Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailey Herrera.
Hi Hailey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I‘ve been painting watercolor since the age of 7 and paint off and on ever since. In 2010, while searching for a guitar lesson for my son, I stumbled upon a local watercolor class offered by the city of College Station. Despite having no plans to become a professional artist, I decided to enroll.
By 2011, having completed around 40 paintings, I had the opportunity to showcase my work at the Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival alongside fellow artists. Following the festival, The Frame Gallery expressed interest in representing my artwork, and a local gift shop, Gift and Gap, wanted to sell prints of my work. The Frame Gallery, which hosted a monthly event called First Friday, invited me to showcase new paintings each month. Keeping up with their events and clientele, I painted subjects that interested me, leading to consistent sales and local recognition.
Additionally, I joined the Texas Watercolor Society and the Watercolor Art Society-Houston, participating in state and international watercolor competitions; I achieved signature membership status and earned titles from both organizations.
Beyond competitions and local events, I found support and encouragement from artists on Flickr, including professionals like photographer Jenny Rainbow and Evgeniya Vlasova. Their encouragement led me to join Fine Art America (FAA) in 2012. Despite print-on-demand platforms like Imagekind and Society 6 not being widely popular among artists, I ventured into the online realm as my local prints were already selling well.
In 2014, my piece “American Buffalo III” was featured on FAA’s front page, dramatically expanding my national and international audience and providing a steady income. By 2021, I was selected as a featured artist among over a million others, showcased on the front page of FAA’s artist directory. Since then, my FAA sites have been visited by over 6,500,000 people from around the world.
In 2019, I was selected as one of 30 Texas artists for the Art of Texas Park project and received official acknowledgment as “Centennial Painters” by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Everything unfolded rapidly for me – gallery representations, teaching classes, winning best-in-shows – all before I could establish a substantial body of work or even pinpoint my artistic style. I found myself making decisions on the fly, learning as I went along. Simultaneously, I was in the process of honing my techniques while teaching a variety of subjects to my students.
This dual focus resulted in a collection of paintings on my Fine Art America (FAA) sites that showcased numerous styles and subjects. Ironically, this diversity became a key factor in my success. The confusion persisted until I came to the realization that the majority of my artwork revolved around nature scenes, encompassing Texas landscapes, flora, and fauna.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I began learning different watercolor techniques, I had the idea of applying one that intrigued me to create a painting featuring bluebonnets. I came across the watercolor negative technique, and using it, I crafted unique bluebonnet paintings that found success in galleries and online marketplaces. I chose bluebonnets because, upon visiting galleries, I noticed an abundance of impressionistic bluebonnet paintings depicting fields with oak trees and cacti. My aim was to offer something distinct.
In 2012, at the annual artist expo convention in The Woodlands, TX, I encountered the watercolor batik technique during a class taught by Kathie George in Dayton, Ohio. Since then, I have been exploring various oriental papers and refining my own style of watercolor batik. In my paintings, I incorporate optical color mixing to ensure that the images are perceived as intended from a distance, while closer examination reveals a colorful and playful quality. The use of vibrant colors layered over a soft wet-in-wet wash captures the essence of watercolor, while the alternating layers of watercolor wash and wax create shapes and colors that evoke an impressionistic style with a wonderful depth.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
From my earliest memories, I was always the artsy kid, and my life seemed to center around artistic activities and events. Our second floor at home was used as a rental space by my parents. In second grade, my sister gathered my paintings and drawings and adorned the walls of that vacant rental house. It’s a memory I’ve carried with me, considering it my very first exhibition.
Contact Info:
- Website: haileyherrera.com
- Instagram: hehwatermedia
- Facebook: haileyherrerawatermedia
