For our July artist spotlight, we chatted with a young, enthusiastic art student from Brooklyn. Meet Maya Carrillo Sanchez (@mayasminisketchb00k), an illustrator and painter who works with vibrant colors, and an even more vibrant personality. Currently studying at FIT, Maya is no stranger to getting paid work for her illustrations, gallery shows, and vending opportunities to get her work out there. Now she gets to talk her talk on our platform, about who she is, her inspirations, and how her art is helping her grow. We're super excited to see where her art career takes her, but before she blows up, we get bragging rights about chatting with her first.
20XX: All right. So, who are you and what do you do?
Maya Carrillo Sanchez: Hello, my name is Maya. I’m an artist, currently a senior at FIT, and I’ll be graduating soon with my bachelor’s degree in illustration. I’m just out here having fun with what I do and trying to get my name out there.
20XX: Fire. What were things like for you growing up, and how does that show up in your artistic practice?
Maya: Growing up, honestly, it was a little difficult. I didn’t know any English whatsoever. Coming from the Dominican Republic and then living here in the city meant a lot of shifts. Even in school, I didn’t understand anything. I was in ESL and stuff like that, but it was super difficult to understand.
But what I did understand was how to draw. I would watch cartoons. I would stay up late with my dad watching Cartoon Network, the Batman animated series, and Teen Titans. Shout out OG 2003 Teen Titans. I think a lot of inspiration came from that. I knew I liked doing it, and I didn’t want to copy what I saw; I wanted people to know where I got my ideas from. Even if I had to explain it, I wanted someone to be like, “Oh my God, I recognize that,” or, “Oh, you did this from this,” because I was also aware that not everybody was watching what I was watching.
When I visit back to DR for the summers after moving here, people wouldn’t understand why I was sitting all day drawing. They’d be like, “Okay, what are you doing?” I guess it was just weird to them, which I totally understand. So I would try to explain to my cousins, “Oh my God, no, it’s this show. It’s this that’s going on.” I do think that my childhood had a lot to do, and still has a lot to do with everything that I do now. Hopefully, I continue to implement that throughout my artistic journey.
20XX: You talked about your style, which is influenced by cartoons and things that you watched growing up, and it’s very apparent in your work. I like that you touched on that. Do you have any favorite comics or cartoon characters?
Maya: We’re going to be here like a week. But top five: Batman. I love Batman. He’s so cool. Beast Boy, he doesn’t get enough love. I feel like everyone’s just overlooking him, but he’s so cool, and his story is so sad. I really like Buttercup. I like Buttercup the most because she’s just so real. The Pink Panther. I love the Pink Panther. He’s my favorite.
I’m going to do three more because I have too many. I really like Jinx from Teen Titans. She’s funny, but I can relate to her sometimes. She’s just like, too many people being annoying, you know? I love Courage the Cowardly Dog. He is another one of my favorites. And, of course, Spider-Man. I love Spider-Man. So those are my top… I don’t know how many, but yeah, that’s a few.
20XX: Your style is incredibly diverse, we love the variety in mediums you use and styles you portray. What styles/mediums are most exciting to you at the moment?
Maya: Lately I’ve been experimenting with paper, it was one of those things where I didn’t think it would be as fun as it actually is. Although I’m inseparable from my acrylic paints and markers, I’ve taken a huge liking to cutting up paper and making fun collages. Something about being able to express myself through the action of cutting out shapes has drawn my attention a lot.
20XX: Out of your many mediums, which would you say is your favorite medium?
Maya: What a hard question. Honestly, I would say acrylic paint. I love acrylic paint. I’m not sure if it’s because that’s the first paint I actually didn’t hate using. After all, I’m not a big fan of watercolor, unfortunately. I’m not a big fan of tempera or anything else. Acrylic paint gets my job done. It mixes, and if I don’t leave it out too long, it won’t dry out on me. But then again, I love layering, and I like bold colors, so it drying really quickly does help me get to where I need to get to. Acrylic paint, hands down, will always be my favorite.
20XX: Got you. I have become a fan of acrylic paint myself lately, so I resonate with you on that. Who are some artists from New York, of any medium, whose work you love?
Maya: Definitely number one, Keith Haring. When I was in elementary school, in art class, we learned about the essential, famous artists. Keith Haring just had a special place in my heart. His stuff was so eye-catching. I would always know, “Oh my God, that’s Keith Haring,” or, “That looks like Keith Haring’s work.” I also got some inspiration from that too. He’s not only one of my favorite artists, but I would say someone who has a lot to do with the art in New York City. It wasn’t until later in my life that I learned he was also an activist, and I really enjoyed that too. I was like, “Okay, cool.” It’s two in one. It’s a win-win. So definitely Keith Haring.
It’s funny because I have a list, but then the minute I get asked, I’m like, “Oh my God, I don’t know.” The list disappears.
Frida Kahlo isn’t from New York, but her art is my favorite. I think that her work is very sentimental. It has a lot of feeling, whether it’s her self-portraits or just her ability to storytell. Really, chef’s kiss. I admire that about her because I think it took a lot for her to do all of that. I think those are my top two.
20XX: I resonate heavily with Keith Haring. When I was younger, I fell in love with the work of Takashi Murakami, who fits within that popular artist category. Now everybody recognizes his work, and he’s gone on to do tons of different clothing collaborations and a lot of really cool things. But the way we were introduced to these artists was just being young artists ourselves and seeing it and being like, “Oh, I like this.” In the same way that you said with Keith Haring, the work pops. It stands out. It’s recognizable.
Frida Kahlo was also one of the first artists I learned about in art class as a kid. The seriousness she had with her work is absolutely commendable, and the emotion definitely comes through the storytelling as well, as you said.
Do you feel like you try to capture storytelling in that way with your pieces? And if so, how?
Maya: Amazing question. On top of liking cartoons, superheroes, and comics, anytime I’m not doing that, honestly, whatever I’m drawing is because of dreams I have. I’ll try my best to illustrate a dream that I remember because, for some reason, I remember a lot of my dreams, and they’re all really weird. I feel like it’s just weird, so I’m like, “This is kind of cool. Let me draw it out and see if I can understand it.” Sometimes I’m like, “Okay, this means that.” Sometimes I’m like, “Oh, okay, I don’t know what this means, y’all.”
I think I’ve tried to get better at storytelling within my pieces. Sometimes I achieve the goal. Sometimes, through some explaining, I’m able to get people to understand. I used to think that having to explain was a problem, but sometimes it isn’t because everything is supposed to be so apparent. Sometimes it’s nice to have hidden messages that you have to explain, and you’re like, “Oh, okay.”
For example, I use my hair a lot in my pieces to try to storytell and weave everything together. And also line work.
20XX: What’s something you love about being a New York City-based artist in 2026?
Maya: I would say the community.
I think that the New York City artist community has grown a lot, and everyone’s supporting each other. I think it’s really nice to see people being able to host free events or just random meetups like, “Oh my God, let’s go draw pigeons at Central Park on Thursday.” Random things that bring people together. You can still draw. You can still connect.
I think my absolute favorite thing is just the connections, because there are a lot of things I wouldn’t have been a part of this year, or in my entire life, if I hadn’t gone out and made these connections. Whether it was friends from school, galleries I attend, or people I follow on Instagram, you meet all these different people. You never know what other good stuff comes out of that friendship or that connection.
20XX: Yeah. Very beautiful. I love what is happening in New York City right now. Not only with visual art, but with music, performing arts, galleries, and events like you said. All these different things are bringing people together, whether they are artists or not, or even inspiring people to become artists. So definitely a very pivotal moment, and a beautiful answer.
Can you share a moment where someone connected with your artwork that has stuck with you on your journey?
Maya: The most recent moment was a few months ago, I was attending and also part of @soulartgallery and their valentines themed show, I met so many amazing people including a dear friend Allison! She came in not knowing what was even happening and she shared her story and loved my artwork, eventually it let to her buying a print and I think I really saw my work bringing people together. In that moment I felt joy because my work had brought along a new friend that I otherwise would not have met that easily. It was a very cool and unforgettable night.
20XX: How have you seen your personal progression as a person reflected in your artwork?
Maya: I think I’ve grown so much as not only a person but as an artist, everyone goes through some hard times in life, including myself and I truly believe that if I hadn’t kept creating during those hard times, I would have found myself in a dark place. Having the ability to make art is a wonderful blessing and without it I’d feel stuck. I’ve definitely improved my skills, found new techniques, and have really found my own style, I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone especially with every new project at school, and outside of school. my journey isn’t over yet but I’m grateful that I dedicated the time to making art and can enjoy being in the headspace that I am today!
20XX: For my final question, if you could say one thing to all of New York City right now, what would it be?
Maya: As corny as this sounds, just never give up. Keep going. Listen to your heart. Do what you want to do. Don’t let people put you down. Don’t get influenced by others’ opinions.
Do what you want to do. Do it how you want to do it, make it as true to you as you can, and stay true to yourself.
20XX: Fire. Thank you very much, Maya.
Maya: Thank you so much!
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