Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcela.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in design from college in my hometown of Guadalajara. However, a few years later in 2014, I created a drawing of a Rhino that got people’s attention. From that point on, as they requested paintings from me, I decided to shift to the art world becoming an up and coming artist. I’ve taken several art courses in London and New York to deepen my knowledge and technique.
My career as an artist grew rapidly as I stepped into the international art scene in 2018. Since then, I’ve participated in several exhibitions and have sold my work in different countries like: USA, UK, Spain, Switzerland, France, Monaco, Japan…
In the middle of my art career, health issues arose and forced me to take it slower, to shift my way of working, of painting and creating. The experiences I lived through were so turbulent that I ended up writing a book about it; a memoir/spiritual book-Entrégala a la Bestia-published by Penguin Random House Mexico making me an author. With my first book, a new career developed and part of my story is now told in the Short Film: Prayer Guadalajara, directed by Young Man Kang, creator of Youtube series: Prayer International Series.
It is a story of survival, of faith and understading based on an excerpt of my book. A true story. Since I was a kid, so many accidents, sicknesses and mishaps happened to me. For years I thought life was simply hard and painful; countless terrible things happened to me, every single day. Year after year. The reason I suffered so much pain, as I discovered many years later, was a person, a family member who simply hated my existance. She utilized black magic to hurt me in deeper and more excrutiating ways than I ever imagined possible. This is something I didn’t believe in, but I got to experence and discover a world I never knew existed.
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?
It hasn’t been an easy or smooth road for me. Getting to this point of physical, mental, spiritual and energetic balance and strength has been a tough process. My health took a nosedive for the worst, especially since I was 22 years old. It took many, many years to find the correct people and tools to help me heal, and it took around eight years to fully heal and recover. So, having to deal with the day to day issues that come along the way was harder simply because my health was lacking for the most part, mentally and emotionally I was depleted, and spiritually I had lost all faith and sense of belief.
The way life hit me, was harder than many will ever know or will ever understand. I share every single bit of it in my book hoping that it will give a guiding light to anyone who has a mountain to climb.
Having said that, today as I stand on the steadiest ground I’ve ever been on, I can look back and see everything I built and conquered with more clarity, and most importantly, I can see all of the grand possibilities that this beautiful world and life have to offer. Never giving up, always pushig through no matter the obstacles, is a huge power we, as humans, have.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
When it comes to art, acrylic painting is my medium. I create bold and very detailed artworks of every-day objects whilst trying to upgrade their beauty with painstaking detailing and color; my artworks tend to be very colorful. I started painting just as my health started to crumble, so as I experienced the darkest moments in my life, ironically, I was painting the most colorful works of art unconsiously; I was trying to maintain a few of the specks of color left in me.
This particular element, the color, was something that the audience took from me and as it turns out, it had an impact on them too, which then became part of my mission: give them a bit of peace, color and light from life’s tribulations if only for a moment. I am proud of every piece I’ve created because I can see the evolution of my own technique and work from the first ones to the latest collection. However, I have to say I’m quite proud of my collection “Release”, one that’s very raw and personal, one that is darker and alludes to my entire dark and turbulent experience, it was the first time I opened myself up for the audience to see.
I’m also very proud of my book; my memoir. It wasn’t easy to share such a twisted journey, but I’m very pleased with the comments I’ve gotten so far as I’ve been able to help many souls with this one project. I’m particularly proud of this entire thing that one experience created. One huge turbulent experience led me to create my most powerful art collection, my first book ever, and it took me to step into the film industry which I’m already learning a lot about. It’s a gift that keeps on giving and I love that!
Who else deserves credit in your story?
No one makes it to the top by themselves, there’s always a support system behind whether it’s one person or more. For me it’s a mixture of specific friends and family members, colleagues that I met along the way and offered to help, clients who trusted in me and my work, doctors and healers that literally saved my life, my life mentor who has guided me through the turbulence and of course God, I know I wouldn’t be alive today without His grace.
There have been many people that showed up in my life at point or another, exactly when I needed it, and each of them helped me, guided me, pushed me to be and do better. I have met a lot sharks who have tried to tear me down along the way, but I have also encountered many souls willing to help, and because of them, I am here today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marcelasolana.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/marcelasolana.art
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/marcelasolana.art
Image Credits
Photos by: Andrés Solis, Wicho Franco, Young Man Kang and Marcela Solana
