Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Angel Rovelo.
Kristine Angel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Ever since my sophomore year of high school, I began to really explore my love for fashion. I enjoyed seeing a plethora of influencers on my social media timelines, all with unique styles and featuring designer brands I could only dream about. With wanting to someday create a fashion brand for myself, I began drawing/painting possible logos in my senior year of high school. My first few T-shirt designs featured a name ring that said “Stine” and one that had “AAA”. “Stine” is one of the many nicknames my mom has for me & it felt right as my entire brand name. The affinity I have for jewelry comes from the only jewelry I had handed down to me as a memory of my father who passed when I was only four years old. I went on to sell almost 50 shirts with these ring designs; it became a niche for my art style.
Despite having a good start with my brand, I decided to take a step back from it once I got to college at CSULB because, as a Fashion Merchandising major, there was still a lot I felt like I could learn and apply to my brand. This is where my artistic journey became the outlet for me to continue creating. It started with small paintings/drawings for myself on canvas, clothes, or regular paper that I’d post on my Instagram. One day, a friend of mine: Jaymard Parayno, asked if it was possible for me to come up with a cover for his mix he’d release on Soundcloud. This one Soundcloud cover opened doors to me making more cover art for local creatives such as Eazy.il, Overtime Intl., DjMatty Matt, Coast2Coast Radio, Underscore Radio, etc. Today, I still make cover art for people but have made logos for upcoming brands/collectives, & grown confident enough to create personalized canvas paintings for people. I continuously challenge myself to go for bigger outlets. Being able to bring others’ ideas to life is one thing I truly enjoy from having any sort of artistic ability. I am always surprised when people recognize my signature jewelry with tiny sparkles or art style in general and tell me how much life it has within it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It is most definitely not a smooth road being a young creative trying to start ANYTHING on your own. With my brand, I did not always sell out every shirt like I did the first time I came out with them. I even still have a few of the shirts that I wasn’t able to give a new home but that isn’t to say I’m not grateful for the people who believed in me & put their money towards a shirt from me. Especially during senior year of high school, where money could go towards our prom or senior activities.
With my art business, it’s the same battlefield but maybe just a bit rougher. If you’re starting your own brand you’re aware that 20-30 dollars is a good starting price for a T-shirt; on the contrary, the price of art is 100% the interpretation of the artist. Customers are paying for your interpretation/execution of their ideas so it will always be a hit or miss; not all customers are happy with the price you set. I always felt alone in the battle of pricing my art because I felt bad for feeling like my art should be worth a little more than I would set it in comparison to other artists I would see. Even today, I still feel as though I tend to give into downplaying my work for the sake of another successful client. However, I realized being an artist is a hands-on learning experience that comes with the coming and going of clientele. You take lessons from everything; you are also not alone especially because the art community is so vast. Art does not only include painting but graphic design, photography, film, music, fashion, dance, etc. There will always be someone out there to relate with.
Please tell us more about your art.
Today I operate as @karlsjrz, an artist specializing in cover art, logos, and canvas pieces on commission. I’m always told I’m known for my art style: it being very colorful, bubbly, and my signature use of jewelry/sparkles. I am most proud of growing enough confidence to put myself out there online & being able to take different pieces of inspiration from my clients to create one great & cohesive idea. I feel like I am set apart from other artists because I know this is not the only facet of creativity that I want to tap into. Artists become known for their art style but I would hope to be known as a jack of all trades in areas including fashion and music.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I were to start over, I would definitely change my attitude towards opportunities I am given and the things I create. I was always one to try and keep everything to myself because I was afraid I would “jinx it” if I talked about it. I also felt as though I should understate what I’ve accomplished so as to remain humble. That should not be the case. I don’t mean to say you should always talk about the ideas or plans you have before you start them because they need time to start growing and morph into what they‘re MEANT to become before being acknowledged. I have begun to accept the idea that manifestation is the positive alternative to “jinxing” things. What I believe I can achieve will come to fruition with the help of my own effort and belief. Remaining humble isn’t belittling yourself but keeping yourself down to earth even after your small successes. This interview itself is something I tried to understate because I felt guilty in feeling like I really have something going for myself. But: I am proud of myself.
With anything I put out, no one thing gets the same amount of love as another; if I could go back I would make sure that anything I decided to create would make me 100% happy instead of looking at the opinion of others to feel content. It is normal for anyone to look to their peers, who are on their own paths, and feel like you aren’t doing something “right” if you don’t take off as soon as they have. Fully believing in yourself, keeping your head in your own direction, is the sure fire way to bring others to believe in you too.
I have always been fond of the phrase: “Pay them no mind” as a reminder, being a person sometimes struggling with holding onto the validation of others, to look at it with no deeper effect than your own opinion of yourself would hold. You are your own #1.
Pricing:
- Cover Art/Logos: $50+
- Custom Canvas Pieces: $50 Deposit + Tentative Pricing
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlsjrz
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