Today we’d like to introduce you to Greta Olivas.
Hi Greta, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have been an artist since I was a child. I was always drawing and looking back now, I realize that art probably helped me a lot throughout my childhood. I was born in NYC and both my parents were ballet dancers. My mother passed away when I was very young, so circumstances led me to grow up in Argentina with my grandparents. Eventually, my dad moved to Austin, so that’s how I ended up here. My plan was always to go to college to become an artist, but life had other plans. I always knew I would be an artist somehow, so I am glad I didn’t give up.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
After high school, I got married and had kids, so my plans to be an artist got put aside. Many years later, I met an artist at a party and told him I always wanted to be an artist. He told me that if I really wanted to be an artist, I just needed to do it, no excuses! So I took some painting classes and read lots of books to teach myself, joined an art collective where I learned lots from other artists, and also took several painting workshops over the years. Over the last 20 years, I have slowly learned a lot and developed my own style. I knew that if I really wanted to devote the time to being an artist, I needed to spend more time doing it, so three years ago I decided to take the leap and I quit my day job.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My art has changed over the years. Since I am mostly self-taught, it took me some time to trust myself enough to find my own style. As my life has changed and I have had big challenges, my art has also changed. I tell people that I don’t know if my art helped me with my personal growth or if my personal growth helped my art, but I think it’s yes to both! I believe my work is energy and emotions that come through onto the canvas. I realize now that when I try to duplicate things I have painted in the past, I have no idea how they were done. I do believe it’s being in that moment, in the flow, where the paintings can happen. I have three different series that I create. My Cosmos Series resembles outer space, but I believe it represents the universe and our place within it. My Ruins Series resembled old ruins when I first started creating them, but now I realize that they tell stories of wisdom as we go through life. My Ancestral Series is my latest series, it feels as if they are messages from our ancestors and Mother Earth herself.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One thing I loved to do when I was younger was draw faces. I used to look through magazines and draw facial features from different people to make new faces. Drawing was also an escape for me. I think it was therapeutic throughout my childhood.
Contact Info:
- Email: gretaolivas@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.gretaolivas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gretaolivas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GretaOlivasFineArt/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/golivas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GretaOlivas
