Today we’d like to introduce you to Olympia Altimir.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Before becoming a professional artist, I spent most of my life trying to improve my faults instead of developing my virtues.
Probably it is because I was born and raised in a tiny country of 80,000 people nestled in the Pyrenees Mountains, submerged in a very beautiful, safe and secluded environment. It used to be a very sterile environment in terms of art, with barely any galleries, street art or even an art community. That didn’t stop my imagination and creativity, and I spent endless hours sketching, painting the walls of my room, keeping a dream diary and reading about psychoanalysis and symbolism.
In my early twenties, I landed in Los Angeles and instantly felt at home. Moving to the U.S. by myself taught me so much about life and really opened my mind, giving my imagination a whole new arsenal to work with. I also became more aware of the world of opportunity that was awaiting, and after having different left-brained jobs that made me miserable, I decided to pursue my art career.
The emotional rollercoaster that has entailed cannot be put into words. But the feeling of seeing one single person touched by your artwork is worth every single drop of sweat and tears.
Please tell us about your art.
My oil and mixed media paintings usually depict a main character in a surreal or unexpected environment. My main goal is to create impactful imagery that takes the viewer to a different place, making them think and/or feel, have a reaction, and make a small difference one person at a time. I hope everybody that sees my work feel inspired, curious, or even uncomfortable and weirded out. What I fear the most is indifference; indifference means failure.
My process is not set in stone, but it usually entails a combination of subconscious imagery and research, tied to a concept. I get inspired by human behavior and the psychology behind it, and I love using nature and/or animals as symbols to anchor the viewer.
I like to feed off life experiences and combine them with my imagination to create images representing the good and the dark sides of mankind.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
When you choose to pursue your art career, you choose to sacrifice; you choose the risk of never making much money out of it, you choose (near) constant rejection from galleries. The best thing you can do is make peace with that and stay strong and positive. You should stay true to yourself no matter what and don’t give up.
Good things come to those who work hard.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Over the last few years, I have shown at different galleries around California, and have been featured at Wonderland SF, 111 Minna Gallery, and the De Young Museum, and will be showing at Garage Gallery LA on March 30th. You can also see some of my mural work at the Watts Oasis (Los Angeles) next to the Watts towers, Papi Rico (San Francisco), and Freak Alley (Boise, Idaho). I post ongoing work and concepts on my Instagram @olydarko and website OlympiaAltimir.com — DM me if you are interested in buying or commissioning a piece.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.olympiaaltimir.com
- Email: olympia.altimir@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/olydarko
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/olympiaaltimirart/
Image Credit:
Gregg Mizuta; Nate Kelly
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
