From Accountant to Artist with Celebrity Favorite Gilda Garza

Welcome to this episode of the Million Dollar Mastermind. I'm Larry Weddell and let's get started. Today we've got a treat from Mexico, Gilda Garza. Gilda is a Mexican artist. She's the owner of Rain Gallery. Did I say that right? Gilda?

Yes.

She has 92,000 followers on Instagram. So you're hearing Gilda before she goes over the 100,000 follower mark because it's fast rising. She's collaborated with fashion designer Nicole Miller at Scottsdale Fashion Week, which was the first time art was brought into that event. She's created a one of a kind, unique Robert Cavelli piece. If you're in the art world, you might know some of these names. More of you would be familiar with this. She has had art featured on the COVID of Playboy and art in the house of Bijan on Rodeo Drive. You know, he used to have a store here in Aspen. Gilda, but earned, she's earned a widespread celebrity following, commission projects for legends such as, you know, Snoop Dogg, Canelo Alvarez, world champion boxer. You guys can follow boxing and the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team. Designed a custom Kings and Queens diamond necklace for Jason. The famous Jason, designer and jewelry king of Beverly Hills. And so, you know, she's. When the world was happening, the art world had events going on, she was there. I mean, she's one of the sparkling diamonds in the art world and growing fast in her following from a, you know, and just a youngster. She's just getting started in this thing. So thanks so much, Gilda, for getting, you know, taking the time and talking to us and sharing some of the behind the scenes that allowed you to have the success you have been having.

Thank you, Larry, for inviting me to the podcast. I'm so happy to right now talk with you about, I don't know, whatever you want me to talk.

Well, the thing, Gilda, you know, you, you know things you don't. You probably know things that you don't know, you know, but somehow you've had thoughts in your mind. You've had either got ideas from family, friends. Your mind has noticed things growing up and right from the beginning, you've gone from really nowhere, like where most of us start and no one knows. You have a passion for art, a passion for, for making a big impact in the world, and then somehow it's happening.

Yeah, somehow it's happening. My mom is an artist and my grandmother from the side of my dad, she's an artist too. But they never sell one piece of art. They are an artist for the house. And me too. My mom teach me how to paint, but I never studied art classes. And then one day I was painting in my house, happy to paint for me. And one of my friends told me, I cannot believe you're not showing this to the world. I wanted to be in a gallery, but like, hello, can I put my art here? Like go to the line. Where did you study? Like, this is going to be impossible. But I just see a little, like they open a little of the door and that. Excuse me, this is my time. So this friend of mine, he told me, okay, you're going to do your first event in my hotel. And I make the best event ever. Like I was. I was like, I don't know, I wasn't trying to sell my art. I was just trying to everybody have a good time. And then I start painting. All my friends, they are all models, influencers. So I invite them to the exhibition and I get wine, champagne, music. We. We have amazing time and I make my first sold out. I sell everything. And I don't know, maybe people see me with all the energy and like. Because I have all the energy and I'm not doing this because I'm trying to sell. I just want to have fun. And I put all my heart and my energies and the doors still open for me. And I'm being nonstop since that day.

And when you. Where was this? How big is the town that this happened in?

This was in Mexico City.

Oh, that's pretty cool.

And they helped me with that was in an amazing hotel. But all my art, I was like painting. I didn't know how to send the art or anything. But I have great friends and everybody support me. I have friends and they send me one box of. Of red wine. Another one sent me champagne. All my friends was like my best cheerleaders and I still here. And then that was in October. And I remember another friend told me, hilda, you have to go to Art Basel. And I was like, really? Yes, go to Art Basel. So I went to Art Basel. I make another event. But I was more worried in the event to everybody. I want everybody to have fun. I don't want to be a boring exhibition. Another sold out. I was over there in Arbassel and in Cesar Palace. I have some friends that works for Cesar Palace. And they told me, hilda, it's going to be Cinco de Mayo. We need you in the Cesar Palace. And I was like, really? Like, I just started in October. Now I'm going to be in the Cesar palace. And people in United States for me. Wow. They was like, yes. I don't know. I think people see my energy and I don't stop. Like, if I'm not waiting for somebody to pick my art or hang the art, I'm the one have to see everything. Everything have to be perfect. Like, I'm fighting for my dreams.

And how many pieces of art did you take to that first exhibit?

20, I think was 20.

20. So you took 20 in and you sold out?

Yes. I just keep one because I was like, oh, I need one for me. I don't want to sell this one.

Yeah. If you notice, your art is like, they're like your children. You.

Yes. It's hard to sell when I. It's like, I don't. Okay, it's happy, but it's. But you want to keep them.

Yeah. Hopefully you had a photographer taking good, good pictures of them before they. They got out. And maybe you could sell reprints, you know, of your. Of your children.

Yes.

So the. So you go back and what kind of things did you have to overcome? Just that first show, it sounds so easy. Oh, I just got my friends and someone said, I'll put on because they.

Told me, okay, they give me the opportunity, but I make it happen. Like, I paint 20 pieces of art and I don't paint just for paint. I put my heart on it. Like, it's. All the pieces that I paint have inspiration for me. Like, nobody teach me how to paint a face. I need to be inspired to paint the face and to make it look like her. But was not that easy. Like, paint 20 pieces of art and then send everything to Mexico City and invite all these friends. Oh, send me a photo because I'm going to make an exhibition. I would love to paint you. So that was. Was a lot of work, but I was doing that with all my heart. Like, I do the best. The best.

And how long did it take you to get ready for this event from the time you heard that it was a possibility?

I think was like five months. But five months, like painting till 4am Painting and organizing the event and sending message to my friends, like, I'm going to paint you. Are you coming to the exhibition? And.

And you had to organize it all yourself and you had never done it before. How did you know? How did you know what you should be doing? And this is the thing, because what we're doing, Gilda, is trying to get behind the scenes of the things that we never really, you know, we don't have a reason to talk about. And once we do Them, we kind of forget about them. But you know, somehow you were, you did things differently that allowed you to have bigger success. Because what people see is the final result. Oh, it's a big show, lot of colorful artwork, a lot of, a lot of well dressed, glamorous people there and you know, good looking models and where they, they don't just fall out of the sky, folks. You know, these outside, you know, it is a lot of. Saying there's a lot of work to make these things happen is an understatement. A lot of moving parts. And so how did you know what to do? Who is helping you?

Nobody helps me. I start everything by myself, single with the good thing. Like when you have, when you are around with successful people, people that build you up, you build them up, they build you up and you are. I was with the right people. Like I have a lot of like my family, my friends, everybody was supporting me. And also I like to my friends, I'm like, I want you to take your best dress to my event. I don't want to be, yeah, I don't want to be the only one in my event with a nice dress. No. All my events I say please get the best. Like I want you like a queen. That's why I'm also my friends there go there, they wear the best dresses that they can wear and then I make sure that they have photos and everybody have a great time. Most of the people, they are going to make an event, but they are more worried about to sell the art and it's gonna be boring. I don't know, I'm not me.

What I've noticed about you and I didn't know how you made it happen and all but you know, it's like you always. Everything sparkles. It's like everybody who's there at your events, at your stuff, you know, everything that's a part of it seems to have a sparkle. You know, it's, it's like the finest hour, it's like the best lighting photographers there, you know, and so people have smiles. You can see there, there's energy, there's excitement in this thing. But you have to make that happened. You can't just do it. You have to overcome. And what were things that you were worried about at your first event that you don't know, didn't know? Would the people come with the crowd come. What things were you worried about?

I was just worried like the people to attend my event. But once everybody was in my event was a lot of champagne, good music and Everybody had great time.

And how old were you when you pulled this off?

30.

30 years old. And so up to that time, what were you doing in your life and what lessons, what kind of lessons had you learned from life and just making a living and growing up?

Okay, I'm an accountant and finance. I studied that because I was smart in school and the numbers was easy for me, but that's not my passion. But I never imagined to be able to make my living with the art. Never. But once I make my first exhibition and sell and I know I'm living my dream and I'm so happy with this, but I still the same like in my events, I still inviting my friends that they've been since the first time. I say to them, I want you with the best dress. And I'm more worried about them to have fun in my exhibition.

Absolutely. Thanks for sharing with us, Gilda. It's very exciting to see these principles and what I'm hearing is that you had, you know, you worked, you were out there, you were making a success with your life, you weren't starving to death. And you know, you had a passion for painting, your family had a passion for painting, but it's a whole other thing to market and get it out there to the world. And so you have to make a living. And so you came up and you said, well, I'll do accounting, I'll get a skill. But inside there, something was driving you. And if you keep on folks, the lessons that I would say gilt. I get your comment on this. If you follow your passion and maybe you don't know how it's going to, you know, we all have to tell ourselves these things, all remind ourselves of these things in life because we always reach stopping points to where we don't know how we're going to get to the next level, how we're going to break out. We know where we want to go. Generally, specifically, the timing is not there, it's just a big puzzle. But if you keep working with a vengeance on what you do know how to do. She did know she could make money, she could be successful, she could create, you know, she had the discipline and that allowed her to paint on the side and to kind of keep moving forward. But when the opportunity came that someone said, you know, if you keep getting better, you know, it's like the world will find out about you. And so someone came along and said, you got to get out, you got to sell these things and an opportunity. How did it go from. How did it go from that to where you had someone offer you. How far away is Mexico City?

Like 15 hours driving.

Oh, it's the other side of the world. Yeah. So it's like from Aspen to LA driving or something. And so how did you, how, how did it go from your. Some of your friends are saying you've got to get these out. You need to be in a gallery. The galleries don't want you to where you got an opportunity at a hotel.

I make everything different. I never look first for the gallery. I start making my own exhibitions without gallery. And right now the galleries are asking me to put my art on their galleries. I was like, okay, goodbye, galleries. I can do it by myself. And I just take advantage of that. And I also feel like I walk every day, wake up every day, and I fight for my dreams because I'm not waiting for somebody to pick me up. If I can drive it, I drive and I don't miss an opportunity. And like right now, like, I love Rodeo Drive. And I was all the time, like a big fan of Bijan. It's men's clothes, but I like it. And I was there with some friends walking with Bijan and Nicholas Bijan invited me to his. To put my kings in Bijan. And I'm, I don't know, like, wow, thank you, God. I'm here in the right place, but I'm fighting for my dreams.

Absolutely. And there's so many lessons we've covered so far and I appreciate you taking your time sharing with us. And next time I want to get inside your head to see how you look at the world and, and how you look for opportunities, how you say, this is something I want to pursue and that's where I'll get my biggest return, the biggest response. And so I'm really curious how you evaluate opportunities. And thanks so much, Gilda, for being on with us.

Thank you so much for inviting me.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Million Dollar Mastermind with me, Larry Wydell. If I've helped you in any way, leave us a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. For more information like this, listen to our other Million Dollar Mastermind episodes and check out my Wydell Academy YouTube channel and visit us on widelawnwinning.com I'm the million Dollar Mastermind. And until next time, go, go.