This week I had the honor to submit some of my illustrations to a COVID-19 kindness response project.
The Latin American & Latinx Artists Project is a public service to connect Latinx art to Latinx households currently facing the hardship of isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic. I heard about the project after Analisa commented on my hamster illustration:
In a few days I had the images edited for child enjoyment and sent on their way. I’m not going to lie and pretend that I wasn’t nervous. Although this was a donation and not a paid job, I was worried that my work was not up to par or that it might not fit the needs of the project. But in the end, Alexis accepted my submission and now it lives in their shop for all to enjoy.
I think the moral of the story is to jump and say yes when the opportunity comes knocking, but also work on what makes you happy. Early this year I had decided, in my heart of hearts, that I was going to publish a children’s book. So to that end I started drawing in the style of children’s books.
More quirky, more stories. Bilingual illustrations. Colorful pieces. Inspiration. These were the angles I was approaching, because this is what I wanted the world to know about my work and about my ambitions. And before I knew it, Veoleo (a latinx children’s book publisher! Yup.) asked for some of my work for this project. Opportunities are everywhere, go say yes to yours!
Besos,
Meli
Illustrated by Meli 