Life & Work with Evelyn Escobar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Evelyn Escobar.

Hi Evelyn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Puebla, Mexico. I am the oldest of two children, and my interest in art began when I was 10 years old. I was inspired by my parents’ desire to always learn more about art. My mom took a certification in ceramics, and she started a studio teaching others how to paint. My dad was always drawing. I remember we had a lot of art books and magazines in English that none of us would understand around the house about how to do portraits and landscapes, etc. We had art books by all different artists: Picasso, Van Gogh, Toledo, and more. Since my dad worked far away, he would give us “homework.” For example, he would give me a book, like the one about Picasso, and he would say “by next week give me a summary of the first chapter.” I was fascinated by all their stories and their art. I think this really made a big difference in my life and my perception of art.

Eventually, when I was about 10, my brother and I got a really cool sticker of a butterfly and we wanted to make a painting of it. So my mom had some white fabric lying around and we grabbed a piece of wood and some staples and made our first canvas. With my mom’s acrylic paints, we reproduced the butterfly to the best of our abilities. When my dad got home that weekend, he was impressed and saw the potential that we could have if he helped cultivate that fire within us. So that same day he took us to an art store and got us an easel canvas, brushes, oil paints, and more books about how to learn. Over the next few years, until I was 13, I did all I could with those canvases–I tried to reproduce my favorite Disney characters, and some of my favorite paintings from some artists like Diego Rivera using oil paints. I did not have any formal education in painting or art at this point in my life, but my school saw the work I did and sent me to art competitions with other schools. I never won anything, but I will never forget those experiences, especially one that brought me a lot of shame. I felt very ashamed by one of the judges. Since then, my motto was to become the best. I decided that no one–not even that judge–was going to limit what I could do or become. So I continued trying.

Afterwards, when I was old enough to take public transportation, I decided to take my first art class at “La Casa de la Cultura” (The House of Culture) so I could learn and understand better the materials I was working with and learn more techniques. Taking the bus by myself and making an hour’s trip back and forth to class each week was the adventure of my life.

When I was 15, I decided to take art classes from one of the teachers at “El Barrio del Artista.” My teacher, Efrain Becerra Castañeda, became my teacher for the next 3 years. He taught me to appreciate simplicity, detail, and color, and how to mix colors according to what I was observing. We often engaged in very interesting philosophical conversations with the other students. I was always learning from him in one way or another. He truly inspired me. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to be invited for a summer to spend time with the family of a renowned Mexican Artist who took me into his studio and put me to work there for that summer. I was very excited to learn and be so close to such an artist. I came back home with a new view and perspective of the art world.

When I finished high school and everyone asked me what I wanted to be and do, I was ready to make a life choice. In my mind, there was no question; I felt like I was preparing most of my life for this moment. I wanted to be an artist. At this point, my dad was pretty straightforward and said that if I wanted to study, I would have to pay for it myself. So I continued working part time to be able to pay for my college. I started my studies at Universitario Bauhaus in Puebla. And I loved it. Sometimes I was so eager to learn that I tried to learn faster than the course was moving. I felt like their teachings were not as challenging as I wanted them or expected them to be. I remember my art materials teacher hated me because I would often challenge his techniques. At this point, I was already making my own oil bars and waxes to use for my paintings. But I knew that we needed to learn. The highlights of my first year of college were the beautiful friendships I was able to create and the experiences I had. During that first year I had the opportunity to participate in several collective art shows in Mexico City, Xalapa Veracruz, and Puebla.

After my first year of college, I unfortunately developed a medical condition that prevented me from returning to school for a while. I went through therapy and rehab, and this was very discouraging. My life was slowly changing. I had no idea how much it would continue to change.

During that year, attitude and courage were everything to me. I decided that I could view this challenge as an excuse to stop trying or as an opportunity to try harder. I chose to see it as an opportunity. I did my best and tried my hardest. At home, I adapted a room into a personal studio and during the next six months, I worked eight hours a day painting and creating! I loved it! I continued learning so much despite the fact I wasn’t able to be at school. After those six months, I had enough pieces to fill a gallery—at least 30 paintings, some of which were oil paintings and some of which were gouaches. I set out on a new quest, looking and searching for opportunities. I made a list of galleries or cafés that would give me the opportunity to have an art show. I visited each of them to talk to the owner about showing my art. Everything worked out—within a short while, I had booked art shows for the next six months. I held my first art show, which I called “En Buscan del Tesoro perdido” (in search of the last treasure), at my college. I loved seeing my friends, other students, and people I didn’t know at the opening night! The second art show was held at Espacio Cultural de Cine y Artes Visuales (ECCAVAC). It was also a big success. It was so rewarding to be able to see people interacting with my pieces. In the meantime, I had other pieces in a couple of galleries. I also did some commissioned work. My third show was in the art gallery at “El Barrio del Artista.” ECCAVAC and El Barrio provided great exposure for me as an artist in Puebla. I remember having a press conference and a live interview for a radio station. I was living my dream at 19. I loved life, even with its challenges.

However, in early 2012 there were things bigger than me that completely changed my life. Those things forced me to leave art on the side for a while. But due to those challenges, I was given the opportunity to leave my home and my country to continue learning. I moved to Utah to continue my studies and knew that my life would never be the same. That experience taught me a great lesson: that no matter the plan we set up to ourselves, life and God work in mysterious, unexpected and unimaginable ways. But that was a hard lesson to learn. For the rest of 2012 to 2013, I was too discouraged to even grab a pencil and paper or a brush. I felt a lot of emotional pain. Near the end of 2013, I realized I needed to remember who I was. I decided that I would not leave that part of me and my identity on the side. So I got some oil paints, some canvases and I started creating some pieces, mostly commissions.

By 2015 I had returned to my art style and myself. I created a series of oil paintings that I took to Salt Lake City. I walked straight to Concept Art Gallery with a 30 by 40 inch oil painting under each arm and talked to John Harries, one of the owners. I showed him my pieces and asked if I could sell my artwork there. He loved the pieces and asked me to leave them there and to bring some more. I was going to be the Featured Artist of the Next Following month. I couldn’t believe it. The opening night was on August 21st of 2015–my birthday–and I was excited beyond imagination. Afterwards, I reached out to Pamela O’hara, former owner of Utah Artist Hands, and she also open the doors of her gallery for me. During the rest of 2015, I was consistently booked for art shows. I had the opportunity to be the featured artist of these beautiful galleries. Towards the end of the year, I decided to participate in the Urban Art Gallery’s Connect competition and took 3rd place, so they featured my art there for a month. In early 2016, I was their featured artist.

Unfortunately, for several reasons, mostly the lack of sales and the demands of my job, I stopped painting for a little while. But in 2018 I participated in the Latin Arte, an event hosted by the Consulate of Mexico in Salt Lake City, as one of their featured artists.

I love art. It is something I am passionate about, even though I am not quite where I wanted to be at this point in my career. Today, I can reflect on the 19 year old me who did not let anyone stop her or get in her way. Who chose love instead of pain, and hard work instead of being a victim of her circumstances. And that 19-year-old Eve is the one who continues inspiring me to move forward, to achieve my goals. She reminds me that it is never too late to start where you are at, that our journey is unique and beautiful, and that we must surround each other with those who love us, who inspire us, who uplift us. Right now I am deeply grateful for my sweet husband Tyler, who believes in me and who inspires me to continue moving forward no matter how hard the road might be. I am working on being authentic and truthful to myself and trying to continue painting. My goal is to start an online gallery that will launch very soon and to continue seeking for opportunities to show my art in galleries. And to reflect in my art not only my philosophies about life and my values, but the changes I have experienced and am experiencing in myself.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. It has been very challenging in many ways and at many different points over the last ten years. And at some point in my life, my path was not only hard but obstructed by the one person who should have believed in me and respected the path I was taking—my dad. It was one of the hardest things and moments in life especially at such young age when I was forming my own path. During the time in 2012, I was already booked for the rest of the year with other venues and galleries. He came to me and told me that a certain artist that was very influential in Mexico was not very happy that I was showing and selling my art. That artist had threatened that if I did not stop, I would have serious consequences. My dad said to me after dinner, “you have until Friday to cancel the upcoming shows and to pick up your art from the galleries you are showing at or you will have serious consequences. It is time for you to choose another career.” It took me a long time to recover emotionally from that and to be able to forgive him. There were many times that I thought that at this point in life I could be doing much more in my career as an artist, especially the way I started back in Mexico. But I have come to learn that life really is unexpected. I believe in God, and I have no question that he knew better, that he had a different path and plan for me. It did not mean that I would quit or stop fulfilling my goals and dreams. But they would look different and there would be a different timing than the one I originally set up for myself. God knew I needed to learn, get out of my comfort zone, and move forward. When I moved to Utah I knew this would be my new beginning. I had no idea how hard it would be to be into the art world here as I had done in Mexico. Galleries here often request online submission of portfolios if you want to be featured by them, and there are so many good artists in the valley that it can be hard to compete.

At one point, I went to California and walked through the galleries in San Diego. I thought my art would be great for those galleries. It has bright, beautiful colors, and the techniques would be appreciated by the patrons. I collected several business cards from galleries I thought I would be a good match for and submitted my portfolio, and I was rejected by all of them. They said they loved my art but that they were only accepting artists who were residents of California. That was very discouraging, especially since, in Utah, I was struggling getting into galleries in Park City. Even in the beautiful galleries I was showing in in Salt Lake City, many people loved my art but were not willing to pay for the original piece. (This was different back in Mexico, where people would often want originals.)

I think in part because of the culture in Utah, people often are not willing to invest in art when they can go to the DI or to Target and get cheap prints. That was also very eye-opening for me on how different the art world and market move here and nowadays. Nevertheless, it was a lesson to learn—I now recognize the importance of making my art accessible for all socio-economic levels and preferences. From having prints at $25 to the original size price.

Another one of my struggles was my perception of myself as an artist, or where I wanted to be–or thought I was supposed to be, especially at this point in life. But I have learned that success is not only showing in galleries and selling your art to the highest price collector. My perception about success now comes from a place of self-love and compassion.

To me, success as an artist now means that I know that I am doing my best with what I have, I have time to study, to create art pieces in my studio. To me, success means to be able to gift a piece of art to someone who absolutely loves my art and admires the work. It makes me happy to know that my art is highly valued in a different way. Of course, I want the galleries and the acclaim, but I have learned that my value as an individual and as an artist it is not dependent only on those circumstances.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My art is a sample of gouaches and oil pieces, which offers a colorful look at childhood memories. I try to capture an imaginary world where dreams sail in the life of each person, making them free, letting them enjoy every instant.

I try to see the child as a person free from social ties; where formality stops and instead we can enjoy the moment, without prejudiced thinking that society imposes on us–instead thinking of and seeing the meaning of life, where spontaneity is a creative act.

I expose the figures to share them with the spectators so they are able to experiment and enjoy the magic of my paintings. I prefer to think of myself as a child who identifies with all my creatures instead of with the adults with their critical looks, and with this I give others a key to come near to my art. I hope people will see my art with a fresh clean look and without prejudice or comparison.

I would say that something I am proud of is my personal journey with and through my art. I see myself as searching in the collective unconscious, where I don’t just draw moments of childhood, but of the imagination that belongs to each one of us. These moments are close to our hearts as part of our human journey.

I think something that makes me different from other artists is that my paintings are purely magical portals between childhood dreams and extracted mythical worlds inhabited by beings of personal imagination, creating legends and stories of fiction. This is what I call “learning to play.” I try to capture that essence through the bright colors and techniques I use, and imperfect lines that convey a sense of liveliness.

How do you think about happiness?
Something that makes me genuinely happy are bubbles. I know that it might sound very childish, but it brings to my memory certain experiences back in Mexico. I would walk through the Historic Center, where there was a pedestrian-only street. In the middle, there were some people selling helium balloons, and often they would be blowing bubbles, which they also sold. I loved walking on that street, while the sunlight was passing through the buildings, and reflecting on the bubbles. It looked so beautiful. I enjoyed walking that street and popping the bubbles as they floated past me. Maybe people thought I was odd, or too old to be playing with bubbles, but it truly made me happy. I didn’t care about their opinions, because of the joy that I felt in such a little and simple moment. I think that was what really made me think of my philosophy about enjoying life and its beautiful simple moments and putting on the side certain formalities, and the fears of what others might think of us. Lately, something else that makes me happy is as I drive, especially during the spring and summer, is the beautiful yellow flowers on the side of the road, as you drive on Maintain View or towards Heber, or Park City. If you stop for a moment on or just look around, it is so beautiful to see all the bright and colorful flowers. They are a reminder to me that life is full of beautiful, unexpected moments hidden in seemingly ordinary places. And sometimes we only need to look around and appreciate the beauty and the miracle that they are.

Pricing:

• $25
• $45
• $65
• $150
• $1250.00

Contact Info:

• Website: evelynescobar.art
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/evelynescobarte?igshid=YTY2NzY3YTc=
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EvEscobar1/media