Meet Charmaine Olivia | Artist

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

Hi Charmaine, why did you pursue a creative career?
My aunt taught me how to use oil paints when I was kid and I fell in love with it. I was always drawing and doodling in class, it helped me if I was feeling anxious. I’m an introverted person, and drawing in a sketchbook was something I could do while around other people but still be in my own world. I loved pretending to be a fantasy character from a video game or book, and my art was a way I could create avatars and step in to those shoes. I also just really love colors, and the feeling of getting lost in a painting. It was something I did any chance I had.

I experience something called “aphantasia” which is a blind minds eye, meaning I can’t visualize mental images. I think this is what led me to become so obsessed with painting and art making in the first place, because I wanted to try out what I couldn’t see in my head.

After I graduated high school I started sharing my art online, just as social media was starting out and a lot of people were interested in buying my work, so I started working as a professional artist. I didn’t know anything about running a business but I loved to paint so I figured it out as I went along and just kept sharing my art.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always been drawn to creating worlds that feel magical. Sometimes my work is detailed and realistic and other times it’s simple and abstract. I have a lot of different moods, and since I’m constantly creating, my art is a reflection of my emotional states. Even if I’m not feeling inspired, I make art anyway. It will usually inspire something along the way. When I paint faces, they come alive to me, it’s like the quote “when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes in to you”. There’s something really enjoyable about drawing something that’s looking back at you. Thousands of faces later and they still fascinate me!
Even if it’s mostly women I paint, I’m interested in and inspired by nature, flowers, light, archaeology, ancient civilizations, video games, animals and anime. I study the things I’m obsessed with, I read and watch everything I can about it, and those things influence my art and its direction.

Something that sets me apart from others is that my entire career started on social media. It seems like a normal thing for artists to do now, but in the history of artists, it’s a new mode to operate in. I first started sharing my art on Deviant Art in 2006, and then it evolved to having a blog, to tumblr to facebook and then Instagram, which is where I now share everything. I have had a lot of eyes on me and my work for years, and it adds a lot of extra pressure and challenges – which is something unique that artists are experiencing in the modern day. It is such an amazing thing, to be able to share what you make with people all over the world! The pressure definitely got to me a couple of years ago though, and I needed to take a step back, and now I’m trying to find a better work/life balance.

I feel grateful I’m able to do what I’m passionate about for a living, that doesn’t mean it’s always fun! You have to take your art seriously if you’re going to be a professional, and it can be tricky to juggle the fun and the serious. Also, sharing your art over and over again can be a vulnerable thing. It’s a risk we take as artists, if we don’t share what we make, no one will ever see it. Even so, I only share a fraction of the art I make.

I’m happy to have so many people resonate with my art and feel something from it. I feel a lot when I create- from excitement, to doubt, curiosity, uncertainty, satisfaction- it definitely can be a rollercoaster. It’s wild to me that feelings can somehow be carried through paint. I don’t know how but it’s pretty cool. That’s where art to me is some type of mystical thing.

My art is always changing and I never really know where it’s going to take me next! I appreciate everyone that has been following my journey over the years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would much rather be in the woods, but going to art museums and good restaurants are always my favorite things to do when visiting a city. In LA, I love the Botanical Gardens at the Huntington Library, the Getty, anywhere with lots of art and plants is ideal!

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 really want to thank my audience and fans for supporting me and my work for over 15 years!

Website: https://shop.charmaineolivia.com/.

Instagram: @charmaineolivia