I would like to introduce you to Amber Vittoria, an NYC based artist challenging conventions about the “ideal” female figure, drawing parallels to a vital topic in today’s society. Inspired by the perspectives on women she portrays colorful, engaging and thought-provoking ideas through her mixed-media artworks. You may be familiar with her work as she has collaborated with an array of fashion brands and publications such as Vogue, Gucci, Adidas, and Man Repeller.
The Knockturnal: When did you start illustrating? Where do you derive your inspiration from?
Amber Vittoria: My brother and I would color and draw from a young age. Over time, my parents noticed how much we loved to make drawings and fill sketchbooks, they asked if we wanted to enroll in art classes outside of school. Eventually, my brother fell into loving science, but I continued to love making art. As I grew older, I realized it was one of the few things I enjoyed, regardless of the final outcome. I decided to pursue art in college and continue practicing into adulthood.
My work is airy, colorful, and powerful with heavy conceptual roots in femininity, physical identity, and nature. The ‘ideal physical female’ is something my artwork aims to break. Because of this, several of my pieces focus on femininity and the female form, leveraging physical traits such as body hair, overtly extended limbs, and rounded features. In regards to inspiration, women I pass by in the city and while traveling is the source.
The Knockturnal: You have established an incredible clientele – how did these relationships come about?
Amber Vittoria: To land projects with such incredible people, it is a combination of luck and consistent outreach.
The Knockturnal: What was it like to collaborate with brands like Gucci and Adidas?
Amber Vittoria: I’ve been fortunate enough to work with brands and publications that have a similar ethos, point of view, and story to tell. Because of this, many of my commissioned pieces seamlessly blend with my personal ones.
The Knockturnal: How was it taking the plunge into freelance?
Amber Vittoria: In short, I was incredibly fortunate to have the support of my family and move home after graduating college. From there, I worked full time as a web designer, moved into the city, and held a few other great full-time jobs while freelancing on nights and weekends. After 5-6 years from graduation, I took the leap into freelancing full time.
The Knockturnal: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had in recent years?
Amber Vittoria: Adjusting to working for myself is such a wonderful challenge; basic changes such as working from home, creating my own schedule, have been adjustments that took a bit of time to find their flow.
The Knockturnal: What is the greatest achievement you’ve had so far?
Amber Vittoria: The ability to trust in myself fully.
The Knockturnal: What is your best piece of advice for our readers who would love to follow in your path?
Amber Vittoria: I was very fortunate that my family could financially and emotionally support me when I first graduated college; I moved home for a year, and my parents were able to help me pay for majority of my schooling. I like to be transparent about this privilege, as it enabled me to save, take time to find full-time jobs that could support me as I freelanced on the side, which then enabled me to stably go freelance full-time.
It’s difficult to give out blanket advice for supporting oneself on their art, but my path involved holding several full-time design jobs as I illustrated on nights and weekends; this allowed me the ability to save as best I could, slowly grow a client list, and get my freelance/full-time balance to the point where I felt the most confident about taking the jump to self-employment.
The Knockturnal: Do you have any future projects coming up that we can look forward to?
Amber Vittoria: A few fun collaborations with brands I love for social media!
Follow Amber’s work here: www.ambervittoria.com
