Check Out Nicole Mendoza Bedoya’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Mendoza Bedoya.

Hi Nicole, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Since elementary school, art class was always my favorite subject, and I loved when it was time for art class. My love for art continued to grow through middle school. My art teacher assigned art projects and taught a bit of art history, and would take my class to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) every year. While everyone saw it as another regular trip, I was excited to walk around and see the artworks the Met had that year and learn the meaning behind them. It was also the time I learned about art competitions, and my teacher encouraged me to apply by submitting several pieces I made in her class. My teacher’s encouragement led me to win my first art competition at The Met Museum’s P.S. Art student gallery in 2013 and made me realize I wanted to pursue art furthermore.

However, I had to convince my parents that I could pursue art as a career. My parents were raised in a Hispanic/Latinx household and were uncertain of me choosing to become an artist because they believed the “starving artist” stereotype was true. My parents also did not want my sister and me to go through the difficulties they had to go through because they never finished college and pursued a professional career. So, I did everything I could to prove to them that I was serious about art and could pursue art as a professional career. At the beginning of high school, I attended free Saturday programs for high school students offered by programs like Studio in a School and Cooper Union, art and design-related workshops, and lectures given by professional artists and designers. I continued to enter art competitions, and I learned about rejections, rejections were challenging, but I continued to apply no matter the outcome. It was also where I got to meet young New York City artists like me from all the boroughs and maintain a long-lasting connection and friendship with them.

As time went on, I sensed that joining these programs had made my parents more hopeful about my path, even when I was applying for art colleges. Yet, when it was time to apply for art colleges, I was undecided of which major I should pursue, Fine Arts or Graphic Design? It was then that I discovered Illustration. I saw Illustration as a perfect combination of both, creating art and design but with storytelling included. I applied to various art schools in the city and received acceptances and scholarships, but in the end, I decided to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). I was fortunate enough to receive a full-ride scholarship to FIT provided by one of the art programs I had gone to in high school because my parents could not afford private colleges. I was a bit upset about not being able to attend the college I wanted to go to, but after graduating from FIT, I realized it doesn’t matter what school you attended but the work and passion you bring and who you are as an artist and person.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Personally, it has not been a smooth road. After graduating in 2021, I had a massive creative burnout and could not simply bring myself to look back on the projects I created in my final year. In my last year, everything was online, from classes to our grad show, and they were a significant experience that the pandemic took away from us. After graduation, I took a break from creating art and made time for myself to relax. As a result, I began to doubt myself whether those four years were worth it or not. I asked myself if I should have pursued another career? These thoughts were continuously building up and were clouding my head with negativity. As I saw my peers progress in their careers, I was happy they were moving ahead but seeing them advance led me to believe that deciding to take a break was not the right decision. I say this because, since high school, I rarely took breaks; even in the summer, I would be doing internships, and in college, I would pull an all-nighter for projects because I believed that my hard work would pay off in the end and contribute to my future. Eventually, towards the end of the year, I had the opportunity to go out more and travel to Los Angeles for the first time, and after exploring LA, I came back to New York inspired and ready to apply for jobs and create more art. Since last year I got rejections but made new connections from professional illustrators to upcoming illustrators, and I am going to keep continuing my journey as an illustrator.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Peruvian-American Freelance Illustrator based in Queens, NY and; I create illustrations with a combination of decorative and narrative elements using bright and playful colors and shapes using ink, gouache, and procreate. My current works are related to my interests, such as tv shows, movies, and music. Nowadays, I am exploring fashion illustration by sketching favorite looks from seasons from brands like Coach, Anna Sui, and Prada during fashion week. After graduation, I realized I love the work I am creating now than the work I made during my time in college. Towards the end of my senior year, I was working to find a style I was comfortable with, so I made illustrations exploring various styles. At the same time, I took an embroidery class my final year and discovered how beautiful and detailed embroidery was while it also told a story. It was also where I learned about folk art and immediately fell in love with folk art because of its colorful symmetrical designs and the many unique styles each country had. After this discovery, I tried to implement it into my works, especially on my senior thesis, and for the first time, I felt I knew where I wanted to go with my illustration. Eventually, as time goes on, my style might change or evolve to something greater than I could have envisioned it.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck has played in my life and business. I say this because ever since I started to post my art on social media, I have connected with talented rising illustrators online, discovered illustrators from around the world, and created this small networking group and friendship. From this, I have slowly started to grow more confident in sharing my art and sketches on Instagram and putting my work out there for creative jobs and myself. I even had the idea to start a small business by selling stickers. I did the research and promoted myself on my social media pages and have gotten a good amount of sales from close friends of mine, whom I will be forever grateful for their support. Although luck has played a part in my life, bad luck did too. Being on social media, especially during the beginning of the pandemic, made me compare myself to others. As I scrolled endlessly, I began to prevent myself from creating art because I felt like I was not good enough. I did not feel like myself anymore, but then I started to see illustrators share stories about their struggles during the pandemic, discussing topics about mental health and imposter syndrome on their social media platforms. People would comment and share their stories as well, and it was then that I realized I was not alone in feeling these things.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: nicolemb.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicomenya/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/nicomenya