My's Sunshine Art Brings Bright, Nostalgic, Fun to First Friday Art Walk

Maya Ortiz, the artist behind My's Sunshine Art, poses in front of her artwork on display during September's First Friday Art Walk on September 6, 2024.

Connect Del Rio paid a visit to Maya Ortiz, the local artist behind My’s Sunshine Art, at her showcase for September’s First Friday Art Walk hosted at Mesquite Creek Outfitters on Friday, September 6, 2024. The walls were lined with her neon, colorful, and nostalgic artwork, ranging from painted canvases to bags and purses. With much of her work based around bright, neon pinks and yellows, My’s Sunshine Art stood out immediately. 

Maya told us that she has been drawing all her life, but didn’t start creating art professionally until she moved back to Del Rio two years ago. She also shared that the name “My’s Sunshine Art” came from a combination of her nickname, “My” and Sunshine, which came from her grandfather calling her “my sunshine,” growing up. “If you look back at my older pieces, it’s very different from what I draw now,” Maya told us about her growth as an artist. “I’ve really come into my own and found my own style.” 

“A lot of my work centers around vintage toys, or nostalgia, that feeling that you get,” she continued. “A lot of color play, color theory, neon colors, and making them work together, is what I love.” She also told us that her preferred medium is acrylic, telling us she favors acrylic markers over paint brushes in much of her work. “I still do paint, obviously, all of my bigger canvas work is all painted, but my purses and smaller pieces are all posca pen, acrylic paint markers, along with gel pens and a little bit of colored pencils, but mostly markers and gel pens.”

My's Sunshine Art on display at Mesquite Creek Outfitters during the First Friday Art Walk on September 6, 2024.

Maya went on to tell us that she struggled to find her place, as an artist who primarily worked with markers and gel pens, as opposed to paint. “It took a long time to feel like I fit in as an artist, but I honestly had to get over perfectionism, and I had to start doing what fit me and it honestly worked out.” She also shared this piece of advice for new artists, “if anyone is looking to get into artwork or is a creative, don’t be so scared,” she began. “I spent a lot of time being afraid of putting myself out there but when you do it’s so rewarding and you find a lot more supporters than you do negativity, especially here in Del Rio, there’s a ton of support for artists and there’s plenty of room for all of us and I love supporting other artists.” 

Anyone interested in learning more about the artist and her work can find Maya at “myssunshine_art” on Instagram and Facebook. She also shared that her next event will be Draculina Fest on October 18th & 19th. “I’m going to be selling a lot of my merchandise, which includes prints of the original digital artwork that I created during last year’s inktober, stickers, keychains, and more,” Maya said. “I just started doing painting and craft parties as well, I set everything up and take everything down and all the supplies are provided, you can contact me on either Facebook or Instagram for more information about parties and events.”