Meet Kimi Alejos

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimi Alejos.

Hi Kimi, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started drawing for fun as a child and I think I didn’t start trying to draw a bit more seriously until I was in high school. There wasn’t as much emphasis on art being taught in school so I did have to learn a lot of it on my own. Social media centering around art was more accessible by this point (roughly 2008) so I was also able to ask other artists for input and advice. At home, I didn’t really have the privacy I would have liked in order to more thoroughly explore themes or ideas that caught my interest so it definitely took some time before I started feeling like I was able to do so. Art was the only thing I was interested in or felt like I was any good at, but I hadn’t put much thought into what I wanted to do after high school. I didn’t have as much support from family as I would have liked, but luckily I had supportive people in my life who encouraged me to try going to college. I’m not going to lie, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but I kind of just went along with it. I’d never been able to plan that far ahead and was definitely more of a day by day sort of person (haha). People pretending they have things sorted out tend to put forth the expectation of having your future sorted out by the time you’re 18 and that really couldn’t be further from the truth. I think it’s important to point that out. I didn’t know that then and I really could have benefited from having someone tell me that. I applied to an art school here in LA and somehow got in despite making a portfolio last minute and just barely making it in time for the deadline. I ended up dropping out because of outside circumstances that affected my mental health, but even then I’m glad it’s an experience I was able to have because I tried it and learned that art school wasn’t for me. Despite everything, I still wanted to go to school for art so I tried a different approach. I was able to get my degree in Art from UC Santa Cruz and having certain people’s support really made all the difference. The environment there wound up suiting me more and it’s also what influenced the direction that my art has taken.

After graduating, I moved back to LA. I had miscellaneous day jobs and I volunteered at my old high school helping the AP art students in my free time. It was very fulfilling work and it was very reassuring that they felt comfortable with sharing their ideas with me. I think the way I try to teach or help in regards to art and potential school/career paths is just reminding them there’s no definitive right or wrong way to approach things or that a path for you might not be for someone else and vice versa; it’s totally okay. I just really don’t see the point in stressing kids out when we as older adults have come to the realization that life is drastically different from what we were told to expect. It’s not the end of the world to not have everything sorted out the moment you’re done with high school or even college. Living is just figuring stuff out as you go. I had been working a day job and making art in my free time for the past few years. So when COVID happened, I did lose my job, but I found myself with more time to make art. I was also living with immunocompromised people so I really didn’t want to risk exposing them so I started making art for myself as well as art to sell. I hadn’t really planned any of this but it’s been working out pretty okay.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t (haha) but it’s nice to find ways that work for me. As I had mentioned, I didn’t have much support at home in regards to pursuing art. They eventually came around and are okay with it now, but in the period before that I had support from close friends. It’s a little hard to imagine how different things could have played out if I didn’t have that support in difficult times. It’s those small gestures I’m always grateful for. Another challenge as an artist is just knowing where to look for resources and information. There was a huge misconception on what it meant to pursue art professionally or as a career, but there wasn’t enough information that was readily accessible. Though in that regard, it’s been shifting within the past few years and social media has become another tool artists can use to help them find work. It can feel a little less formal than “traditional” jobs but it’s allowed an increased accessibility and demystifying what it takes to land a dream art job (whether for a studio or as a freelance artist and so on)…

I also had a hard time with expressing myself, which I admit is kind of ironic as an artist (haha). My mental health wasn’t the greatest and I did struggle a lot with understanding my own feelings and what it was I wanted to express through my work. I think a thing that a lot of artists can struggle with is this sort of mental block or self-imposed limitations. If people tell themselves they aren’t good enough so often, they end up starting to believe it. I’d worry about whether people would be interested in seeing what I make; would they stay if they saw what I had to show..? I think I worried too much about people not taking me seriously enough because my style doesn’t come off as serious or mature (But I’m okay with that now because those things don’t really describe me at all, anyways, haha).

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do mostly watercolour and digital art. A lot of my work revolves around the themes of nature, love, childhood, self-identity, introspection and my interest in giving abstract concepts a tangible form. Sometimes I’ll have an idea I can’t adequately express with words and it’s so satisfying to be able to create a visual that another person can understand. I just make work to understand myself better and to hopefully understand and connect with others. I’ve learned to be okay with expressing seemingly childish ideas and it’s very reassuring that people are able to resonate with them. It did take me a long time to start making art honestly and yeah, it can be terrifying because some of it is so personal in nature. But at the same time, I think it’s also a reminder for myself that I’m only human and I’m choosing to explore feelings and concepts that people try to avoid. I’m just really proud of that because I don’t think it was something I ever really expected myself to be able to do even just a few years ago. I’ve been able to start becoming comfortable with showing myself honestly and not concerning myself too much with the fear of judgement that held me back in the past.

What are your plans for the future?
I have a series of works I’ve been putting together for the past few years. A lot of it is stuff that I started planning way before I was remotely comfortable with sharing (the way I wrote and made thumbnails was pretty reflective of that haha so it definitely needs updating) and I’m going through it a bit at a time. I’m nervous about sharing it but I think I’m more excited than I am afraid and I really think that has to mean something. Most of it will revolve around thoughts I’d mostly keep to myself. I’m just really interested in conveying an intimate sense of honesty.

Contact Info:

• Email: Kimialejos@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimixiii/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimixiii?s=21