The other day in my internet wanderings, I came across the work of Amanda Valdes, a street artist from Miami, Florida. Amanda's work is often very large scale, characters that span multiple stories of buildings, wrapped in whimsicle florals and bright colors that pop off of walls. I knew immediately I wanted to speak with her about her motivations and process.

You do these incredible, giant, colorful murals all around the world. I imagine you don't start that way. Can you describe how you first got into visual art and the path you took to get to where you can make these massive pieces?

It’s been quite the adventure! My mom and grandparents introduced me to painting, drawing, and public art at a young age- plus I had an incredible art teacher in elementary named Mrs. Morrison.

I became a make up artist for Mac cosmetics around age 18 which lead me to exhibiting my canvas work and then eventually starting my first mural in 2008. My first wall was 20’x60’, prior to that I had never painted anything larger than a 3’x4’ canvas. It definitely was a little intimidating but ultimately it lit the fire to create more large scale works.

Wow- that is quite a leap indeed, translating smaller pieces to span entire buildings. I love what you said about your art teacher. In many of my conversations with artists, they mention that a certain person had an outsize impact on their creative life. What was it about Mrs. Morrison and her teaching style that made such an impact on you?

I think it was her enthusiasm, and not just for art but life in general. She was like the real-life version of Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, full of moxie and kind as can be. I feel like she loved all her students but the ones who naturally gravitated towards the arts she go out of her way to answer any questions and let us experiment with whatever mediums that captured our attention. I feel like that’s pivotal at that age as well.

I always feel like art is one long great progression, with no ultimate end or goal, rather a process by which the journey is the destination. Are there projects or ideas that you are thinking about in the near future, things you have ideated but haven't had the chance to execute?

I couldn’t agree more - it really is an lifelong evolution. Yeah, I absolutely have projects and ideas that I’d love to see come to fruition. It’s all about the timing. While I don’t want to give away too many secrets, it’d be incredible to create a more immersive installation and there’s a few commercial / merchandising projects I have in the works. The possibilities are pretty endless, it’s just finding the time and team to make it all happen :)

So what would you say to a younger artist who might be very early in their creative path? Many creatives deal with being discouraged- What advice might you have for helping them get deeper into their craft and embracing it as a lifelong pursuit?

Perseverance and dedication are key. It's important to remember every artist gets discouraged- even well established professionals. It’s normal to have highs and lows with productivity and typically there’s more than one way of reaching a goal. Keep an open mind and pay attention to the things (mediums, projects, subject matter, etc) that inspire and stoke the fire. At cliche as it may be, things have a tendency of unfolding as they need to.

Make sure to visit Amanda's Instagram and show some love, you can also find all things Amanda Valdes on her website.