Virmarie DePoyster moved to Arkansas from Puerto Rico when she was a teenager. Her experiences growing up in Puerto Rico and later in El Dorado, Arkansas, continue to influence and shape her artistic direction, especially evident in her latest series of portraits called Beyond Labels. Her colorful portraits are welcoming and celebrate the individuality of the sitter (two-legged and four-legged). Virmarie is represented by Art Group Gallery in Little Rock and Justus Fine Art Gallery in Hot Springs. Her work can also be viewed at her website virmarie.com.

AAS: I believe you are a native Puerto Rican? When did you come to Arkansas and why?

VDeP: Yes, I was born in Puerto Rico and lived there until I was 15. I was raised in a very religious, strict household that banned all mass media. So from a young age, I was comfortable entertaining myself by taking care of the chicken coop, playing games, and creating. We were labeled “the odd religious family.” This is when my artistic journey began and what influenced my latest body of work.
In 1983, my parents separated. A family friend encouraged my mom to make a fresh start in El Dorado, Arkansas -- the most unlikely of places -- and offered us a room to stay in their home. It was an extremely hard year; mom didn’t find a job teaching so we had to go on food stamps, and to top it all off we had to teach ourselves English. Kids in school would ask me for my green card, and joked that I swam here from Puerto Rico. I’ve never been one to like a lot of attention, so I kept my head down, did my work, and always had my dictionary with me to translate. I’d moved thousands of miles away, and yet I still felt just as odd as I had growing up. Here I was “the immigrant girl with a dictionary.” Thankfully, as time passed, we met the most amazing people through church and around town who graciously took us under their wings and nurtured us with clothes, food, and Christmas presents.
As it happens, a retired businessman and Hendrix college alumni asked the principal of our school if there were any families in town that needed help. He had been so fortunate in his life, and wanted to give back. He also fully believed that the way out of poverty was through education. So, our principal gave him mom’s number and he made it possible for my sisters and I to go to college. He became a wonderful friend and mentor to our family, and even gave me away at my wedding.

“Here I was ‘the immigrant girl with a dictionary.’”

AAS: You earned a degree in Apparel Design and Merchandising from the University of Arkansas, how has that influenced your art?

VDeP: Looking back, I have always been a “maker” and many of my choices have been driven by my need to share stories and express myself creatively. In college, I could not decide what to major in, so I took tons of college classes and stumbled upon textiles. I fell in love with the bright colors and textures of the fabrics because they reminded me of home. Then, I was “the girl with a sewing machine in her dorm room.”

AAS:  You have been very involved throughout the State using art as a therapeutic tool for children and adults. Would you talk about those programs?

 VDeP: For many years, the Arkansas Arts Council has advanced and empowered the arts in Arkansas. I am an Artist in Residency with the Arkansas Arts Council’s Arts In Education Program (AIE). Local schools and community nonprofit organizations can sponsor a teaching artist to demonstrate their discipline and link their art form to the curriculum.
In 2012, Community Services Inc. approached me to collaborate with therapists to create an art program for at-risk youth at Day Treatment Programs in rural Arkansas. I developed a curriculum using trust building exercises to promote open and healthy discussion with clients. We asked them to draw, paint, and create as a way to non-verbally express their emotions.
Then, in 2016, I was able to start a similar program at a local behavioral hospital. For two years, I worked closely with children and adults in an inpatient setting. I connected with clients by sharing my personal struggles and how I use art to overcome anxiety and obstacles. Soon, I became “the art teacher lady.” This work was by far the most rewarding I have ever done and I hope to partner with another facility someday.

“My work connects my past with my present and gives me a visual voice.”

AAS: What other programs have you been involved with?

VDeP: In 2019 I developed and taught a two-week in-school residency for middle school students in Van Buren, Arkansas to celebrate Spanish Heritage Month (sponsored by the Center for Art and Education.) The program explored immigration and its effects on American history in a variety of ways. Students first analyzed 19th century political cartoons, then painted a mural celebrating the lives of Hispanic heroes, and finally made self-portraits to exhibit during parent teacher conferences.
The very first day of my residency, I was reminded there is still much work to be done to bridge the cultural divide and achieve acceptance for all races. I arrived that Monday morning to the warmest of welcome by the school principal. She gently pulled me aside and explained that one of my students came from a strong anti-Latino family, but assured me that he would be on his best behavior during my two weeks there. I was stunned and replied: “But I’m an American, I am a nice person; I was just born in a different place and have an accent.” At that moment, I was painfully aware that some people saw me as “the alien.”
Once the initial shock wore off, I made it my mission to befriend him and show him that Spanish people are just like everyone else --and I’m happy to report, he cheerfully waved goodbye to me on my last day. This residency highlighted my migration story, heritage, and my love for art as well as instilled compassion and kindness for people from other countries.

AAS: Let’s talk first about some of your beautiful pastel portraits.

VDeP: My latest series was inspired by a single email from a local exhibition curator two years ago. She wrote at length about me being a person of color and used the acronym “POC.” I had not heard that term before and had no idea what POC meant or what she was talking about. So I Googled it and learned that I was a “Person of Color.”
Another label. I had spent most of my life trying to shed the words and labels others used to describe me, and here I was in 2018, with more identities than ever. After much consideration, I came to realize that labels have the power to either divide or connect us.
I then began to wonder about others’ experiences with labeling, and enlisted both friends and strangers to model and interview for a portrait. I asked each person to bring an item or embody a persona that illustrated how they saw themselves. During each visit, we explored issues of identity and connection surrounding the labels that had affected all of our lives.
These pastel portraits aim to illustrate how labels can be overcome through self-acceptance and openness. My hope is to inspire an appreciation for one another’s unique identities, so we may learn to look beyond labels and truly see one another.

“After much consideration, I came to realize that labels have the power to either divide or connect us.”

AAS: One of my favorites is Kendle. The color palette is simple as in most of your portraits and maybe that is why I just want to get to know the person in each of your portraits.

VDeP: Kendle caught my eye at The Innovation Hub in North Little Rock when I took pottery classes there. She always wore a big smile and I wanted to know her story so I introduced myself and asked her to be a part of the series. During the interview process, Kendle shared that people often label her as unapproachable and she didn’t understand why. This inspired me to choose an icy blue as the foundation for the composition and palette of her portrait. I made a point to also include a juxtaposing happy blue, to reflect her bubbly, curious, outgoing personality. I want viewers to feel the push and pull of her exterior expression vs. her internal feelings.
For the portrait of Meikel, who you can read about at my website [and at the AAS blog], I chose the tone and color on his paper because during our interview I asked him his favorite color. He said “the green of my mother’s house.” So I chose a green I felt that complements his red undertones.

AAS: One I find so lovely is Dorothy. Was that a commissioned piece?

VDeP: So wonderful to hear you like that one. Mrs. Dorothy will be 94 this year. She is a dear family friend, and sort of a grandmother to us. I’ve always admired her fighting spirit and wondered at her age how she was labeled, so I asked her to sit for me. I feel so thankful to have been able to capture the depth and character of such a wise, energetic friend.
Her portrait was not a commission. I do take commissions, but these portraits were specifically created for my "Beyond Labels" solo exhibition, which was scheduled to open April 2020, but due to COVID-19 was never seen. This series includes 18 paintings; only 1 was a commission, and I am painting more as we speak.

AAS: I do think your portraits of people are wonderful, but your portraits of dogs are spectacular. I cannot help but smile when I look at them. And I love the backgrounds! -especially Carl – it is just so charming. What got you started making portraits of dogs?

VDeP: The dog portraits were created in reaction to the events following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. My family there had been without electricity for 5 months and I was feeling hopeless and depressed. I started seeing a therapist and my first assignment was to go home, seek out joy, and then paint what I found. For two weeks, I looked around for joy and couldn’t find it. Then one day, our dog Jake made me belly laugh out of the blue, and immediately decided to paint him. Every time I walked by the finished painting it would make me smile. I started the series of dog paintings to further explore the healing, comforting effects animals have in moments of tragedy and uncertainty. The drawings in the background are means to further help tell their stories in a playful, graphic way.
I actually discovered Carl one day on Instagram, and she made me laugh like Jake had. Looking at her graceful poses, I found myself wondering what she was thinking. Her tiny stature, light golden fur, and couture sweaters made her look like a star! I later learned that she had been found confidently strolling out of the woods to greet students on a field trip. The kids fell in love with her, named her Carl, and begged their teacher to take her in -- which she did. Carl aged gracefully without complaint, even though she lost all her teeth and struggled daily to stay warm (hence the sweaters).
I was so delighted when Carl was selected for the 61st Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. It was a much-needed reassurance that I was headed in the right direction as a visual storyteller. The show's juror told me afterwards how much he loved my use of drawings in the background to further tell her story -- mission accomplished!

AAS: So, you work in both acrylic and pastel. Do you have a preference, or do you decide on which to use based on the type of work you will be creating?

VDeP: Pastel was my first love. I love its immediacy and the spontaneity it allows. But, like all great things, it has its challenges. It can be an overwhelming medium to store, expensive to frame, and finicky to ship.
Acrylic allows for blending and can be applied in more layers but dries quickly. Also, acrylic dries darker than originally mixed so I have to account for that when working.
My studio often feels like a lab where I’m always experimenting, and coming up with creative alternatives to older techniques. I’ve recently started trying to figure out how to apply acrylic so that it looks like pastel, and am still working to refine my approach. So, I often switch from one medium to the other, or incorporate both depending on my mood!

AAS: You also have some striking abstract done in both acrylic and pastel. Have you always painted abstracts? What inspires your abstracts?

 VDeP: I have always been fascinated by complex abstract forms, repetition of patterns, and organic shapes. My abstracts are inspired by my love for mark making, and experimentation with shape and line. During COVID, I have been working on a series called “Holding Space” as a way to process my feelings in the midst of such instability, uncertainty, and fear. These paintings are meant to hold space for myself as I search how to find connection, hope, and acceptance.

AAS: To say 2020 was a particularly bad year for teaching art classes is an understatement. Will you be offering classes in 2021, in some form, once the pandemic has subsided?

VDeP: The pandemic has been difficult for so many creatives and especially art teachers because what we teach requires demonstration. Like many artists, I am trying to find ways to fund my business. Before we went on lockdown I had 10 students coming weekly for classes. Unfortunately, my students are in the most vulnerable age category so they hunkered down and have stayed safe. I miss them! So far, I have 1 student who has come back. We social distance and wear our mask at all times.
I have tried to shift my focus to creating and exhibiting work at Art Group Gallery and Justus Fine Art Gallery so the work can be properly experienced. Since many museums and local arts centers have been temporarily closed, local art galleries have become the place where viewers come looking for an art experience.

AAS: We have already talked about the Delta, but you have been in many other solo and group exhibitions around the state and elsewhere. What is it about that experience that keeps you going?

VDeP: I consider myself a visual storyteller. I tell stories with paintings, so for me competitions are a tool to share my stories about the human experience. Without the viewer, showing my work feels far less personal and connective.