The Mastermind Behind the Art: Meet Dariana, the Artist.

(Ai was not used in the writing of this blog-post, although I do enjoy the use ai technology)

Visual Artist Dariana Arias, in her home & art-studio, Washington D.C. July 2025.

In the virtual world of social media, where thousands of strangers mix and mingle on a daily basis, is easy to disregard how much or how little you know about the people who you follow, and whether is important to know the content-creators at a basic human level. At times, a creator's personal history might seem irrelevant and yet, it is a tool that helps all digital-consumers to understand the foundations of the content being consumed.

Soon after the publication of my first blog-post titled “Why I Do Art”, I realized that I did not include a formal self-introduction, leaving some folks within my audience wondering, who is this artist?

On this second blog-post, I’ll take the time to tell you a bit about myself, so that you know who I am, and get a deeper understanding and appreciation for my art practice.

Now, afford me the opportunity to introduce myself…

My personal history starts with Generation X: I was born right before President Jimmy Carter decided to postpone the production of the neutron bomb, while Bob Marley was uniting two opposing political leaders at his “The One Love & Peace Concert”, and Venezuela celebrated its 20 years of democracy with presidential elections, where one of the candidates won the election with his slogan, “Where is the money?”

Such were the times around my birth.

The artist at 8 months old.

It was in April of ’78, when I came into the world. I’m an Aries, born in the north-central Caribbean coast of Venezuela, and adopted and raised in the Washington DC metropolitan area from the age of 14, onwards.

I spent my adolescence in an average middle-class household in the D.C. suburbs, surrounded mostly, by the white-dominant culture of the time. It was the 90’s, during the Clinton years, and the federal budget enjoyed a surplus, with a soundtrack belonging to the grunge era. I spent those years unaware of the magnitude of the culture shock I was experiencing… It was during my 30s when I finally realized that my adjustment period to the cultural change, expanded two decades.

Dariana and her Gen Xers peers in the 90s. DC suburbs.

Before the age of 14, I was influenced immensely by the beauty of the Venezuelan-Caribbean culture: the sea and its creatures, as well as the “Cordillera de la Costa” and its flora and fauna… Toxic religious fervor, political turmoil, and familial disruptive dynamics, also had great influence on my childhood years. As a child, I was drawn to the exploration of fringe areas of society (esoteric spiritual syncretism, paranormal phenomena, etc), and held a very secretive desire to know the “why?” of things.

The artist in her home-state. Venezuela.

My intellectual development started outside of the formal academic setting, when I became involved with Literature (Jorge Luis Borges & Anais Nin), Art (Salvador Dali), Politics (the lived-experience of economic inflation) and later on, with THC (the re-discovery of nature and the senses) … This so-called intellectual development of mine is an ongoing process, and now, it takes place mainly through the exploration of myself.

The unfolding of Art in my life was subtle. It never crossed my mind as a child, as an adolescent, or as a young adult, that I wanted to be a professional artist, although people would ask me throughout my 20s, if I was an artist. It is apparent to me now, that throughout my earlier years, there were some people around me that realized that I was an artist, before I did.

Working in art & education during her 20s.

Throughout my life, I’ve always engaged with art at various degrees; but it was during my early to mid-thirties, when I had the realization that all I wanted to do, was to paint for the rest of my life… It was then, when Art cracked my world wide open. And so I made the decision to enter the professional field of the Visual Arts, regardless of having a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy.

I did not engage in any type of research, nor attended any type of informational sessions, and there were definitely no meetings with other artists, in order to gather data regarding the art market, or the professional art field.

And here I am, telling you about it.

Dariana and one of her wearable creations.

My introduction to Art started during my childhood in Venezuela, between the ages of 7-9. On-and-off I was enrolled in weekend art classes. My initial love for art started with my first art class, focusing on the use of vine charcoal and still-life drawing. To this day, this has been the most enjoyable art class that I’ve ever attended. My art teacher then, was a Venezuelan muralist named Fernando Sivira, whose beautiful murals of Venezuelan landscapes adorned the city of Maracay.

Still-life drawing, vine charcoal and graphite on paper. Dariana Arias.

After vine charcoal still-life drawing, came my introduction to landscape oil painting with Venezuelan muralist, Edmundo Alvarado, an artist, muralist and art educator, well-known throughout the state of Aragua. I was around 9-11 years old.

The rest was up to my creativity, and few elective courses taken throughout my formal academic training, during my university years.

My creative expression finds its outlet through the visual arts: digital and analog. I find myself exploring different styles of painting, and have become fond of geometric abstraction, naive art, automatism, and erotica, to name a few. I also find myself exploring themes that have to do with spirituality, consciousness, gender relations, and current social themes. I like mixing the media a bit, making use of graphite, color pencils, oil pastels, vine charcoal, acrylic paint, etc.

My time alone in the studio is one of my most cherished sacred spaces, and is characterized by peacefulness and inner harmony.

When I paint, time stands still.

Art is a vital part of my daily life, not only as my professional career, but also as a self-healing technique and stress-relief activity.

What else can I say about the importance of Art in my life, as well as other personal interests of mine?

Well, I guess I can finalize this brief personal introduction by telling you that Nature is my peaceful life-partner, and Art is my passionate lover.

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Thanks for reading, and for your interest in my art practice. I hope the above personal introduction gives you more insight into who I am, as well as better understanding of my art practice.

Feel free to share your own journey with art, in the comment section below. I envision this blog to be an online space, where creative-minded individuals can share ideas, inspiration and motivation.

Dariana Arias, Visual Artist.