Artist watch: Waleska 'Wale' Herrera

Paterson, New Jersey native and Afro-Latina, Waleska 'Wale' Herrera shows her passion and love in creating pieces for Women's Empowerment and Afro-centric Art and recognizes her roots and how she can express that through paintings. She started working on her craft in elementary school at the former school, "Academy of Performing Arts." She began sketching in middle school and throughout high school and picked up painting after visiting the MoMA in New York City.

I took the time to interview her and asked a few questions about her journey in the art industry:

1. What opportunities have you had since you began your craft? (I.e. Art shows, pop-up shops, etc)

A. "I have been able to present my art in a pageant while I was in college (Miss Omega). I also have been able to participate in Abbysoul’s annual event “Women Speak Up,” two years in a row. I have has the opportunity of being born in an era where I can share my work through forms of social media which has been very helpful but I am looking for more opportunities to showcase my work."

2. What current art trends are you following?

A. "My first love was abstract and continues to be. Pablo Picasso actually made me very interested in the idea of abstract art and how it can look different to others depending on perspective and point of views. As of lately I have been painting a lot of Nude Art. I sometimes get some backlash in terms of my work being “sexual” when In reality it’s just to embrace women’s body and I often show how “raw” women’s bodies can be; including stretch marks, different sized breast, etc."

3. If you had the opportunity to show your art to anyone who will make you famous, who would it be and why?

A. "Hands down, Frida Kahlo. Her work was a symbol of self-expression which is my goal when I’m creating pieces. She was also bedridden for some time and experienced trauma which she portrays in her artwork. I am a firm believer that pain/ trauma causes people to create beautiful things. I would want Frida Kahlo to be the woman who makes me famous because i feel like she can’t steer me in the right direction on how to express myself and make in impact on peoples lives just as she has done for us. I highly recommend that people look into her story and art."

The love for her art has inspired many women and she hopes to work on more pieces to relieve stress and to hopefully participate in more art shows. To follow her for any artwork inquiries, follow her on Instagram @wainamillion. :)