Meet Valencia Joy Arline | Artist

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

Hi Valencia Joy, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Ever since I was young I’ve known that I wanted to pursue art as a career. I graduated from college in May of 2020,during the pandemic, and for the first time in my life, the majority of my schedule was empty. So like many people I downloaded Tik Tok (ironically of course). I immediately fell in love with the small business side of Tik Tok. It was eye-opening to see other artists and creators start businesses, and it made the idea of starting my own business seem much more attainable. I spent a lot of my time during quarantine just researching and learning about entrepreneurship and owning a business and on August 20th 2020 I started my LLC, Valencia Joy LLC.

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.
My body of work explores the human form and pushes the line of abstraction to explore the many ways in which physical features can be expressive in unusual ways. My subject matter is self and the pieces I make typically reflect my surroundings, insecurities, experiences, and aesthetics. I commonly will use various weighted lines, hatching, and stippling to create unusual portraits of imaginary characters meant to visually embody my thoughts and ideas. I like to represent the figure in realistic ways as well. My interest is in both traditional and contemporary art and I am currently working towards building a body of work that could complement both.

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.
My favorite places to eat around Houston

Frank’s Pizza
Great Place to go after visiting the bars
New York Style Pizza

Ramen Tatsu-ya
Some of the best Ramen
Chill place to visit cool murals inside.

Post Market Food Hall
So many different food options
Great for groups of friends.

The Turkey Leg Hut.
Turkey legs! Why not?
Bucket List.

Musaafer
Modern Indian Restaurant.
Great Atmosphere and food.

My favorite places to go grab a drink

Present Company
Atmosphere. Everywhere is great to take photos
Great Drinks and service.

FAO
Speakeasy vibes and retro Games

Wooster’s Garden
Overall good drinks

High and Dry
Rum Cocktail Bar

Double Trouble
For Anyone who might love a good coffee cocktail

My favorite Activity places

Hip Hop Vintage Flea Market
Every First Sunday
Loud Music and Good Vibes
Dance and Rap Battles

Sawyer Yards Art market
Every Second Saturday
Meet with Local Artist
Unique items for Sale

Comedy Show at Rudyard’s
Every Weekend
A mix of Local Comedians and Guest Comedians

Drag Brunch at Boheme
Talented and Funny Performers
Brunch Buffet
Go on a good weather day.

Movie at Discovery Green
One a Month
Chill Vibes
Go on a good weather day.

Goat Yoga Houston
Super friendly People
Funny Experience
Great Photos

Froberg’s Farm
Pick your own Veggies, Fruits, and Flowers year-round.
Strawberry Picking late winter – Early Spring
Have to travel outside the city to Alvin

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shout-out to my family, especially my mom. They have never questioned or doubted my ability to make a career from my art and they always love to hype me up whenever they can. I always feel so much love and support from them.

Website: https://valenciajoy10.wixsite.com/website

Instagram: @valenciajoy

Other: Links Page https://valenciajoy.onuniverse.com/?preview=true