Meet Larissa Galarza of Royally Divine in La Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Larissa Galarza.

Larissa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was younger, I suppose I wasn’t an “average” kid of the ’90s, I was placed in a private school and at the time, I didn’t have much to believe in. Meeting the wants and needs of family and society was really hard on me. I discovered early as a kid that I didn’t know how to meet up to those expectations. Falling in love with art started in elementary school, I discovered Sailor Moon and I was amazed this character was funny, awkward, always loving sweets, clumsy but, in the face of danger to herself, people she loved, and what’s true, honest, and fair to the rest of the world; (- cue music -) “fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight, never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon.” She was able to transform not only costume but internally to be better, to do better, as a person. Sailor Moon, Usagi, Princess Serenity, Moon Princess, she was so inspiring to me. She is someone I looked up to and aspired to be. To be able to carry so much power from just love. It occurred to me just how powerful love could be. Love is something you can’t see but is such a strong feeling that it can change everything. How you see life in all it’s details if you have love.

Watching Sailor Moon as an anime and reading it as a manga really did spark a creative flame. Adoring Naoko Takeuchi’s (creator of Sailor Moon) beautiful illustrations of these unique characters. The subtle and delicate details to the manga were something I’d never seen before. Mind you, I did read/watch Dragon Ball, X-Men, Ranma 1/2, G Gundam, Dexter’s Lab, Batman, Powerpuff Girls, Pokemon, Thundercats, and believe me MUCH more. Sailor Moon is what has fueled me all these years later. Sailor Moon inspired me to draw, dream, and create. Art became my way to express myself. A way to love myself, a way to show the world love and its beauty. Cheesy as it sounds I thought maybe sharing my imagination on paper might inspire people like me to get to know themselves and discover what makes them happy. Sailor Moon taught me to love my awkwardness, fight your own darkness, and keep going; cause you can do it! They say if you set your intention in your work that people can feel it. I hope they do, cause I LOVE creating art.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, but I learned a lot along the way. Finding my path in life and as an artist was honestly terrifying. I suppose people along the way were concerned that me becoming an artist, I’d already set myself up for a hard road. I admit those thoughts did sidetrack me over the years and created self-doubt. Life experiences, whether being jobs or people taught me a lot at end of the day. I spent years being employed at jobs that literally felt like they were killing me or people who fed toxic thoughts and detoured me from myself. Sure, that really sucked and believe me I have emotional scars. I also learned that I survived those things, I’m still here and I love creating. If anything, I suppose that’s what pushed me to take my art my seriously and fed my passion to just do it. Art has given me the opportunity to express my love for positive things, beautiful things, and to just be me. I know that I will have some tough times in the future, but as long as I remind myself how far I’ve come, I know I can make it through.

Although being a bumpy road I am thankful for the moments in life where I got some help. On the early journey of discovering myself as an artist with Royally Divine, I was lucky enough to get my own little cat companion like Sailor Moon. My girl kitty is named Momo, she is a unique little orange tabby. She has a lot of personality who thinks she’s a human and yup, she’s my best friend. My other partner in life is my high school sweetheart, Juston McKee (@Uppermindink) who is also an artist. He’s been with me since pretty much the beginning of Royally Divine. Having a husband who is also an artist is nice because we know what each other is going through and we can help each other. He’s been a great support through all these years and I am proud of both of us getting our art out there in the world. I am also thankful to my Mom, Carole Thompson (@carolethompsonhairdesigner) who is an entrepreneur herself. She’s a hairdresser and aside from doing my fabulous pink hair, she helped me get started on understanding the basics on how to run a business. She also was kind enough to go with me to Anime Conventions (totally not her thing) at the beginning of my Exhibitor/Artist Alley journey. I was so nervous about going by myself and having her there gave me the emotional support I needed. Thanks, Mom~ <3

Royally Divine – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My chosen business name Royally Divine has been around since early 2005 when I was in high school. The name was inspired by my love of Fairy Tales, Magical Girls, Japanese Lolita Fashion, Rococo, and just things that make me happy. Now, here in 2019, that’s what Royally Divine is, things that make me happy that I depict in multimedia form. I love to experiment in all forms of art so I can get better at my craft. My personal slogan is, “If I can dream it, I can make it.”

Royally Divine is my art business name I go by. Royally Divine is really me, it transforms, blossoms into more, it has grown; Like me as an artist. It started off as cutesy lolita inspired items such as: jewelry, accessories, and prints. Over time, Royally Divine has expanded with my skill set. Trying my hand at many types of art, I’ve learned to how to make clothing, costumes (cosplay), patterns, original designs, silversmithing, patches, buttons, resin, embroidery, hats, bags, backpacks, and more. I truly believe the more you learn the better you get, so I try my best to learn new skills and experiment with lots of trial and error. I’ve participated in many projects, events, collaborations, commissions, and galleries. For many years, I’ve been attending a community group called Sketch Jam, a group of artists of all types come together to doodle, hang out, and share with each other our latest works. It’s been nice having all of them as a support and give feedback. Also big thanks to my friend Kelsey Goldych (@CuteCometArt) who has been table sharing and traveling with me to many Anime Conventions to sell our artwork together. We call our table “Peach Mint Market” (@peachmintmarket) whenever we do shows together and we even made cute mascot characters of ourselves called Peach and Mint.

Royally Divine has been kind of expanded into a brand. I’m a YouTuber that shows DIY’s & Vlogs. I am a Patreon Creator. I am a Cosplayer. I post and promote all across social media with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. @RoyallyDivine or RoyallyDivine.com I am also a small business owner that makes handmade goods and sells at Art Shows, Local Events, Conventions, and I have an Etsy Shop.

When creating art for Royally Divine, I’m of course inspired by my favorite magical girl, Sailor Moon. I am also inspired by Studio Ghibli, CardCaptor Sakura, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Adventure Time, Studio Ponoc, Steven Universe, Guillermo Del Toro, and more. Also, as a subsection of Royally Divine, I’ve also created a collection which I call Celestial Moon Series. The art and items that I create under Celestial Moon Series are items inspired by my spiritual journey as a person. I really believe the healing properties of what crystals and herbs can offer to a person. So, I infuse those into my resin jewelry, orgonites, prisms, and handcrafted wands. Royally Divine has become a brand that adventures into magic, glitter, cutesy feels, and color. I hope to continue sharing my art and the skills I learn with the world. =)

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success is something to look back on and be proud of it. All artists have a different path because art is such a personal thing to so many people. I suppose success can be about perspective as well. A lot of artists tend to be really hard on themselves and have a hard time being proud of what they’ve accomplished so far. So, reminding themselves of the steps and growth is a form of success in itself. For me, my success is looking back and being happy I have growth, learned to be consistent, and keep going. I hope someday that can translate to a livable success in wages but that’s something most artists are figuring out.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RoyallyDivine.com
• Email: royallydivine@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royallydivine/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialroyallydivine/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/royallydivine_
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/RoyallyDivine

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