. It wasn’t until the last decade that I found a sense of pride and appreciation for my natural hair.

Much of my art depicts Black women with natural hairstyles from braids to puffs to Bantu knots. I feel it is a part of my mission to lift these styles up and give that push for self love and representation to others who are at a point of contention with embracing their natural appearance.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first decided to pursue art I had already had a sketch page on Instagram where I would share doodles and sketches. I decided to start by keeping my art pages separate from my personal pages and spend more time on my art page sharing content. I usually share things about upcoming events, finished art pieces and short process videos. Sometimes I do sprinkle a bit of family life into the mix because I think it’s important to remind people that you’re a human with a life too, and that you are not just your art.

For me it’s been about building real organic connections with people. Having real conversations and being open to new perspectives. I enjoy engaging with others and sharing other artists work to help them reach a potentially new audience as well.

I also don’t worry about my follower count, likes or views. Of course I love reaching new people and getting engagement, but I feel like we are too consumed with the numbers, which in my opinion impedes confidence.

A great perspective to have if you’re a new artist and you have let’s say 100 followers. For some that may not seem like a lot and can discourage you from continuing to create and share your work. Instead imagine having 100 people in your house that want to watch you make your art. That would be pretty amazing in my opinion.

Social media is a great tool to use to reach people, but remember to treat it as such (a tool). I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay authentic and don’t fall into the numbers game. Your audience will find you if you remain consistent and stand by your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://yolanda-galery-art.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yolanda_galery_art/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/YGaleryArt
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yolanda_galery_art

Image Credits
Growing Boy Media