Meet Ines Alvidres | Artist

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

Hi Ines, what do you attribute your success to?
I don’t think any profession is easy especially if you want to be the best. Speaking from an artist perspective, as glamorous as it might seem, it is not. It can be extremely hard at times. I have learned with experience that the struggles and challenges are going to come, no matter what profession I have chosen. I know that the reason I’m willing to overcome challenges as an artist is because I love what I do. I know that that is the same for many other professionals out there! Amarte Art Studio is what I decided to name my studio. AMA means to love in Spanish, and ARTE is art in English. AMARTE is a play on words that together means to love art but also and most important to love yourself. For those that work from home and wish for a studio space, don’t worry. I experienced a great art studio in a fabulous art deco building, and now I’m working from a humble small space in my home. To be real and honest, it’s the same. The work is not better or worse. I don’t produce more or less. You are the one that makes the art, not your circumstances.
There is a quote from Dr. Tererai Trent that I love, “The universe has a way to honor our dreams if only we believe. We become determined and work hard toward our goals.” This is the best reminder when things get difficult that everything starts from dreaming. The next step requires determination. Those two will not be enough if we don’t work hard. I have big dreams that make my stomach hurt a little. I have been determined since the first day, and I’m not afraid of work.

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.
Since the beginning, the main ingredients for my artwork have been the variety and combination of bright colors that I use in my paintings. I always trusted that my artwork and I were going to evolve with the years and with experience. My inspiration mainly comes from my surroundings especially nature. The best part of being an artist, I believe, is the fact that there are no limits. I can be creating a series of birds and flowers, but there will be a need to use my leftover paint on my brush to create a new raw and abstract piece. At the beginning of my career, a friend and I were looking at a piece of artwork at a museum, and he asked what I thought about a specific piece. Before I could answer the question, he said, “I don’t want you to tell me if you like it or not, but what emotion does it make you feel?” After that experience, everything changed. Every time I saw a painting, a sculpture or even listened to a song, it was never about what I thought, but how it made me feel. I also started to create with the same intention. My hope is that I can create a positive emotion in you. Any time someone asks me what kind of artwork I create, my answer is the same – I create friendly abstract straight from the heart, always with a hope to put a smile on your face. It might be a bit cheesy, but I mean it.

I didn’t realize that moving to the U.S. would be as challenging as it was. Let me mention, I was only 16 years old. Who moves a teenager to a country where she doesn’t speak the language? Today, I know, it was parents that just wanted what was best for myself and my siblings. For me, learning English was one of the most difficult things. I saw others learning so fast, but that wasn’t me. I always loved to speak and express myself growing up by telling stories, and now I had lost that. I was a teenager speaking like a toddler. I decided when I learned English, I was going to learn it and speak it like I did in Spanish, with flavor and passion and a broader vocabulary. That was just a lesson that would later relate to my art career because I realized that art is a universal language. And as a teenager, I was learning to communicate by painting, and then again, I wanted to learn to speak the language of painting with the same intention. I had to educate myself with artist biographies, visiting as many museums and galleries, going to lectures, and speaking to other artists. I can express myself fully and confidently in Spanish and English and can possibly learn more languages, but I know my art can speak to everyone without me saying one word.

Amarte Art Studio is what I decided to name my studio. AMA means to love in Spanish, and ARTE is art in English. AMARTE is a play on words that together means to love art but also and most important to love yourself. For those that work from home and wish for a studio space, don’t worry. I experienced a great art studio in a fabulous art deco building, and now I’m working from a humble small space in my home. To be real and honest, it’s the same. The work is not better or worse. I don’t produce more or less. You are the one that makes the art, not your circumstances.

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 am a simple girl. I am happy if I have yoga, food and art. So my day would start at Love Yoga with a yoga class. Then I would go to the Rao’s Bakery and order a delicious cup of tea and breakfast wrap and sit in their patio where you can enjoy the mixture of Italian music and birds singing. Next I would walk around Cattail Marsh Wet Lands and enjoy being surrounded by nature. The most interesting people go there. Who am I kidding? I also need to dance in my life, there is always a place to salsa around here to dance the night away. If you want a peaceful day in Beaumont Texas, the first stop is Southeast Texas Art Museum, also you have The McFaddin-Ward House to sit in their beautiful porch or their rose garden to breathe and take some time for yourself to reflect. A tour around town to see all the murals is always fun and please go and have dinner at J Wilson’s delicious food, always fun people at the bar and my art on display.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost, the unconditional love and help from my family. They never put any expectations on me or cared if I got paint on their dining tables or living room floors while growing up. They support me in their own way. They are always there for me. The community I found in Beaumont. It is what I like to call a small town full of quality people. All my teachers that I have had from the beginning saw my passion for art and have shown their belief in me by challenging me to create projects bigger than me. Now the city of Beaumont has done the same by trusting me with projects that are making people more aware of art. Organizations that have opened their doors to me are the Southeast Texas Art Museum, The Art Studio Inc., the Beaumont Art League and as well as many other Beaumont establishments. None of what I have done would be possible without the help of my closest friends like Homer Pillsbury and Kassie Huff. They have carried artwork, held ladders, helped me write articles and also told me that – yes you can! They see a strength that sometimes it hard to see but their support is one of the reasons I keep on going. Thank you as well because like this allow me to share and hopefully reach and connect with other creatives minds.

Website: www.amarteartstudio.com

Instagram: @inesalvidres.art

Facebook: Ines Alvidres