Interview With Twitter Artist Alejandra (AlejandraHer18)

Adding a Smile to Life, Art, Interviews with Artists, World of Art

Interview With Twitter Artist Alejandra (AlejandraHer18)

Alejandra Herrera

I was really drawn to this ladies work as I felt a deeper connection to her after viewing her art, I could see the hidden meanings as I took a deeper dive into alejandras pieces. I loved the poignant colours she uses and the fine detail in her art. It’s really clear that she has so much more emotion and meaning behind her designs. Im super excited to share this interview with you and I hope you can appreciate Alejandras art and her amazing interview here. To be apart of her creative journey please follow her on twitter and instagram.

Before we get to Alejandra interview, can we just admire and appreciate her most recent piece (at the start of this blog). The emotion it evokes and the feelings you get when you keep your eyes on this piece is amazing. I couldn’t be happier that this art piece was added to the world. Stunning isn’t the words for it.

What got you started on art?
I always drew, like everyone else, I just never stopped doing it as I grew older. I am a teacher by profession, and I enjoyed working with children in the short time that I taught. I had the need to express things I thought and felt, and I couldn’t make it with words. So one day I made the decision to make what I loved. I have no art studies, so as an avid reader I considered that starting with editorial illustration might be an option. So I took a workshop in editorial illustration for beginners and at the end of it, the publishing house asked me for a portfolio to join the team. That is how 4 months after making the decision I started my way through art.

Where does your inspiration come from?
It depends on the style I’m working on. My inspiration usually comes from things that I can hardly express in words, especially when I work with portraits. When I make illustration style, I usually use visual metaphors; I like to tell stories based on everyday anecdotes, and represent them graphically not only as I lived them in the moment, but also as I remember them as time passes.

Have you always been a digital artist?
No, the truth is I always used traditional media because art was not my profession. As soon as I started working as an illustrator, digital media became present and necessary, even though I often keep pencil or ink strokes in my works.

What emotion and feelings do you convey in your art and is their any triggers that made you use them in your art?
Many of my artworks are based on how confused I feel about the way I perceive the world and the way I remind things, and how feelings and memories change over time. I have always thought about this.
A few years ago I lost my father, and now that he only lives in my memories I wonder if memories will change over time. This questioning about the real and the imaginary is always in my works.

Does your past ever show up in your artwork?
Always. My work is an accumulation of traces of many times in my life. Portraits are many feelings that I’ve learned to overcome and heal through art, they are how I have felt in difficult moments. Illustrations and graphic stories are, on the other hand, many everyday things, from before and now, like my first day as a teacher, or some experiences on a bus stop.

Has the lockdown influenced you or your art in anyway?
Absolutely. Before the lockdown, I was a full-time editorial illustrator. It was difficult to find time to work on personal projects. The lockdown gave me time to work on my own projects, developing my own concepts and getting to know myself a little more. Although it has been difficult because of all that this pandemic has involved, I feel fortunate to have my family and to be with them.

If you had to choose three words to describe the lockdown experience what would they be?
Live and learn

Did you learn anything in 2020? About your art, the world or yourself?
I learned that art is a powerful transforming force, capable of turning anything into something beautiful, bringing out the best in us.

What is your focus for 2021?
This year I am exclusively dedicated to cryptoart. It’s such a fast-moving world that I had to change my goals for the year just after a couple of months. For now, I’m enjoying it, making friends and meeting wonderful people, and doing what I can to so that more people know about NFTs.

Do you have any thoughts on the crypto art space? If so when did you first hear about it?
Before learning about NFTs and crypto art, I had a blog on Steemit, and then Hive where I still post. That was my first experience with the blockchain. There I met many wonderful people and their works of crypto art, and I was encouraged to enter the community

How do you think crypto art will change society and its view on the art space?
Crypto art is questioning many concepts: what is art? What gives value to an artwork? What is an artist and what characterizes one? What is a collector? The mere fact that people, institutions, galleries question those concepts is already a change. Crypto art has turned those of us who live an active life in the community into active agents of that change. The recognition of people outside the art school, code programmers, creators as artists is an example of how society is changing thanks to this.

Do you follow or believe in any specific artists on the crypto space?
This is a space full with talent and expressiveness. Since I have been in this space I have discovered fascinating artists who have become my favorites. Each one with its defined aesthetics and concepts. Ann Ahoy is one of them, because she has a great narrative capacity with lines and shapes and marked textures very well achieved. Luluxxx was one of the first artists I met in this space, her works are full of movement and texture, and they invite me to look at them for hours. PanterXhita’s works are definitely one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen, her Insufficient series is beautifully accomplished, from concept to execution. There are many more.