Claudia “Clo” Echeverría: The talented artist who empowers and shows freedom in her art

Clo Artist

My name is Claudia Echeverria, but I'm better known as “Clo” in the art world. I'm the mother of two big boys. I've worked as a TV producer, but my true vocation and passion is painting. My works are an invitation to take responsibility for our life, actions and reactions. And above all, of how we present ourselves to the world.

From a young age, many people have managed to become who they always wanted to be. For me, this wasn't the case. I had always wanted to be a TV producer, and so that's what I studied in university. Nonetheless, while working as a TV producer, I began to realize that it wasn't what I wanted. So, I took a year to travel around the world and, in doing so, discovered my true passion. Before that, I painted occasionally… more as a hobby than anything. But on my trip, I dedicated 4 months solely to painting. And I havn’t stopped since. My calling for art hasn't wavered, but what sometimes does, is what type of artist I want to be.

As you go through life, you realize that you're a completely different person in the different stages of your journey. If you look back, you'll be amazed at how different you were. Regarding art, I'm still painting with the same style, with the same colors and big format. But emotionally, I've been getting to know myself better, especially in regards with my essence. When you're starting to develop your own artistic voice, it's important to be honest and transparent. To show who you really are, and that's not possible without really knowing yourself.

Clo exhibiting

In that process, some obstacles you face are external, and plenty of those promote personal growth. But the vast majority of challenges are internal, and those are the most relevant since they show what you gotta work on. This work done on yourself isn't done alone, I've been open to do that work with the support of the people around me. I feel that all human beings are here to help one another, and while I can help plenty of people with my advice at the same time, I can also learn a lot from them.

When I'm faced with the future I always try to keep my plans open, because I feel that there's no space left for magic when you are in a tight too well-defined schema. As a general rule, I don’t propose specific objectives to achieve, instead I visualize a dream that I wanna project myself into. The small goals are the ones who help you materialize your dream. Eventually it comes the time when I sit to make clear objectives that help me get closer to the big aspirations. Right now, I'm excited about a project that I'll be working on while at an artistic residence on Wall Street, New York. This residence will give me the opportunity to show off my work and open doors to unknown horizons.

One of the things I like most about being an artist is, having the capability of playing with the same liberty with which I carve my path in life. What I found most delightful is the ability that I have of doing as I please when I'm in front of the canvas, there's really not a wrong way of doing it. What I paint it’s what’s on my head, and since it’s a product of my own creation, you can’t really compare it to anything else. For that reason, what I hope to transmit through my work, it’s essentially this sense of freedom. Art tends to hold many interpretations, so what I hope is that through the ambiguity of my art that both my and others interpretations are equally valid.

One of the things I like most about being an artist is, having the capability of playing with the same liberty with which I carve my path in life.

Besides, the ability of painting what I paint while having the liberty of doing it how I do it, I wanna highlight that it isn’t just my effort. I’m doing it for all the women in the world, because not all of them have the luxury to do what they really want to do. So in big strokes, I feel that what I do with my art is a mission. It’s a commitment and sense of responsibility that I have as a woman to express myself, to talk through color and show the less congruent points of view. In this way, I feel that I’m helping to showcase the current talent and helping the young artists that are going to be there after me.

What I do with my art is a mission. It’s a commitment and sense of responsibility that I have as a woman to express myself

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Written originally in Spanish by: David Garzón

Translated by: Carlos Felipe del Real Reyes

Edited by: Laura Mejia & Andrea Chaves Uploaded originally in Spanish by: Andrea Chaves

Uploaded in English by: Tatiana Suaza V.