Meet Alejandra Trujillo | Artist/Muralist

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

Hi Alejandra, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I like to think that art chose me instead of me being the one who chose to be an artist. I come from a family of artists and have always had a natural inclination for art. One of my earliest memories is hanging out at my family’s (Curios) curiosity shop in Mexico, where my family made most of the art they sold. There was always someone willing to let me “help” and experiment with all sorts of mediums. I remember vivdly the smell of plaster and oil paints mixed with the freshly made tortillas from the shop next door, and how much joy I felt every single time I made something artistic. This gave me the freedom to always create and nurtured my very artistic little self. I never stoped creating, so it seemed like the most natural next step to make a career out of it. I wanted to keep feeling that joy, always. Now, I am privilaged to paint huge walls for my community that I love so much, and when I close my eyes I still smell the mix of plaster and oils with fresh tortillas and feel so much joy in my heart.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I love putting a lot of myself in my art, i’m colorful, loud and all over the place, and so is my art. One thing that really ties all my art together is color, it’s amazing to me how color can impact feelings and emotions. I take a lot of my inspiration from our Sonoran Desert, like cacti, gems, sunsets and mountain ranges as well as many of the things from my Mexican culture then i mix them up and you get my artwork. Some of my favorite pieces i’ve created include things that one would never find together in naure but somehow create a beautiful result like cacti with crystal blossoms.

One of the things I am proud of, is growing my career and completing 54 murals as of now, all while being a homeschooling mom of three children who are with me all the time. Yes, ALL THE TIME, including long muraling days, meetings and presentations. Its no easy task to enertain 3 kids much less to educate them while also painting hundreds of square feet. With that being said, I am extremely grateful I have been able to be present for my children. as well as teaching them by example, specially my daughter, that if you have a dream and work hard for it, you can make it happen.

A huge lesson I have learned in my career is to value myself and my talents. I always had a really hard time charging what my work is worth, and i find that many other artist have dificulties with the financial side of art because we do it with love, and who can really put a price on that. The most important lesson I have learned however, is how strong us women are. So many times I doubted myself and my capacity to do these big projects that someone without kids or in a different situation might be able to execute faster or better. Then I learned that as long as there is a will, there is a way. I wanted my cake and wanted to eat it too, I wanted freedom to paint until my hearts desire and to have my kids with me. So we worked out a perect system of unschooling and now both me and my children are thriving. If there is one thing I would want the world to know about my brand story would be that! That every dream comes with challenges and set backs, sometimes to the point where it might seem impossible, but if I can do it while being a stay at home wife, homesteading and homeschooling with three kids in tow, so can you!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start with food always, I am a huge foodie and love to try diverse food and all the local spots. First we would stop by the Box Yard for an array of food and drink options and to admire all the murals along 4th ave. At night we would go to Casa Video For some Games, Movies and free popcorn, not to mention all the snacks and maybe fill up a beer growler to bring home. The next day we would go to Breakfast at KG’s caffe, our neighborhood favorite, before heading to the Sonoran Desert Museum. We would spend most of our day there and have an outside lunch in their amazing caffe. On our way home we would stop at Gate’s Pass and watch the sun set over the saguaro filled mountain ranges. Next day I would take her to venture Mount lemmon, we would grab coffee and some giant cookies from the Cookie Cabin befor hiking and foraging for wild mushrooms. before setting up to camp. We would spent the morning taking in all the crisp mountain air then head to The Saw Mill restaurant for lunch before heading back down the mountain. The day after we would go to La chaiteria for a Lavander Latte and some amazing enchiladas for breakfast. After we would head up A mountain for a hike, then down to Mission Garden to walk around and purchase some locally grown produce. In the afternoon we would head to the Tucson museum of Art and grab lunch at Cafe a la C’Art, at night we would go dancing at Hotel congress. Breakfast the next day would be at Rollies Mexican Patio then we would go drive around central Tucson to show her all my favorite murals. For the last day we would rent a room at Hotel Mccoy and enjoy the saltwater pool and live music and stuff our faces with food from Trans Food truck.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First of all I would like to shout out my Grandpa, who is no longer with us, but passed on the skills and the love for art. Also to my parents for always, always going above and beyond to nurture my artistic talents, putting me through art schools and for not scolding me for always painting on their walls as a kid.

I would love to shoutout Barista Del Barrio for giving me my first big break in the muraling world.

Santa Cruz National Heritage Area deserves a shoutout just for their amazing deeds as an organization, but I would also like to thank them for choosing me for the Santa Cruz River Project. It is the biggest mural I have done to date and also the most meaningful one for me personally, as a border child and because its located in my hometown.

Lastly, Wendy Garcia, the owner and chef of La Chaiteria and Tumerico, has been such an amazing mentor and an integral part of my groth as a community muralist. Not only is she an amazing exaple of a succesful latina, but she is also a great friend and patron of the arts.

Website: atrujillo-art.com

Instagram: atrujillo_art

Linkedin: alejandra_trujillo_art

Image Credits
BG Boyd Photo