Artist Interview:

Brittyana Pierro

Ruka Verbena is a local portrait artist based in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Though Verbena is originally from San Bernardino, CA, they have blessed the Pacific Northwest with their presence for the last five years.

Verbena’s portrait style can be classified as abstract linework. It took time to develop their particular form, starting as somewhat of a cartoonist, and then eventually coming into their current art style.

The artist is currently in the middle of a portrait special in honor of Black History Month. Each portrait is only $14.14. This venture has been one of their most successful, with over 30 people commissioning portraits only in the first two weeks of February.

“It’s going amazing. I’m actually surprised at how well it’s going. It finally has rhythm. I don’t feel unsure about whether or not it’s gonna carry. It feels so solid now. I feel very established as an artist in this place.”

Verbena’s own identity as a Black person in a predominantly white area of the country is complex, and a big part of their inspiration. They shared how wanting to be accepted by their white peers made them avoid focusing on Black identity and features in the art.

“I wouldn’t even draw hair on a lot of my figures, because I didn’t want that attachment. I was like, ‘I want everybody to be able to connect to it.’ But now I feel like that disconnected me from it.”

This led to a breakthrough for the artist. As they said, “I need to use this challenge, and accept my blackness, and stand and honor it. And that’s what I’ve been practicing doing, trying to incorporate it into my art.”

Verbena continued, “I feel like [my art] reflects who I am. And without reflecting Black culture into it, it felt like it was missing something. So, now that I’ve been aware of that, the art that I’ve been creating more recently is changing. And it’s feeling more whole.”

They are re-focused on their own desires for the art, instead of worrying about others’ perceptions: “I’m not solely thinking about everyone else, and how everyone else is gonna like it. That’s inspiring me to incorporate things that I like. Stuff that I admire. Certain textures that I admire. Afro hair, crystals, plants.”

With this internal inspiration in timing with Black History Month, Verbena has chosen to encourage other artists’ success by using their platform as a way to engage and support the wider Black artist community.

“I wanted to draw more Black people, and that was just kinda like the intention. Just to also influence people to support [Black] artists more. The platform that I already have also [benefits] my other artist friends who are black artists as well. People who have bought from me, they also go and support them, creating that chain and getting everybody supported and seen like we deserve to be.”

One of the art pieces they did recently was a portrait of two Yoruba Women, and also happens to be the piece that inspired them to do a Black History Month feature. This piece is featured as the cover art for this issue of the Journal.

“I was in the process of changing my explore page on Instagram because I noticed that it was like really white. And so I just went into this rabbit hole of looking at a bunch of African women. All the hair and the textures and all the textiles. I was just feeling inspired,” Verbena said.

Recently, Verbena traveled back to their home state for a few months to do an internship with an LA-based graffiti artist.

“Our focus was painting murals,” Verbena explained. “I got all this art knowledge from my mentor, Robert Gomez. He’s a really cool guy. He goes by Dytch.”

Gomez and Verbena traveled the Los Angeles area painting murals for Gomez’s customers. Burbank and Hollywood were the two cities that got the most attention from the pair, as they spray painted everything from schools to businesses. The two even managed to grace the side of Capitol Records with a mural in tribute to Paul Mccartney.

Gomez started his career in Venice Beach, where his family has been since the 1950’s. He considers himself a product of his hometown, influenced by “all the creativity and diversity” of Venice, as he said in an interview with Gabba Gallery. Dytch can be found on Instragram @Dytch66.

Verbena says the internship experience with Gomez above all taught them about keeping up business and building relationships with art buyers. “It’s not necessarily about how many people, it’s about having loyal people, who keep coming back.”

The relationships Verbena has fostered through their portrait commissions and social media have given the artist a supportive following.

“With the portraits, I’ve been doing it for a while. And every time I bring them back I change the style, so they’re all kinda different,” said Verbena. “I have other artists who just continue to support my portraits every time I bring them back, even if they’ve already been drawn before. They see that the style is slightly different, or they see that I’m doing it for Black History Month, and they come back and they’re like ‘we support you’.”

Aside from being an artist, Verbena has dreams of being a botanist and opening up an herbalist wellness center for QTPOC, mothers, and other community members in need.
“My dream is to have a safe space, a home. Where queer people of color, mothers of color, can come for counseling. My little dream. It’s still blossoming, it’s still blooming.”