Take a look at our Artist of the Month, Vanessa Pineda Fox, who graduated from The School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Graphic Design. After working on CD-ROMS, website designs, and print designs for major corporations, she decided to take a break from working at a computer all day, to raise her two daughters. The creative bug has recently sprouted a flurry of creative endeavors for her, including starting an Etsy shop, found at VanpinniDesigns.com, in 2017 featuring her stone clay jewelry dishes, and jewelry designs. In-between designing these wares, Vanessa is experimenting with her abstract paintings on canvas, which are available on her Instagram account: @vanpinni_designs.

What I love most about Pineda Fox's work is that there's such joy running through it - from the bubbles and color in her paintings to the ruffled bowl edges to the clean, clear lines in her jewelry. Her work is visionary, jubilant, colorful, and accessible. The vibrancy of her clay creations will make you happy, the texture and thought within her paintings will have you looking deeper, and the honesty about the life of an artist in this interview will have you nodding in agreement. Without further ado, the art and words of Vanessa Pineda Fox. 

How long have you been an artist?
Since I can remember, I've been doodling or drawing, now 40+ years! From simply learning how to copy Garfield cartoons for friends in elementary school, to creating fashion designs in high school, art has always been a part of who I am. 

Celebration

Is your art your full-time career?
Currently, I'm staying at home, raising my 2 daughters, but as they get older, I do have some time during the day to explore my artistic adventures. Vanpinni Designs, my Etsy Store, offers stone clay jewelry bowls, and modern design jewelry. 

Where do you work?  
I'm working from home, on my dining room table or spread out on the floor. Glamorous, right?

Resin On Canvas

Painting Koi

Do you have favorite places you like to create?
The right lighting is very important for me. Unfortunately, my house doesn't start to glow with the afternoon sun until about noon, when my "free time" is nearly done. So, the dining room table under a sky light has to work in a pinch.

What does a typical day look like?  Is there a typical day?
My typical day consists of getting both girls off to school. By 9:30am, after I've eaten breakfast, and cleaned up the kitchen after the morning rush, I can figure out what I'd like to work on - either working on a canvas first, designing new jewelry, or creating new clay bowls. Some days it's all 3, and the day flies by. Painting a canvas and making the bowls are multi-step processes, so while I wait for items to dry, I work on something different. Is there a typical day? Not really, since there are always errands to run, and new things to explore on the internet in regards to expanding your social media, or small business online. 

Time Lost

New Clay Creations

Vanessa working on her website and marketing

What materials do you prefer?
I prefer working with acrylics on stretched canvas, and gold leaf. Lately I've been intrigued with watering down acrylics, and seeing the changes that occur as it dries on the canvas surface.

Birth of Color

Blue Landscape

Where/how are you inspired?
Often looking online, I'm inspired every day. Instagram has been an eye opener for me. I totally rejected it for the first couple of years. There's no way I needed one more app to suck away my "free time," i had so precious little of already. Facebook and Pinterest were already guilty of that. But Instagram has exposed me to thousands of artists, techniques, and ideas, that keep me eager for a new day to create.

Crystal Hematite Necklace

Below The Sea

How do you know when your piece is done?
Knowing when a piece is done is a tough one. When I look at a painting and it doesn't scream out, "one more stroke!" Then I'm done. But there certainly are times when I've over worked something and I think, had I stopped 10 strokes earlier, I would have had a gorgeous piece. According to me. 

Glimmering Clouds

Do you work on one or more pieces at a time?
Generally I work on one piece at a time. I think that's mostly due to space limitations. Since I work at home, and I have a family, I can't just leave paintings and supplies out.
 

I'm Glowing

If you were not a painter/sculptor, what would you do?
If I were not a painter, sculptress, or jewelry designer, I might want to be an interior designer. My background is in graphic design, so I'm used to making things look good on the computer screen and in print. I don't think I'd be able to work in any field that wouldn't offer the same sense of visual fulfillment. 

Little Koi

How can our readers find and purchase your art?
Right now, I'm using my Instagram account: @vanpinni_designs as my painting store front. Eventually, I will create an Etsy account and possible website just for my artwork. Previous prints of my artwork can be found on Red Bubble at www.redbubble.com/people/vanpinni. My current Etsy store is Etsy.com/shop/vanpinnidesigns, where I sell my handcrafted jewelry bowls and modern styled jewelry.

Stainless Steel Necklaces

Ring Dish

Would you like to share anything else with us?
I'm still learning a lot, about how to market my artwork, and what other options are out there, beyond simply being represented by a gallery. It really boggles the mind, what's possible. I'm just really happy that I'm able to create, and that others can enjoy it as well.

Dreaming In Color

All photos courtesy and copyright Vanessa Pineda Fox