Meet Marisol Bonet | Revealism Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marisol Bonet and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marisol, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I was just three years old, my kindergarten teacher leaned over and asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. Instinctively, I still remember it vividly, I announced “:I’m going to be an artist!”. Looking back I find it amazing that, for some people, we have such a strong sense of destiny from a very young age. I grew up always drawing, with sketchpads in my hand and thinking I would one day become a fashion designer. I was voted “class artist” in high school and just fell in love with painting. I went to art school for 3years and then had a near death experience that changed my entire life. I left school in my 3rd year and served in a local church for more than 20 years. In 2016, our family moved to West Virginia to join some friends and serve in a church again, but this time I was asked to paint. Over and over people asked me to pursue my painting again. I did and it quickly became a paint and coffee event where I hosted a large group every month. Our family moved again to Virginia Beach and this time I sought a house with a space for a studio where I could begin teaching art to students. Soon, I was teaching and my classes were growing. I taught adults, teens and even taught art to special needs youth. I began to receive commissions to design book covers and paint custom pieces. Ever since, my work has quickly gained traction within our local community and I now have painted live at conferences, I regularly sell fine art prints and reproductions and receive commission projects and just hired my first employee in the studio!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
How I got to where I am today: I went to 3 art schools and ended up in NYC at the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1995. It was a dream come true to be accepted. I was doing everything I thought I wanted, and yet, I was so lost and broken and struggling with an eating disorder. I was holding on by a thread when I had a near death experience that changed my life. God found me. It was completely supernatural and I was healed of everything. I left school to go serve in a church in my hometown in CT. I worked in administration and marketing for many years (20+) and took every opportunity to use my overflowing creativity. During my years of being a stay at home mom, I tried several creative businesses ranging from children’s room design and fairytale portraits, to cupcakes, to finally in 2019 opening my small studio in Norfolk, VA and offering private painting lessons and events for adult, teens and special needs students.

I grew up hearing that all artists could either teach or go into graphic design as an option since painters never “made it” and at least you’d get paid on a regular basis. I did it. I worked for many years on websites, marketing, print and digital design, etc. This was rewarding, but I could never shake the burning desire to paint. In 2016, after overcoming a very challenging season for my family, I began to invest serious time in my painting again. It became a time of unearthing an ability that I didn’t know I had – spiritual sight. I always just assumed that when people closed their eyes they could see things, sometimes things that revealed profound truths. This was so normal to me that I never paid attention to it – until a friend told me that this wasn’t normal for everyone. This made me think more deeply about it so I began to pay close attention. One day I decided to paint a small piece of the image I saw in my mind when I was praying. It was a glass bowl being held up by two hands and a phrase came to me “How much can you contain?”. I shared the story and the painting and people’s reaction to it was strong. They felt it was speaking to them on a spiritual level. I was amazed and decided to keep going. The process of working out the images onto canvas accurately was laborious but so worth it. I realized that God was showing me things that would impact people – this was everything. I felt a calling to dedicate my paintings to what God would want me to share with the world and I’ve been doing that ever since. I have so many stories I could share that are even more profound – it has been an amazing process and I could honestly say that “success” is measured by these God-moments when someone is profoundly moved by the impartation of a piece. With that being my measure, success has come through my faithfulness to share what God has shared with me. Doing this has brought me opportunities to share my art and the stories with greater audiences.

Learning the business of art has definitely been an entirely different experience. I think we now have so many avenues to learn and refine our creative skills, especially through social media and YouTube, but building an art business is a different experience. For me, I found it especially helpful to join a private group for creatives where I could ask all of the practical questions about pricing, packaging, shipping, copyright, etc. It is a tremendous amount of work initially to get all of these details sorted out. I’m grateful that I’ve worked as an executive assistant for many years, this has definitely helped me with the administrative work of business. It took a few years, but I now have systems in place that work for me. I would encourage anyone to keep pressing forward and remember that every day you don’t give up – you are one step closer to the day you stop and exhale and realize you are actually running your own business. It’s an incredibly rewarding moment.

I’ve learned, and am still learning, so many lessons along the way. One being to always invest in others are you begin to advance. I make a point of trying to share my experiences, connections, resources with others who are working toward a creative pursuit. I truly believe that what I invest will come back to me, “what you sow, you will reap”. It’s such a beautiful process to create a cycle of blessing by being a blessing. I’d like to think I’ve helped some of the young aspiring creatives around me, if even in a small way.

What would I want the world to know about my brand and story? Well, I would love for the world to know that God wants to connect with us, so deeply, as individuals. My brand is merely an expression of things revealed to bring hope and life through beauty, quality, excellence, mystery and the depths of spiritual truths. I hope to compel the human hear to seek for more. There is always more.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m not sure if this question is specifically for Colorado but, if not, here in Virginia Beach we are in such a great location to experience such a beautiful diversity of places! My itinerary would include a trip the Back Bay Wildlife Sanctuary – I love the quiet beauty of this place. You get both a lake and trails and then a short walk to a gorgeous, undisturbed beach. A bike ride here is a requirement. I would then absolutely recommend a visit to the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Virginia Beach oceanfront, and lastly, a day trip to Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. You may need 2-3 days trips! This area is full of history, great shops and restaurants and lovely colonial architecture. .

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am so grateful to the strong men and women God has used in different seasons of my life to give me the courage to pursue my art: the Woods for an excellent work ethic, the Kirkland’s and the amazing Jen for believing I had a true gift, Esther for telling me to go professional and my wonderful husband and children for being my greatest cheerleaders.

Website: marisolbonetart.com

Instagram: @marisolbonetart

Facebook: @marisolbonetart

Youtube: @marisolbonetart