Meet Gabby Avalos | Professional Artist, Writer, and Speaker

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

Hi Gabby, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success is a combination of my faith, and my belief that relationships heal us. My core statement for my art business is: I hope my art inspires you to love more, connect often, and pursue healing. My faith is at the very center of who I am and who I strive to be. God brought me into this passion and career of art. Not only did He orchestrate success in sales and many opportunities to share my art around the world as well as locally, but He also healed me first and foremost through my art. I believe that art is healing in both literal and metaphorical ways. Art has a way of bringing us closer to the divine. It enables us to experience the world through a lens of beauty, passion, and fire. Art ignites our souls to our deepest desires and awakens us to our greatest weaknesses as well as strengths. It has the power to truly help one come alive and come into their own true highest self. I speak so highly of art because it has done all of these things for me. The success of my brand lies in the truth that art is powerful, magnetic and electrifying. It sets our souls on fire and lights up our own unique paths. The second most important part of my brand is the belief that relationships heal us. First, the relationship with a Higher Power, second the relationships with others, and third a relationship with ourselves. When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, it opens the door for the most beautiful experiences. When we open ourselves up to relationships, it enables us to connect and heal deep parts of our souls. Connection is vital to the human experience. I would even argue that connection defines humanity in the smallest and largest scope possible. Connection lights up our world and demonstrates that life is messy, wonderful, chaotic, and inspiring. My art is defined by faith in the greatest Artist to ever live and the idea that He created community to be experienced in a real and intimate way.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As an artist, my art is truly shaped by three main things. This includes my faith, my Mexican-American culture, and my story. One of the first things people notice about my art is how bright and colorful it is. The color of my work is a reflection of who I am and how I have been transformed. I use to struggle deeply with depression along with a couple other mental health problems. They were severe in how they impacted my life and my well-being. God brought art into my life as both a passion and career. He healed me through the beauty of painting both my pain and my joy onto a blank canvas. My story has allowed my art to come alive in a way that many people describe as joyful and lively. My struggle with mental illness was the opposite of this. Art healed me deeply and dug up so many lies and insecurities that I had held inside for years. The beginning of my art journey started in 2018 when I went to a private art school here in Arizona. I remember going to school each day and feeling extremely sick to my stomach. I was quite possibly the worst in the class and lacked so much experience and skill at the time. What was the most difficult piece of creating art in that moment was how deeply personal it was. Art was uprooting the very messy and dark parts of who I was. It made me confront the lies in my head about being a burden among many other things. It also made me go to war with my insecurities. I felt this transformation on every level leaving class exhausted both physically, mentally, and spiritually. My journey as a professional artist started out complicated, chaotic, and dark. Often times how my paintings start out now. There is beauty in being messy and painting dark in the beginning layers because it allows the painting to have depth later on in the process. This truly is the perfect description of my journey as an artist. Even though, art school was a painful experience. God truly opened so many doors toward the end of that year. I know God has anointed and called me to this work. I am built to create both on the canvas, in relationships, in faith, and in the world. My faith brought me to art and enabled me to experience the Divine in this intricate and beautiful way. Art allowed me to appreciate my story in a way that nothing else could. It enabled me to see the beauty in the dark periods of my life and how it brought depth to who I am. I am a survivor, and I chose to create my own joy and write my own story now. To see beauty in the little simple things like children laughing till their bellies hurt, or adults creating art freely for this first time. To allow color to penetrate my soul and teach me about what it means to come alive. My art has ignited my to love color, to love God, to love others, and to love myself well. In the fire of refinement, there is passion that is building and transformation that is coming. In my life, I have been refined probably more often than I would like and yet I wouldn’t change any of it. Art has become the fire of my soul and it lights my way when things get dark.

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.
Arizona is so beautiful and diverse. One of my favorite places to visit is Sedona and Flagstaff. They truly encompass so much beauty and nature that it is easy to feel God in those places. I would take them to my favorite restaurant here in the Valley, which is located in Tempe called Susie’s Mexican Cafe. I have been eating there since I was in the womb in my Mother’s stomach and it has always been so delicious. I would take them to Downtown Gilbert on Saturday to experience that Farmer’s Market and then go eat breakfast at my favorite breakfast restaurant called Liberty Market. I would also take them to Downtown Scottsdale to walk around enjoy the art galleries and visit my favorite store there called The Merchantile. It has so much local art and local items for sale. I would also take them hiking at South Mountain for a sunrise hike to view the beauty of our precious Arizona sunrises.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to thank the people who supported my career and journey as a professional artist as well as the people who enabled me to become the person I am today. This starts with my Dad, Jose Avalos, he is the most successful, loving, and hard-working man I know. He inspires me daily to be my best self. He supports my art career and is my biggest fan. He truly is a wonderful person and I wouldn’t be where I am today both personally and professionally without the love of my Father. I would also like to thank friends and family for all the kindness and encouragement they have shown my along the way. I have had many art teachers over the years that have shaped who I am and taught me the deepest lessons. So additionally, I would like to thank Mr. Brown for encouraging me all those years ago and showing up for me on my hardest days. I would also like to thank Mrs. Fox for bringing so much joy to my life. I want to thank my mentors and pastors who have molded me both spiritually and personally. Thank you to Sanghoon Yoo, Jackie Bolitho. Warren Williams, John Crawford, and Dara Johnson. I also want to thank my art collectors for supporting my career and becoming dear friends. All of my collectors are truly incredible people who I love and cherish. It has been amazing to see the beautiful relationships that have come out of my art career. Most importantly, I would like to thank the Creator of the Universe, God, for giving me such a beautiful life and continuing to transform me daily.

Website: www.avalosfineart.com

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