H E L L O !
My name is Elvea, I’m a singer-songwriter and illustrator. I have a formal education both in music and fine arts, but I’ve struggled for a long time finding an identity in the art world. With music it came more easily, I was able to study and write and experiment while supporting myself teaching and performing. With art it’s been an on and off love for years, since I didn’t have a channel to show my work and I was always very unhappy with it. Plus, music was taking up so much of my time that even if I did have the chance of working on some art projects more seriously, I probably wouldn’t have been able to take it.
But then the pandemic happened and suddenly music had to go to the side: no shows, no lessons, no rehearsals. My life and my outlet to express myself, that I had taken for granted for most of my life, had failed me. And on top of that, even singing and playing piano at home was out of the question, cause suddenly it was making me so sad, reminding me that I couldn’t perform and that the world was so drastically changed.
And then it hit me: I didn’t have to put on a show with a band to draw, I didn’t have to rehearse, I didn’t have to find students. I could just draw for the sake of it, with no pressure. A friend was writing a children’s book and she asked me to illustrate it, and I decided to take on the challenge.
….and here we are! I’ve finally found my drawing identity with illustration, something I had never considered in the past. So thank you for sharing this journey with me!
