Conversations with Jacqueline Recendez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacqueline Recendez.

Hi Jacqueline, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I first started painting back in El Paso, Texas when I was in high school when I took art as an elective. Being that I was studying medicine, I never took art too serious. Things didn’t end up going as planned and next thing I knew, I was studying art at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Years passed and I was about to be a senior, I was lucky enough to have my high school art teacher as my painting professor at my university, but given that they wanted culture diversity my mentor/professor whom taught me everything I knew about painting got fired. I was not okay with this and decided I was dropping out to follow my dream as a muralist/artist in Los Angeles, California. When I first moved out here, I knew one person and had absolutely no idea where to start. Things didn’t go as planned and I ended up homeless, but even with this I wanted to finish school and get my degree. So I applied to the University of La Verne. Because of my situation, I ended up being awarded many grants for academics and because I was homeless! It turned out that a friend connected me with a muralist from the valley under the name of Kristy Sandoval whom I was assisting throughout the course of completing my BA.

Kristy and I went onto painting a huge Latina woman mural on campus for my graduating year! We completed that and I went my own way. My first solo project was designing and painting three interiors and one exterior mural at a bar restaurant in Sherman Oaks named the Crabby Crab. I’m constantly selling personal commission pieces of all kinds along with building my own canvas. And as Covid goes, I got to complete one of my first murals in my hometown El Paso, Texas during the pandemic.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I learned the hard way that when someone asks for a piece of art, some form of payment is required before any work is begun. I have been homeless three times and all three times selling a commission piece is what got me back on my feet or simply a new home. Art work has been painted over because the city has said it’s “a distraction” which is insane because we live in LA. I’ve learned the meaning behind being a starving artist but I also found the huge amounts of passion I have for an art that takes a lot to make happen.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a muralist/artist. I paint personal commissions of all kinds and murals all over the city. My pieces are unique because I build literally something from nothing. I sell pieces that don’t exist and people trust my work and create it starting from the canvas. I mainly specialize in oil but because of my muraling, I’ve learned how to manage acrylic and even incorporate it into my commission pieces and not just my murals. Every single piece and mural is done completely freehand, I’m an old school artist preserving the art of paint and brush. I have never used spray paint on my murals besides to make a mist effect on a waterfall. I specifically focus on detail and perfection. My pieces sometimes have up to 200 layers of paint because of how intricate my technique is.

How do you think about luck?
Haha well, I’ve definitely had a great taste of both good and bad luck but given that I’m still here alive, kicking, and painting after six years, I’d have to say that I’ve been on the better end of luck. Given that I’m also a bartender, I’ve learned to pick up art customers through that end of my career. To me, if people have money to spend on alcohol, they have money to spend on art.

Pricing:

• Minimum for commission piece is $450

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://jacquelinerecendez.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/txcolorjack12