Today we’d like to introduce you to Raquel Pantin
Raquel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started experimenting with oil paint in 2014 after being inspired by Bob Ross. I bought his landscape kit and followed his tutorials, he really taught me the foundations of oil painting! In 2017 I finally started portrait work and found that it was something I really enjoyed. While I’ve been extremely inconsistent throughout the years- often picking up painting and then dropping it for months to years at a time- I finally decided to put forth more effort into creating and now consider myself a much more consistent artist.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
By no means easy! Art is more so my hobby rather than my job, and I intend to keep it that way so I don’t lose the spark and enjoyment I get from doing it. Throughout my art journey I have had many different jobs (from military to management to web development) and moved to many different locations, but my love for art and for creating always was there. I struggled with being consistent, and hitting that artists block where I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to create – which resulted in me doing nothing for a long period of time. I struggled with comparing myself to others and with the idea that “art is going to make me money”. It took a mindset shift for me to start creating pieces that I wanted to create, versus what I thought my audience would want to buy, and that alone was a huge game changer and has opened up my creative mind to new depths .
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love to use vibrant colors to create fun pieces that capture the viewers attention. I would say that I am inspired by pop art and elements of realism/surrealism. When it comes to deciding a subject for my work, I always ask myself “is this something you’d hang up in your house?” and if the answer is yes, then I go for it. I am not necessarily set on “sending a message” with my artwork, as I mentioned earlier my goal is to create pieces that are fun to look at and create a vibe.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is being able to find enjoyment in all steps of the creative process from start to finish and leaving something new from each work of art (something I’ve struggled with in the past.) Success to me is also using my artwork to network with other artists and inspire others to start (or reignite) their creative journey. When someone tells me I have inspired them to get back into art, it genuinely warms my heart and makes me feel like I’ve succeeded in something.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @artbyraquelp
- Other: TikTok: @artbyraquelp
