Meet Maria Vallese | Illustrator & Artist

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

Hi Maria, why did you pursue a creative career?
I don’t think I ever didn’t believe I was going to choose some sort of creative career, even as a kid. I was always told I was smart enough to choose any career – which at times lead to well-intentioned people trying to talk me out of going down the creative path. Even with my abilities in math, science and literary studies, creating was and remains the biggest and most rewarding challenge for me.

The path that lead me to actually owning and running my small business as a career was not straight forward or easy. Unlike many people in the industry, I did not have the luck of finding a job at an agency after college at Rochester Institute of Technology. Instead, I ended up working the same retail jobs that had gotten me through high school and college, eventually falling into the floral design industry where I worked for 9 years.

While I was working these retail jobs, I was always hustling my art on the side. I vended at art and craft shows regionally, hung my work at bars and restaurants, and created work for local businesses, musicians, non-profit groups and more. The advantage of having a job in floral design for most of this was being able to exercise my creative muscles in a different way, while still being able to support myself until my creative business took off.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My illustration work has always been a reflection of what I connect deeply with. I truly feel that if you create what you want to see, others will find meaning in it as well – and that is a lesson every artist needs to learn. I pride myself in having an eye for bright, saturated colors, as well as a style that brings people a sense of sentimentality, nostalgia, and happiness.

My art tended to be more on the realistic side throughout high school and my early college years – which became a challenge under the time constraints of college and the illustration world. While in college I began experimenting with different mediums and subject matter, while still struggling to figure out who I was and what I wanted to express.

I had always loved portrait work, which lead me to a lot of caricature work though out college and afterwards. It wasn’t until I had been out of college for a few years that I really was able to reflect on what I loved to make. I began painting locations, buildings, landscapes and graphics – all with a color saturated pallet, purposeful distortion and what I like to call a “groovy” aesthetic. After a year or so out of college, I branded myself as Retro Sorrento (a combination of a high school nick name and my love for all things mid-century), which allowed me to feel more free in my creativity.

After feeling more solid on my feet with my work, while still working my retail jobs, I began to show my work to the world more. Craft shows were one of the best ways I found to network. People got to see how passionate I was about my work at a very approachable level. This wasn’t portfolio presentation, a gallery show or an interview – it was me, as my most authentic self, showing you what I made last week. Eventually, because of my vending events, my illustrations began landing in the right hands and I began to receive commission proposals, including for jobs with Saranac Brewery, Utica Coffee Roasting, and even Annie’s Homegrown.

In 2018 I was able to quit my then part-time floral design job to pursue my business, Retro Sorrento, as my solo full-time career. I will say that I probably could have done this a few years earlier, but it was a very intimidating decision to make!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always love to give people a tour of our little city, Utica, NY! Whenever someone visits from out of town, I love to take them to all my favorite places. A different coffee shop every morning would be a must, followed by time spent visiting local museums, galleries, and public art. We’d spend time shopping at all my favorite stores, owned by my favorite people – many of which might sell my stickers and prints. Even all these years in, it’s still a thrill to see my work in a store, on a grocery store shelf, and on my friends walls. If it’s a friend visiting from far away, day trips to nearby Syracuse NY and the Adirondack park would also be a must. I sell my work at a great shop in Syracuse called Wildflowers, and I love to show off the great artistic community there, the amazing makers, and what a creative community can look like.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My dear friend Juli Webster of the Mustard Seed in Little Falls, NY deserves so much recognition in supporting me as an artist, creative, businesswoman and friend. Not only is Juli a fantastic business owner herself, running her herbal goods business for 30 years with her Mom, she is the first person to give you a pep talk, smile and a snack to keep you going! I met Juli at a craft show we were both vending at, after being a semi-regular customer in her shop as soon as I had my own car. Since we met, she’s not only hired me to create branding for the many facets of her business, but she has listened to my crazy ideas, fears as a self-employed person, encouraged my expansion and everything in between. She even got up on a lift with me when I was having a severe bout of anxiety during a mural job! Juli is what we should all strive to be as creatives and business owners.

Website: http://www.retrosorrento.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrosorrento/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariavallese

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RetroSorrento/

Image Credits
Beer for Saranac Brewery, Bag of coffee for Utica Coffee Roasting, mural for Players of Utica.