Visitors to the Office of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mitzi Montoya, may be surprised to learn that the creator of the artwork hanging on the wall had never painted before making those pieces.

When recent graduate Josely Velasquez, an illustration major, took ART 3150 from Lindsay Frei in fall 2024, it marked her introduction to traditional painting. In that class, she painted “Victorian Gossip,” and the next semester, she painted “Sigue Bailando, Sigue Luchando” in John Erickson’s ART 4110 class.

This newest installment of student art in the SVPAA suite features Velasquez’s two paintings, which depict striking figures who seemingly look at the viewer.

“The gaze of the person I’m painting is, personally, my favorite part to capture as I work through a piece and the power eye contact has in pushing a narrative,” Velasquez said. She shared more of her inspiration for the pieces, along with her thoughts on being an artist and how her classes have shaped her.

What inspired you to take ART 4110 and ART 3150?

I wanted to challenge myself to paint and draw in new and inspired ways. I never painted traditionally until I took Lindsay’s class, and it was a very motivating way to start getting used to paints and the complexities of capturing the essence of a person. Erickson’s class allowed me to experiment and produce pieces that I was interested in seeing made.

Who is your favorite artist and why?

One of my favorite painters is John Singer Sargent, and I think you can see a tiny bit of that inspo in my own paintings and dresses. He is my favorite painter in the way he can capture the figure and fabrics of dresses/clothing. His ability to control the temperature of the skin and lighting in contrast to the subject’s surrounding is also very beautiful and inspirational.

Why did you decide to be an artist?

I became an artist because I tried to play different roles and careers in my life, and I just can’t see myself doing anything else. Art is a place and act that makes me feel in control and whole again. It provides a way for me to channel and interpret the world I live in and give a voice to things I desperately need to out in the world. I can create stories or simply express how I feel about the world at that moment and have it be seen and heard. Art has become such a big part of me, I can’t “be” any other way after it.

What is the inspiration behind the art you created for these classes?

"Sigue Bailando, Sigue Luchando” depicts the two traditional folkloric dancers’ struggle and victory to live everyday life and celebrate under this current political climate and xenophobia directed towards Latinos/Hispanics and minority groups in general. They dance under red cards, which are hidden in the background, despite all their tension and stress, leaving the woman in the front to have an intense glare into the viewer as she bravely keeps dancing and swishing her dress.

For “Victorian Gossip,” I focused on how it feels to be isolated due to differences, whether we are the ones being subjected to the isolation or having confidence and comfort within it. The two ladies in drag in a Victorian setting show how often LGBTQ+ people are erased from history and social events, even in their grandeur and beauty. I wanted an opportunity to put them back into the narrative and spark that direct eye contact of the drag queens, to remind the viewer they always existed.