Today we’d like to introduce you to Ildely Herrera.
Hi Ildely, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Ildely, I’m a self-portrait artist based in Seattle. I was born in Mexico City and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. When I was in high school, I used to take self-portraits just for fun. At that age, it was so mesmerizing for me how the pictures of magazines looked like, especially those of famous perfumes because they always had a model wearing a beautiful dress and there were a lot of flowers involved. So, I tried to recreate those pictures. Then in college, I stopped doing that and I focused myself in finishing school and finding a good Job. So, I got a Bachelor degree in International Business and started to work in the logistics area for about 5 years. During that time, I met the love of my life. We got married and a month later my husband got a job in Seattle. We decided to take that opportunity and moved to the Evergreen State. After 3 crazy months of living in Seattle, the COVID pandemic started. So we were in a new country, not knowing anybody and being in quarantine. Something inside me told me that it was a good time to start doing photography again, I tried a lot of photography styles and I learned a lot about how to capture the light, because part of the photography is that, knowing how to capture the different lights that the world is offering us. I would say that, like many other people, photography helped me to survived COVID and the cultural shock of living outside of your home country.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely has been challenging, because there is always that little voice inside you that is telling you that the work you are doing is not good enough. In a certain way, that has helped me in developing my own techniques and in keep learning. In any field, there is always something new you can learn that it will help you to be better.
There have been many unexpected hiatuses, mental breakdowns, endless cases of imposter syndrome, and struggles with staying inspired and driven to make art. I think that staying motivated has been one of the biggest obstacles throughout my art career. That, and experiencing burnout.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a self-portrait artist/photographer. I’m specialized in creating pictures with a painting/renaissance style using tools like Photoshop. I have found that emotions are a beautiful way to express art. So, I like to use those feelings and express them in a portrait.
My favorite ways to find inspiration is going to my favorite park and start taking pictures of the flowers, I also like to watch historical period movies like Pride and Prejudice, and definitely going to museums or listening my favorite music genre helps a lot to keep my brain active in the creative side
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Probably people don’t know that I am an excellent cook. I do the best chilaquiles in town! Also, that I am into hardcore music. When I was in high school there was this “emo trend”, dark hair, tight and black jeans, lots of eyeliner… So yes, I was that “emo kid” back in those days.
Pricing:
- Mini session $150/ 30 mins for 1 artwork
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/ildely
- Other: tiktok.com/@ildelyh
Image Credits
Ildely Herrera
