Meet Lynora Valdez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynora Valdez.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I love life. I love art, and I love my family. I started out as an oil painter, and then took a darkroom class and absolutely fell in love. There’s something about a medium that’s so finicky you almost have to earn its craft. I grew up in Los Angeles near the airport and attended an all-girls Catholic high school. My mom is Colombian, and my dad is Mexican. I love bandeja paisa and spicy foods, and I ate blood sausage like a fiend for the better half of my early adolescence. (Morcilla doesn’t really translate to blood, now does it?) My parents got divorced, and my father moved to Alabama, where I spent summers and winters photographing gas stations, clouds, and all things Americana. I moved to Santa Cruz to study art in 2009 and moved back to Los Angeles in 2013 after my mom needed a lung transplant. I currently live in West LA with my partner and our two tuxedo cats, Slinky and Stoppard.

Please tell us about your art.
Photographically, I am interested in diversifying the art space with meaningful work, highlighting cultures through my commercial food photography, and reclaiming my fine art background. For the time being, I have focused mostly on commercial work, but over the past year I’ve started delving into negatives that I shot years ago, but I’m only now scanning to uncover. It’s difficult to remain artistically creative and driven while also hustling to pay the bills. Finding a balance over the past year has helped me find happiness through art and vice versa. The work I’m going to share with you today is a mixture of my commercial and fine artwork. There are images from Courtney Nichols’ ongoing fantastical dinner experience, Disco Dining Club. You’ll see mimes, indulgence, and decadence come to life in technicolor. You’ll see medium format imagery that deals with the loss of self, mental illness, and coping mechanisms we all employ. Lastly, you’ll see my commercial work with Uber Eats and various brands that have used my photography as a platform to reach their consumer’s more effectively. I want to show range and versatility, and I want my imagery to appeal to everyone.

Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
I will never stop learning from others, old and young, and I will never stop laughing. If I can give any other artists advice today, I would say to embrace yourself and be persistent. Don’t give up, take constructive criticism, and learn that mistakes are essential for growth. Surround yourself with people that are good for you, and be honest with yourself about boundaries. Listen carefully, and don’t be arrogant. I have worked in the commercial photography field for about five years now, and though I can’t say it was easy, through determination, drive, and LOTS of emails, I am happily a full-time photographer. Some people try and bring down commercial work, saying that it’s heartless and talentless, But the reality is that when you’re faced with an opportunity to make art your job/your income, you take that chance. It’s not for everyone, but I absolutely love what I do.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
No exhibitions at the moment, but you can always find my work on my website, www.1390PHOTO.com, or Instagram. You can also see my work featured in the Uber eats app, as I have photographed hundreds of restaurants for their platform.

You can also find me featured on Disco Dining Club’s site, as well as on several client’s social media.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1502 Wellesley Ave Los Angeles, CA 90025
• Website: www.1390PHOTO.com
• Phone: 3106003296
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1390photo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1390PHOTO/

Image Credit:
Portrait of me by Nathan Kosta.
Lynora Valdez

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