Meet Talisa Almonte

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

Hi Talisa, what do you attribute your success to?
I think there is always a part of me that doesn’t feel like I’ve reached my version of success yet and I know that comes from living in a capitalistic society. But one thing I can say is that the silver lining the pandemic gave me is that when I lost my corporate job is that it gave me this somewhat delulu mentality that I had nothing else to lose. When your world gets turned upside down from the cushion and stability of a full time job to having nothing lined up, no savings, and no plan, it lights a fire in you to blindly trust in yourself to “figure it out”.

This somewhat delusional belief is what I believe really has contributed to the success I’ve had as a artist and as business owner. After losing my job, I was so fearless in my outreach to brands and people I admired and I was sharing my work to anyone who was willing to receive it. This also carried into applying to opportunities I saw that would be a cool experience.

Since then, I constantly take the slower months as the time to apply to mural festivals, artist opportunities, and anything that aligns with where I want to take my art in the future. While some of these are super extensive and not something I can do all the time, I’ve been lucky to have been selected for a handful of opportunities that have given me a lot of exposure and have contributed to filling my confidence cup to continue building a strong portfolio that makes it easier to apply to other things or get jobs because I have examples of the work I can do. Plus from a personal perspective it’s not just what it contributes to my portfolio and career but also the confidence and the learning I have as an artist to push the limits of what I thought I was even capable to do and that’s a beautiful feeling.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I’m most proud of isn’t even really about my work itself, but my resilience in this career choice. Since I started this journey full time in 2021, I’ve had to pivot and adapt to the challenges and quite frankly the chaos of the world, to not only survive the rollercoaster of ups and downs that comes with being a full time artist but also to not lose myself or my creative voice amongst the chaos.

Right now I’m in a place of retrospection. I’m coming to learn more about myself and the personal body of work I want to create and pursue. For a long time I created work in a more collaborative spirit whether it was public art or commissioned based work that always needs to be adapted to the client or space in which it will reside. I love this aspect of my work because I love working with other people and pushing the limits of what I think I’m capable of or push the limits of where I’d even see my work in. (insert my first big client Lucasfilm and Disney+). Now approaching 5 years in business, I’ve learned so much about myself, my artistic aesthetic and what comes out when there’s no prompt to follow. I feel like this year so far, I’ve applied to a few opportunities that I’m very excited about and not just because of the opportunity itself but because the work I produced feels so ME and for the first time, I feel like I can apply to things or work with people and not completely lose my voice and for me that realization feels so good.

I’m excited to explore this side of my work that I’m calling “Bloom In Progress”. An ongoing body of work that transforms my mural and illustration experience and my mental health and creative journey into a vibrant exploration of growth, healing, and resilience. Through the things that people identify my work with most, surreal botanicals and bold color. Bridging the gap between my fine art and fashion background through hybrid human-floral forms and exploring the way my 2D work can expand into 3D forms.

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.
Oof this is so hard! I honestly frequent the same few places and I’m not big on doing touristy things unless absolutely necessary lol I think living in a city like New York, it can be very overwhelming to go to places like Time Square. That’s one place you definitely won’t catch me going to, but below are some of my fav places. And yes 90% of them will be food because living in Queens, I have to say that’s my favorite aspect is the all the different cultures you can experience through food.

Drinks and good vibes:
Heart of Gold in Astoria, they do $2 hotdogs on Tuesdays, my friend (The Quitting Factory) hosts a creative hangout the first Tuesdays of the month where creatives can connect and share experiences together, Best Judy piano bar, drag bingo and so many other fun activities to take part in throughout the week. The overall vibes of the bar are super cozy and a perfect hangout space. The owner are the bartenders are so wonderful and they also have a nice backyard where they allow folks to host different events like a henna workshop (check out @bittersweetpreet) in the warmer months of course.

Diamond Dogs: this spot is definitely another local fav. They don’t even have a sign, but if you know you know. The vibes of this bar are cozy and cool and the bartenders and owners are some of the nicest folks. They also have really delicious cocktails and you can bring your own food and eat in their space and they have a nice backyard to enjoy in the warmer months. Also, in the summer they make these really amazing slushy drinks that they change the flavor every month.

Coffee Shops:
Greats of Craft in LIC (one of my fav cafes to work from) + they have a great selection of craft beers, delicious breakfast sandwich and an awesome rooftop.

Little Flower in Astoria, Queens – I love this gem so much. Their breakfast sandwich and their chicken sandwich are so good + their coffee is great. Honestly you can’t go wrong with anything from their menu.

Kora in Sunnyside Queens – the pastries and ube latte are just unreal. This is definitely one of those places you question whether the hype on the internet is over hyping the place but in reality, they really are just that good and worth the visit.

For basking in the sun (when it’s warm out):
Socrates Sculpture Park then get a treat for yourself or your dog at the coffee shop / dog cafe Château le Woof across the street.

Classic Central Park – I do love Central Park even though it can get a little crowded when it’s nice out.

I love riding my bike so doing a bike ride like going down the west side highway or biking from Long Island City to Socrates is fun. I would also recommend Fifth Hammer Brewery and Focal Point Brewery in LIC.

For food / experience:
The Alcove in Sunnyside, Queens: I love their chimichurri fries and honestly all of their food and cocktails. The staff and owner are also so wonderful so I love to support them whenever I can.

Fresco’s Grand Cantina: Specifically their drag brunch on Sundays “Mimosas and Chismosas” hosted by drag queens Catrina Love Lace and Hibiscus. I love them so much and together they are hysterical and always knock it out with their performances + Fresco’s has really great mix of food for anyone’s tastes + great cocktail specials. I really love their tres golpes breakfast plate, and their jerk chicken tacos.

For arts:
My fav museum is the National History Museum and if you can get a tour from Bob, he was fantastic and I learned so much and of course The Met. It’s definitely one of those museums you can visit a million times and still miss something.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s so many people and organizations that I contribute to where I am today. To name a few, I would first say my parents and family because they are really the beginning of my journey. I grew up with this encouragement in my dreams of becoming an artist or creative person (I studied fashion design and followed that journey for over 7 years). Because of my parents encouragement, and the example of my dad’s full time artist career, I grew up seeing it was possible. My business/artist name “Almonte Studio” is my way of continuing my dad’s legacy. I’m so grateful and lucky that both my parents and my family have been so supportive of my life choices even when I haven’t always believed in myself.

Next is my boyfriend, number one unpaid employee, emotional support human, and partner in life. He is the person who is helping me carry all my work at all of my pop ups, conventions, markets etc. He also helps me whenever his schedule allows painting murals across NYC. He really is the MVP behind Almonte Studio, when I’m running around, he’s the one who holds down my booth and honestly holds it down when I emotionally spiral.

And lastly I want to shoutout two businesses/orgs: Newtown HQ where I work part time and 31st Ave Open Street, local organization that not only supports smalls businesses and artists but creates and brings such wonderful community to Astoria.

Newtown HQ, is not only the place that offered me some stability, but the owner behind the brand, Cindy Cortez has become not just my boss but a friend, a supporter and inspiration and reminder that hard work and passion really do pay off. She carries some of my work at her store and has taught me so much about the inner workings of running a business and the countless opportunities she’s connected me with to encourage me to grow as an artist and I will forever be grateful for all her support throughout my journey.

31st Ave Open Street is very special to my heart because they gave me the space to share my work on the open streets during their countless pop up markets throughout the season where I really got to connect and foster relationships within my community and when I was lucky enough to be selected for their open mural call, they gave me the opportunity to paint my first ever asphalt mural which lead to so many projects that followed. The folks who run the organization are also such wonderful people that I have become friends with who have really always supported my work and have recommended me to other opportunities that followed.

When I’m having a hard time or lack of belief in myself, having people in my corner who encourage and believe in me, helps me to keep pushing forward in the hardest of times.

Website: https://almontestudio.com

Instagram: @almontestudio

Image Credits
For the asphalt mural one: Credit goes to @dezinedigital

For the Coachella trash can: credit goes to Gaby Deimeke

For the “tu no estas solo” I just want to mention that it was for the South Street Seaport You Are Not Alone Mural Festival but I took the photo.

For the mural of the gal squatting on top of the flowers and leaves that was for the Welling Walls Mural Festival in Astoria but I took the photo.