06.21.2007
Q&A with AnaRosa Amaral
Professional artist AnaRosa Amaral usually goes by her first name and, somehow, that seems to fit her perfectly. She says she’s inspired by old Hollywood and she looks like she’d fit in with her black pumps, short blond haircut and red lipstick.
Here are some excerpts from our conversation as we strolled through downtown Mooresville:
So why don’t you start by describing your art?
Oh gosh … Well, I love to paint the things that represent the things I love, the things that captivate me, the things I’m passionate about. Like my pet portraits all represent my love of animals and my glitter girls are about girl power. And I have this one character named Mazzy who — she’s kind of like my alter-ego. She travels the world, she’s very witty, stylish and fun. ... It’s about making people happy but capturing my own experiences because they’re not only personal but universal. It’s kind of hard to describe because I do a little bit of everything; it’s very difficult just to pinpoint one thing and say ‘This is what my art is.’ It’s a lot of little things. It’s like a person. You’re built up of a lot of different things.
That’s a very smart way to put it.
Yeah, you’re not just one person, you like different things, you go through changes in your life, you grow. And I think that’s what my art does, too, and it grows with me. ... And the thing is, how it really all started, was after 9-11. I actually lived in New York, all my life, and it was that pivotal moment in my life where I realized I have to do what I love to be happy. And that’s what I did. I abandoned everything I did before and I focused on my career, my career being my art. And I focused on that and dedicated myself and since then I haven’t stopped.
How long have you been doing it?
Since 2001 full time. It takes a lot of courage to be an artist and just focus on that and depend on that for a living.
So what is it like to be a professional artist? It seems like there wouldn’t be many boundaries for you, but it’s got to be difficult.
You want to put out what’s honest. What’s honest to you, what represents you as a person. Sometimes you want to experiment so you do something a little different. ... But the challenge is really just doing it, just having the courage to get up in the morning and say ’I’m going to do this and it’s going to pay the mortgage, it’s going to get me though life.’
So where do you see your journey going now?
I don’t know. The possibilities are endless. I always say, never put up barriers. See the horizon as far as you can. I don’t tell myself that I can’t do something, I’ll always try it.
There are a lot of part-time artists out there who would love to be professionals but haven’t jumped in there yet. What would you say to them as advice?
A lot of artists have a hard time finding their vision and saying “this is what I want to convey.” They have a difficult time with that. And I say, just experiment, try different things. You don’t have to just do one thing … just like anything else you have to be dedicated and love what you do.
I think that’s advice that could translate outside of art.
Yeah, it’s about life in general. Whatever you believe in, whatever you want to do, whatever you want to say, just go for it. There’s nothing you can do wrong by being honest with yourself and with everyone.