My name is Vanessa and I am a self-taught painter born and raised from the Bronx, NY.

How did you get your Artist name?

I was trying to think of an instagram handle to post my art to and that was the best I could come up with at the time lol

How did you get into creating?

I’ve always been into drawing since I was a kid. One day in high school I wanted to try painting, because there was a girl in my class that painted and I thought it was really bad ass, and it made me want to try it. Now that’s majority of what I do.

Where are you from?

My family is from Dominican Republic. I was born in New York.

How did growing up in your neighborhood/city affect you?

I was always a home-body, internet, artsy shy kid. I mostly kept to myself. My neighborhood didn’t exactly make me feel comfortable going out and just mingling with people out on the street. I think the city, for how big and densely packed it is, actually contributed to me being a bit antisocial growing up. I didn’t want to talk to strangers, I strongly disliked human-traffic so I didn’t like walking around in crowded areas, and the streets weren’t exactly the safest to make friends. I am however exposed to many different types of people, which I think kept me from being closed-minded towards others.

What did you do to advance your skills/knowledge?

I would copy artists I liked and follow Bob Ross painting videos.

What does your current setup look like?

My current “studio” is in my room right next to my bed. The atmosphere is pretty cramped but it’s all in a confined and somewhat organized enough space to which allows me to work. But yeah I paint next to my bed, my closet , my shoes, my stuffed animals, and next to my dog’s ashes which sit on the window sill of a nice, big window. I use basic acrylics and brushes nothing fancy.

Who inspires you?

I’m struggling with inspiration right now but people that make me want to paint would have to include artists like Rae Klein, B0nes Gilmore, Sasha Gordon, to name a few.

What is your goal when you create?

I honestly just want to make good art, in the sense that the pieces make sense/are smart compositionally; pieces that have an interesting idea or something cool to say or share. I don’t like the idea of my stuff being eye candy with nothing interesting behind it. I don’t wanna make pieces that just function as wall decor.

Why do you create?

It feels like something I have to do, like a job almost. I just have to for some reason, and I need to do a good job or else I’m just gonna be a waste of space. Jokes aside I do feel this obligation with myself to do it that I can’t really explain.

How has choosing your creative path affected your life?

I think it gives me a dream to hold on to, some hope that my life will be better with it.

Did you have to overcome any obstacles along the way?

I have to work full time to keep a roof over my head so unfortunately for now I can’t paint full time, I think that’s the only obstacle. Also lots of art block. A whole lot.

What's your go-to song right now and why is it important to you?

If I had to pick one out of the bunch I could pick, I’ll go with “So Long, Marianne” by Leonard Cohen. It’s important I think because of the depth and variety of feelings I get hearing it. I feel grief, yearning, lightness, peace, loneliness, disappointment, hopefulness, dreamy, etc. I feel a whole lot of things with that song. And those sort of feelings make me want to create, and makes me want to chase each one of those feelings. It’s nice to chase those feelings because the opposite for me would be to separate from myself and others.

What is your dream as an artist and what steps are you taking to reach your dream?

My dream is to support myself with my art, and to make artwork that people will remember. Steps I’m taking, I guess just continue painting.

What would you tell someone else with a dream?

Better to give it a shot and fail than to not give yourself a chance at all.

Tell us about your most recent release

I don’t have anything at the moment. I wanna have a solo in the city at one point. Working on it.

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/whatnessapaints/

Website

https://www.whatnessapaints.com/paintings