Interview With Self Taught Artist Veli



Photos Provided By:Veli


Felecia: Please share with my readers a little about yourself.

Veli: My name is Veli and I’m a self taught portrait artist from Queens, New York. My mediums are marker, paint and digital. For the past four years I’ve been an art specialist for after school programs but I recently quit to be a full time artist. My other interests include music, basketball, spirituality, astrology and social/emotional sciences. I would consider my life unconventional. I do what I want when I want and I don’t care too much about societal norms. I believe in being free and making my own rules. 

Felecia: Tell me what inspired you to start doing art?

Veli: I started doing art at a young age because my father and sister are both artists. I would watch them and try to copy what they were doing. I struggled to relate to the people around me so as I got older, art became a form of therapy as well as an escape. It wasn’t something I necessarily thought I could make a career out of until 2017 when I lost my job. I wasn’t mentally prepared to get a new one yet so I dedicated that entire summer to being an artist. 


Felecia: How long have you been painting?

Veli: I’ve been painting for a year and change and doing digital for a little shy of a year. Prior to that I used strictly marker.


Felecia:  In your opinion what was the hardest part of putting your art work out there?

Veli: The hardest part was starting over from scratch. Prior to 2017, I was solely focused on modeling. I wasn’t drawing that often and when I did I never posted it. I eventually realized I didn’t like the type of attention I was attracting so I deleted my Instagram and made a new one for art. It took a while to adjust to the lack of validation I grew so accustomed to but it was worth it in the end.

Felecia: What advice would you give to an upcoming artist?

Veli: Only compare yourself to your past self. If you compare your current art to the art you made a year ago, you'll see progress and feel encouraged to keep going. But if you compare yourself to artists who have been in the game way longer than you, it can be discouraging.

 
Felecia: What are you hoping people gain from purchasing and seeing your artwork?

Veli: I create my paintings and digital work with two different intentions. I want my painting to spark deep thought within people or evoke a strong emotion. I want my digital work to make black women feel represented in the most beautiful way possible.






 Felecia: Do you have an upcoming project coming out?

Veli: I plan to do my first solo show before 2022. I aiming for November.

Felecia: How can some of your pieces be purchased?

Veli: You can purchase prints, shirts, mugs, phone cases and more on my website.

Felecia: Please share your media pages for new fans that you would like to share.

Veli: Velitheartist.com
Instagram: @veli.the.artist Twitter: @vagabondveli

Popular posts from this blog

Interview With Mom of Nine, Photographer, and Boutique Owner Karissa Collins

Image
Photos Provided By: Karissa Me: Thank you so much for the opportunity to have you and your family on my blog. Please tell us a little about yourself and your family. Hi. Thanks for having us. My name is Karissa. We are the Collins family. We have nine children ages 11,9,8,7,5,4,3,1, and 2 months. I am a stay at home mom that home schools all of the children and I run two at home businesses. Photography and an online modest boutique for women. My husband works in finance and we run a family home church as well. My husband also is currently doing a home flip, runs basketball camps, started an axe throwing business and has a wood working business. We also run men and women's Bible studies every week. So yeah...we are busy. Me: What an inspirational family. I am sure many as myself want to know how you and your husband stay so organized. Honestly it is all with God's help. I am dedicated to putting God first every single day. And then just allow Him to guide and direct us. I try to
Read more

Featuring Interview with Cake Designer Nicole of OKC Cake Lady

Image
Photos Provided By Nicole   Me: Hi Nicole! How did you start your passion for designing cakes and where are you located? Hi! I am located in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. I started working at a grocery store whenever I was 18 years old. I have always been a car Enthusiast and I had a mini truck that I was fixing up as a hobby. The grocery store manager asked if I wanted to work in the bakery to get more hours. Well, more hours equaled more money for my truck, and I kindly took them up on their offer. From there, I started in the bakery, and I absolutely loved it. I could not get enough of getting to create and putting smiles on customers faces. Me: What made you take a leap into starting your own business? I have always loved business. When I walk into other people's stores, I always look for ways to try to improve their store in my head. So, after working in the bakery for years I just knew that I could do this on my own and I would be a lot happier. I knew that being in my own environm
Read more

Featuring: Tiers of Sweetness; Look For the Bright Pink Door

Image
  Photos By: Felecia Causey Written By: Felecia Causey Proverbs 3:6 Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take I was able to visit Tiers of Sweetness, located in Wetumpka, Alabama. I had fun at this cute location. It reminded me of an old-fashioned small-town romance movie. The owners of the company, Cherryl and Denice, provided an overview of their lives and the history of Tiers of Sweetness. The cake-making sisters are a talented team. After completing a cake decorating course, Denice, who was previously a hair stylist, began her career as a cake decorator.   Cherryl joined her sister full-time after retiring from the Department of Conservation after 39 years of service. I adore how she saw her sister's vision and understood that her love and passion were revealed while assisting her. When I visited, the women were very  friendly. I was captivated by their account of how God served as their compass and mentor during their business efforts. They discovered
Read more

Featuring Tea Town in Montgomery, AL

Image
Written By: Felecia Causey Tea Town is a family-owned restaurant located in Montgomery, AL.  It’s in a great location right off Vaughn Road, close to the AMC movie theater. The first thing that caught my attention was how clean it was.  I enjoyed how peaceful it seemed.  Oh, my goodness, my readers and followers know how important good customer service is to me.  The entire family that was there was so welcoming. I was impressed when they asked if I had any food allergies.  That was very courteous of them.    I wanted to get a little more background of this family.  Just by talking to Buu and Brandi I knew they were aiming to build relationships with their customers. Watching the interactions between them and each person that came through the door, told me that they would treat their customers like family.  It will definitely set them apart from many other restaurants in my book. Phat Trieu and Cam Thai came from Vietnam along with their kids.   They have been cooking for years and
Read more