Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Muniz.
Hi Anna, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As early as first grade, I knew I did not want to follow my parent’s career choices: lawyer and accountant. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, though. Nothing in school seemed to really interest me and by the time high school was ending, I was worried I would never figure out what to do. Little did I know that the entire time, I was working towards starting my own creative business.
I decided to stay in Austin and go to the University of Texas for college. I was able to take my first art class since middle school and it was the only 8 AM class I ever looked forward to. It was an intro class and we covered the basics of acrylic, charcoal, ink, and sketching. I was spending most of my free time drawing on my notes, my books, and even myself. And I was able to survive the other classes like chemistry, statistics, and history because I had a creative outlet. I was also exploring more of Austin’s architecture and culture. I had grown up in south Austin and during my four years at UT Austin, I loved living so close to downtown.
I was still undecided, though, on what to do after graduating. I had ended up with a major in Urban Studies (city planning) and minors in French, Anthropology, European Studies and a certificate in Business Foundations. Clearly still undecided. So I went back to school. And after another two years and a degree in Graphic Design, I was again faced with searching for a career. I realized I couldn’t go back to school again so I started an intense job hunt. Throughout my four years in college, I had been working as a file clerk at a law firm because I knew my family expected me to eventually go to law school. I had fought against law school since first grade, but it was becoming a tempting choice.
During the difficult job search/life choice, I realized I needed a creative outlet to keep myself grounded. I had never picked up watercolors before but I remembered how much I had enjoyed my college art class. I told myself I would complete a watercolor of a building in Austin ever day for a whole year and, in the process, learn how to watercolor. My friends and family thought I would never finish a year-long project and that only made me want to prove them wrong more.
Reality hit and I realized what everyone else already knew; it was an almost impossible project. But I made myself set aside 30 minutes or so a day to draw and watercolor a building. Those 30 minutes quickly turned into an hour and then 2 hours. And I was really starting to become invested in my project. I only shared photos with some family and friends, but it was still something I only did after spending the day searching for a job. After a few months, not much had changed. Except I had started to share my watercolors on social media. I was invited to participate in a local art show and I was so surprised that I agreed to it. I ended up meeting a local gallery owner, wholesaled some of my work to the gallery, and officially started watercoloratx in 2017. I started to spend all of my time working on my watercolors and setting up my business.
In 2018, I began a watercolor portrait project where I reached out to other local business owners to interview them about their work and create watercolor portraits of them. I was comforted by the fact that everyone I talked to was figuring things out as they went too. And one of my portrait interviews turned into someone offering to mentor me in running a small business. In the years since I’ve been able to improve and expand my watercolor business and officially call myself an artist and business owner.
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?
Not quite. When I started my business, I felt like I had to explain my decision to friends and family and explain that my watercolor business was not just a hobby. There were expectations for me to go to law school, and my new endeavor was the complete opposite. Reaching out to other small business owner friends has helped me with that as well as just continuing to try things over and over again.
And I can understand how someone starting a business with no previous business experience could worry someone. And luckily, I can turn to my parents for help understanding the paperwork side. But I’m on my own for creating new products, buying packing and shipping supplies, buying art supplies, designing my website, shipping orders, answering emails, running social media, applying to events and markets, reaching out to other small business owners, and more, and trying to have a work-life balance. I had thought I’d known what I was getting myself into, but I didn’t. Every day is something different and it’s a challenge to have to try to always learn something new.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The focus of my watercolors is Austin architecture. Since I’m a native Austinite, I’ve seen the city drastically change. And I’ve always wanted to capture the magical feeling I find in its skyline, lake views, and historical buildings. I am most proud of my watercolors of skylines. They always have a combination of older, unique buildings as well as the newest skyscrapers and they remind people of memories of their own. I also like that they capture a moment in time, and years from now, the watercolor will be a reminder of what things used to look like.
I also love to hand draw everything without using a ruler. I think the ever-so-slight bumps in the drawing add a reminder that my work is drawn by me, a person. If I tried to redraw the same place twice, they would be different and I think that one-of-a-kind touch is special.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Growing up, I always thought Austin was a small city. I felt like I knew everything about the city and that it was un-changing. And thankfully, when I moved more downtown for college, I realized the best part of the city is that the city is always changing. There are so many shops, restaurants, people, museums, events, outdoor places, dogs, and more. The longer I stay in Austin, the more I see that it is like a small city in that there is a strong community.
I’ve been able to reach out to other small business owners because we’re all in this together. Unfortunately, as more businesses start and people move here, the city has also been growing to the point of being as expensive as other large cities across the US. If I had seen a photo of what downtown looks like today as a kid, I wouldn’t have believed it. I would’ve liked to still have the places I remember as a kid and the fact that it does keep changing is also what I like least about the city too.
Pricing:
- Custom Place Watercolor starting at $75
- Prints ranging from $18 to $65
- Greeting Cards $4.5
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@anna-muniz.com
- Website: www.watercoloratx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watercoloratx/
Image Credits
Marshall Tidrick
