Bianca Valle is a New York-based painter, photographer, and videographer. For our new series The Dynamic, we spoke to Bianca about her art, what it’s like being an artist on top of having a full-time job, and her advice to up-and-coming creatives.
Tell us what you do, in your own words.
I’m a creative. I don’t have one specific craft that I pursue; I’m very much a dabbler. I’m really lucky to have an eye and a knack for painting and videography and photography so I’m constantly switching up my lens.
“I’M VERY MUCH A DABBLER… I’M CONSTANTLY SWITCHING UP MY LENS.”
So you’re kind of a renaissance woman.
I love calling myself that, yes.
And you do this on the side of having a full-time job?
Yes. I’m the community and social media manager for Milk. I run all the social media for Milk Studios and Milk XYZ, and I also manage the community of people that Milk Studios is involved with, especially on the editorial side. I contribute to Milk XYZ quite often in the beauty column as well as with my photography; I shoot a lot of our photos and I also play kind of a producer role and a liaison with our talent.
So how do you balance all of that with your artwork? Is it more an evening and weekend type thing?
Yeah. When I was a student I definitely had more time to do my own stuff, and that’s when I really got to perfect my craft. I mean, obviously being an artist you’re never in your final form, but I was able to make a lot of headway in that time. And now that I’m working, I guess I am struggling quite a bit to balance my own dream with someone else’s. I have a saying, which is by no means negative or cynical, but at my full-time job I feel like I’m working on kind of a collective dream with other people. My own dreams are kind of put on hold from ten to six.
What do you do when you hit a wall, inspiration-wise? How do you get yourself out of it?
I always take a step back. I always take a breather. I try and put myself kind of as a third party outsider, try and see it through different perspectives.
What was the biggest misconception you had about being an artist going in?
[I’ve learned that] you don’t have to pigeonhole yourself as an artist. I feel like today people will say, oh, I should be a photographer or a painter, but I can’t be both. But in New York, everyone’s always pursuing different things, and I think that’s quite exciting. It’s definitely an opportunity and something to be grateful for. If you’re gifted with the energy and the sanity and the passion to pursue different things, why not?
“IF YOU’RE GIFTED WITH THE ENERGY AND THE SANITY AND THE PASSION TO PURSUE DIFFERENT THINGS, WHY NOT?”
What do you love most about what you do?
I get a lot of satisfaction from doing my art, from doing me. It’s very rewarding. I surprise myself every day. When I’m done with a painting and take a step back, I think to myself, “Wow, I didn’t know I could do this.” I think that’s the beauty of being an artist, because if you know that you’re good, or if you know that what you’re producing is going to be liked by other people, then your art isn’t going to do anything for you. It has to be all for you, and then the rest will come.
What’s your advice to up-and-coming creatives?
I have two. One, you have to keep doing it. You have to start, and keep doing it, even though you aren’t getting validation or recognition from your peers or from your family, because in the end art should be for you and you should be passionate about it and that’s what should propel you to keep creating.
