Betesha Bloise Ponciano
Produced, Painted and Personalized
How artist and designer Betesha Bloise Ponciano heroes versatility in enhancing her artistry.
Cinderella
Digital
10.5 × 6 inches
2024
The practice of an artist can be likened to a sculpture that they’ve been fashioning since their genesis. It’s a universe of skills, tinctured and streaked with every artwork they make. In the case of Betesha Bloise Ponciano, her sculpture resembles the Jack of All Trades— one that can paint, design and even whittle.
Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Bloise’s early years were characterized by formal training in fine art and design principles, and eventually obtaining an Associates Degree in Illustration from Chavón La Escuela de Diseño in Santo Domingo. Following a year-long venture as a graphic designer, Bloise is presently at Parsons School of Design in New York, proactively diversifying her approaches to mediums and themes. Zooming out, Bloise’s practice today is a hearty mosaic of painting, illustration, graphic design and sculpture.
Mailer Bag mockup for fictional beauty brand Nomas
Digital
10 × 7.5 inches
2024
Even through multiple avenues of creative expression, one idea has remained unchanging for Bloise: the ability to reduce a complex idea into a single, coherent image. Whether it’s through the editorial and conceptual illustration at Chavón that invoked her interest, her industry experience in branding or packaging design or her showcase of painted works in the Hilvanando Ilusiones exhibitions, every experience enables fluency in a different language where visual communication is paramount. Specifically, the opportunity to paint personal works for exhibitions was pivotal to the turn towards personal identity as a theme in Bloise’s work.
Birthday
14 x 24 inches
Acrylic on canvas
2025
“They’re more for me than they are for clients, because I’m not necessarily making these for someone or to serve a purpose outside of itself.”she says.
As an artist, most of Bloise’s analog practice has revolved around graphite— until recently. The newfound prevalence of ideas like childhood, work and individuality has led her to learn about herself through painting, and who is a better teacher than color? Aside from experimenting through her personal work, she is also embracing candid themes and unexplored materials through her thesis project ‘Stacks’--- comprising a set of hand-carved, stackable wood blocks in an exquisite corpse fashion that you can mix and match. Intended to invoke connection through arrangement and representation, the stackable blocks are paired with a series of painted canvases pertaining to the theme of transitioning into adulthood and the complexities that follow it.
Pasado Presente
14 x 24 inches
Acrylic on canvas
2024
“Thinking about hope, about keeping the spark alive no matter how challenging things get. It’s about maintaining positivity.” she explains.
In addition to traditional media like oil pastels, acrylics and wood, Bloise makes use of digital tools like Photoshop, Illustrator and Procreate in her projects as a multidisciplinary creative. For her, the convergence of multiple creative fields paints a larger picture of fulfilment and self realisation— allowing her paintings to be introspective yet eloquent; To be personal, yet universal.
