Featured Painter & Sculpture Artist Jacqueline Montes

Everything around me inspires me to make art. Nature, food, places, people, music, fashion, roller skating, astrology, and spirituality. Growing up in Las Vegas with all the bold bright colors and lights has been incredibly inspiring as well.

I started making art in high school when I took an art class/sculpting class for the first time ever, and found out I was pretty decent at painting and I really enjoyed doing it, so I just kept going with it.

I hope my viewers see freedom and possibilities when they see my art. Art is so liberating. I want people to feel they can also liberate themselves and be proud of who they are, and make out-of-this-world art in any medium they prefer.

The biggest inspiration I had growing up was Frida Kahlo. She was the only Mexican woman who was a painter, and people looked up to her and her artwork. She paints her pain and trauma and that’s the most vulnerable, but beautiful things a person can do. Her paintings will be the only memory of her hardships, and it made her into who she ended up today, known all across the globe.

How has, if at all, skating effected your art?

Roller skating has effected my art in numerous ways. It feels nice when I’m able to put my skates on, clear my head, then come back to an art piece with a different perspective. Being able to accomplish tricks while I roller skate gives me the same feeling of when I’m able to power through my creative blocks and make a beautiful art piece. Both hobbies motivate me to keep going.