Daily Inspiration: Meet Chrissy Espinoza

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Espinoza

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
From an early age, I felt as though creativity chose me. Art has always been an integral part of my life, starting with drawing and painting during high school. My focus shifted in college, where I studied 2D Animation and explored new ways to bring my ideas to life. Despite my passion for creating, I hesitated to pursue art as a career. I wanted to preserve the authenticity of my vision, free from the constraints of corporate demands or external expectations. For me, creativity has always been a deeply personal and organic process—one I never wanted to force or compromise.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road but I am proud of not giving up on creating and making art. It’s not always been an easy road and sadly the art world can be challenging to navigate with many restrictions and stipulations on what “they” consider to be a successful artist. I am where I am today because I never gave up and kept creating. I continued to submit my work to open calls and surrounded myself with art, films, books, and other artists. One of the most important lessons I learned is to stop comparing myself to other artists and society’s idea of a successful artist. When you start making art solely for recognition, it can change your art practice. While recognition is nice, it should not be the sole purpose of why you create art. Some of my favorite artists and musicians didn’t even consider themselves artists and created for themselves.

Although there were months when I didn’t feel inspired enough to create, I found my motivation somehow when I gave myself the grace to be ok to take a creative break. At times, I felt like giving up, but some kind of force inside me always pushed me to keep creating.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work primarily with photography, video, and animation. I create surreal subjects and environments for my photoshoots. Usually, there is only one person or deity in my photos, and most of my concept’s stem from my imagination and me wanting to evoke an intense emotion in the viewer. Most of my photos are taken on my road trip travels, where I research a town, a place, a motel in an unusual setting. I think what sets me apart is that I’ve managed to keep my childlike imagination alive throughout my adult life. Unfortunately, many people seem to lose their imagination as they grow older.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
What is success really? Some characteristics that are important are honesty, caring for others, and being a good human to others and to the planet. So many successful people are greedy, narcissistic, selfish, and the list goes on and on so on that level, I don’t want to be successful by stepping on people to get what I want.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chrissyespinoza.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrissymode/#
• Other: https://vimeo.com/chrissyespinoza

Image Credits:
Chrissy Espinoza