We caught up with muralist Anto Otoya to learn more about her work before she headed home to Revelstoke after finishing her mural behind the Capitol Theatre in downtown Nelson.
Introduce yourself quickly to our readers!
My name is Antonia Otoya; I sign my work as Anto Otoya. I am a Colombian mural artist who relocated to BC about a year ago. I’ve been painting for… I think it’s almost over 15 years now? I paint a sort of realism, but I like to think of it as magical realism. It has real elements, but not always in the context of reality.
Can you tell us a bit about the piece you created for the festival?
The mural I created for the festival is called “Maria y las mariposas amarillas”, which means Maria and the yellow butterflies. It’s a portrait of Maria, who is my partner. In Colombia, the yellow butterflies symbolize hope and love. So, it’s playing on the symbolism of the yellow butterflies. And the way she’s looking, it’s like us being hopeful for a future here in Canada. As migrants, which we are now, adapting to a different culture is a process and you are always learning. You want to be hopeful, to know that when situations are hard at first, things are going to keep improving. You just have to keep going and things are going to get better.
Has she seen the mural yet?
Yes, she came to see it yesterday and she was very happy. She’s super shy—when I was like “Can I take a photo?” she said “No.” (Antonia laughs). I snuck a fast one without her noticing, but she’s very shy. I’m impressed that she let me paint her.
And you had an assistant helping you on this mural as well, right?
Yes, my son was my assistant. It was his first time being my assistant. He used to come painting with me years ago when he was little. When he was around 5 or 6, he used to hang with me when I was painting, but then school and things didn’t allow him to do it anymore. Having this opportunity was great because he was off school and wasn’t working at the moment. It was a great bonding opportunity and a chance for him to learn a skill. I’m super grateful that everything worked out and that he could come with me.
Where else do you have murals that people can go view?
In Canada, right now I have three murals in Revelstoke, one at the thrift store, one at the restaurant where I work, and one at the visual arts centre in the back. But I’m adding another one this weekend! We are doing a mural workshop, and as a part of it, we will create a mural with the students.
I have a lot of murals in Colombia; most of them are in Cali, which is the city that I come from. There are three big murals and there’s also a bunch scattered around the city. I also have murals in Bogotá, Popayán, San Andrés, and Santa Marta—lots of different cities in Colombia. But most of my work is in Cali; where I’m from and where I’ve been painting the whole time.
And I’m sure more to come!
Yes, hopefully lots more to come!
Where do you find your inspiration?
It varies a lot! I love realism and I love nature. The things I paint the most are nature and portraits. Nature is everywhere, so inspiration comes from everywhere. I always have my phone with me, and I’m always taking pictures “Look at this flower! Look at this, look at this!” for references. Portraits are always more personal. Like this mural; I’m new to Canada and I’m new to Nelson. I didn’t want to try to do something that was from your culture without having the knowledge; I don’t think that’s right. It wasn’t set up where I would come here and meet people first and then paint. With that process, you create something thinking about the environment and the people who are there. So, it’s either something really personal, like this one, or something to do with the community.
One of the other portrait murals I’ve done is of a friend who is a great drag queen from Cali and it was to raise awareness. Colombia is very religious and homophobic, so this piece was trying to bridge that gap through visibility and representation. It makes people at least accustomed to other types of people around, and that’s the first step, acknowledging that there are different kinds of people.
Inspiration varies so much; it depends on where you are and what you are doing in the moment.
Do you have a playlist while you are working?
No, I listen to podcasts! While working on this one, I listened to a podcast about a scammer. Lately, I’ve been listening to podcasts about scammers. When I’m listening, I’m not paying that much attention. I just like the noise of people talking.
Did you have any memorable moments while you were painting this mural? Other than the worksite accident across the street?
The worksite accident, the little dead bat, and my son accidentally painted over an area which I meant to keep unpainted. That was the biggest mishap that we had to fix; we used some glue and some dirt. And it worked!
Apart from that, it’s been a super chill mural. I enjoyed it a lot, the space was great, not too much sun, and the neighbours were great. The people at the Capitol Theatre were super nice. No more anecdotes… Oh, but the face gave me quite a lot of trouble. I did what I call “plastic surgery”. I extended an eye, narrowed the nose, and then changed the skin colour, all when I thought I was done. Like, “Ok, the face is done’ and then I walked and looked from afar, and thought “Oh, no. It’s not done.” (Antonia laughs)
But it’s normal. It’s part of the process. Every piece has an ugly stage. When you paint there’s always a moment where you are like “I screwed up”.
Did you develop any favourite spots around town?
Oso Negro is great; it’s so close. I’ve been almost every day. In general, I think the restaurants here are great. Thank you for all the presents (the gift cards from sponsors) we used all of them! Oh, and I discovered Wait’s, the diner? It’s SO good.
Do you have any advice for artists thinking about starting their first large-scale piece?
Plan. Don’t leave anything to chance. I try to plan everything. I am very organized before I start painting. When I do the sketch, I always have my colour palette and I know what I need. I think it makes it easier because when it’s a big wall, it’s going to take you more time to solve problems. If you don’t have the colours you need, you will have to mix so much paint and then you waste paint, and you waste time. Try to plan ahead and be patient.
Remember you are seeing things from very close, and people are going to see them from very far away. You don’t have to waste a lot of time in very little details (I say this, and I love details) but this wall for the festival is one you can walk up to and see close. If the mural is up high, no one is going to notice the tiny details.
Anything else to add?
I hope to keep doing it and to keep going! I very much look forward to being a full-time artist again. It’s not what I can do right now because of visa things. I love public art and that it’s out here for everyone to enjoy or to hate. (Antonia laughs). I hope to be able to keep doing it.
Interviewer – Ingrid Love, 2024