Meet Kim | Artist

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

Hi Kim, how does your business help the community?
Art feeds the soul of not only the artist but also the community. Art is a reflection of an environment, a sharing of stories, places, people and histories. It is a dialogue. Art is the spiral of life.

I paint murals, very big canvasses. What do you think murals do to a community? What is the purpose of painting a mural? That’s like asking, “Why Art?”. There is no one answer. I do believe that murals can make local statements about culture, what is important to a community as well as give people pleasure in viewing the piece.

Some murals become icons that represent our community. Locals and tourists alike can take mural tours around town. Murals make our lives more connected, pleasurable and colorful!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Ever since I was little, I’ve had a deep desire to make beautiful spaces. That desire led to my becoming an architect. Now that I’m retired, that same need has led me to create beauty through painting, tile mosaics, photography or murals. I love to lose all sense of time, relax and de-stress coming up with design concepts and executing a complete artwork. I delight in nature and color, but being a Principal Architect and having to run a complex business taught me many lessons. It’s okay to lose oneself in the process of creating an art piece, but have a plan for the process itself. My time, talent and experience are the esoteric items that I have to sell and are very valuable – so control the process.

Secondly, most of my business has been through word of mouth, social media and answering requests for proposals. A service business relies on good marketing, so do your research, talk to others in the business and get a mentor.

The world should have the pleasure of doing something they love everyday, for me that is art. I hope I can, in return, give some of that happiness back when people view my art.

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 love taking road trips, getting up close to nature and feeling inspired by life. A road trip might include Tucson, where we would tour downtown through a mural tour, check out a show at Fox theater (enjoying the retro architecture), eating at Club Congress (with the penny floor and more retro architecture to enjoy). We might go hiking at Sabino Canyon, hear the owls, cool our feet in the creek and spy some coatimundi.

A trip further south would include a stop at the “Dove of the Desert”, the 1797 mission church, San Xavier del Bac. The restoration of the architecture and art-work is breath-taking. A bit more south, takes you to Tubac for a walking tour of some amazing galleries and lots of art to feast the eyes on. Any of the local Mexican restaurants are good for eating and drinking Bacanora Margaritas.

Head to Sonoita and Patagonia to check out the wine country, eat at the Velvet Elvis and hike some of the Arizona Trail. From there you can head over to Bisbee to tour the Copper Queen Mine, stay at the Copper Queen Hotel or reserve a night at the quirky Shady Dell (a group of 1950’s retro-furnishes trailers). Walk the downtown galleries and save time for checking out some of the local breweries.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s should always be someone who’s got your back. For me, it’s my husband, Celestino Fernandez. Not only does he support, encourage and love my art, he sometimes helps with the heavy lifting such as: rolling out the primer, prepping a wall or sealing a mural at the end. He’s a good critic, too.

Secondly, I have to give a shoutout to the College of Architecture at the University of Arizona for the education that I received there. Not only did I utilize it throughout my architectural career, but also in my second career as an artist. I was trained to conceive concepts and translate them to documents from which another (a contractor) could read the documents/drawings and build what I had imagined. Now as a muralist, I not only find out what the client wants, design it, but now I also execute the design. What fun is that!

Website: https://kimfernandezart.weebly.com

Instagram: kimfernandez863

Image Credits
Photos by Kim Fernandez