Meet Emely Pascual | Indie and Freelance Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emely Pascual and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emely, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve only ever been an artist, it’s what I was best at and if didn’t at least try to pursue a creative career I knew I’d regret everyday until I gave it a shot. Life is long, if necessary I can change paths later and it’s best to take risks now before my responsibilities become greater!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After graduating college, I didn’t have any job prospects and was insecure about my work. I had started tabling at conventions whenever I could and selling art online while working minimum wage. I had gotten accepted to a full time job that was not exactly what I wanted to do but better than minimum wage. The beginning of the following year, the pandemic began and I lost my job and the full time position fell through. I started to focus on my small business and posting my art online more. I started getting more and more sales and getting freelance gigs more frequently and decided I liked doing work like this. The more I dedicated to my craft, the more my skill grew and my style became recognizable. There were countless times I would second guess myself because I felt I wasn’t progressing in my career as quickly as my peers. Also because the paths I could take with my career were so broad, I had difficulty deciding where to go with my work and would often stick to what’s comfortable rather than take risks. Throughout all that I’ve been proud of the work I’ve done and personal projects I’ve completed. I’m proud that I’ve found some success and recognition in creating work in a way that I enjoy!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
While I don’t live in LA, I did visit for the first time this year and had a blast! If my best friend were visiting I’d definitely take them to eat at The Broad, Monty’s and also hangout at Olvera Street and Little Tokyo. Definitely would take them to Santa Monica pier and eat a funnel cake together. Maybe hit up some galleries like Gallery Nucleus and GR2. And have a picnic at Griffith Park!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wanna give a shoutout to my parents who immigrated to this country and worked hard to support me and always encouraged me to live a life that makes me happy!

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