Art was something Lismary Perez always saw herself doing. “Art was always my favorite subject in school,” she said, “and I had been doing it since I was very young. I’d tried other forms of art throughout my life, like music and whatnot, but I always came back to art.” With this passion deeply instilled in her, it’s a no-brainer that Perez sought out a university setting that would foster her love for visual art, and, after some deliberation, she opted to attend URI based on the open-minded nature of the university’s curriculum. However, Perez found herself questioning her passion, enrolling as an undecided major to test the collegiate waters.
Nonetheless, as everyone comes to learn over time, you can’t deny who you really are for very long. Inspired by her freshman year art class and a faculty-led presentation on the subject, Perez found herself drawn into the complex capabilities of digital art. “Art is about the way you see the world through your own images,” she said, “and taking classes on digital art and design really taught me how limitless and marketable programming is.” By reigniting her passion for visual art, Perez gave in to fate, graduating in 2017 with a B.A. in art.
Now residing just across the Hudson from Manhattan in Union City, New Jersey, Perez works as a freelance artist. She’s freelanced abstract art and children’s book illustration, and practices digital art and sculpting in her free time. As an artist, however, Perez is no stranger to the competitive nature of the art world. “It’s very difficult to get started,” she said, “and you have to approach your goals very realistically. There’s this almost unfair sense of competition in the real world, but I continue to pursue art because I love it.” She credits a good part of her achievements to the skills she learned at URI, stating, “I really valued the practicality of digital art and learning how to work the programs. URI really helped me get marketable skills under my belt in order to make a good body of work.” To current and prospective URI students looking to pursue a career in visual art, Perez has four key pieces of advice, inspired by her professional triumphs and tribulations: “1) Work on finding something you love in life; don’t settle for something that’s going to make you miserable. 2) Build a professional network using those you’re close to. 3) Build a financial safety net, and 4) Learn how to make your passion profitable.”
See Lismary’s art at thenatureartist.myportfolio.com.
~Written by Chase Hoffman, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology Double Major, URI Class of 2021