Melissa Depaz is a young Compton native who expresses her mind through her art. Her emotions transmitted onto a blank canvas that soon becomes a beautiful piece of work.

The Cerritos College alumni currently has three pieces on display in the Cerritos College art exhibition.

When asked more about her pieces she explained the process that went into creating her works of art.

“I don’t really start these pieces with an intention of what to do. I just kind of sit there and like it happens and then after I’m done I’m like ‘Oh that’s what I was trying to say.’”

She also explained how she draws inspiration from personal experiences, family and most importantly, her community.

“Honestly I feel like focusing myself on making art about Compton gave me the confidence to pursue my creative career, just because I know the negative stigma that Compton has, there’s a lot of history here that needs to be talked about especially in art, so I feel like I had a subject and I could use my skills to bring and put a positive light onto Compton.”

When asked about the three pieces that were a part of the exhibition she said, “Those three pieces… I made them during a very emotional time and what I made [was] for myself. I do a lot of community work around my area but at the end of the day, I am an artist who has emotions”.

She explained how putting her own voice out in the world is a huge accomplishment to her and she will continue to do so.

“Something’s Missing” is one of her favorite pieces. It has a great amount of meaning to her and a lot of emotion that was put into it.

“I love hearing how others interpret it but that one, I was going through a breakup at the time and it was just raw feeling,” she said.

Depaz vocalized how getting others to feel through art is a very important goal of hers and she hopes that the viewers recognize it just like her.

“It takes sensitivity to art, to really get it, like to all arts. I feel like you really have to be in tune with your feelings.”

With the ongoing pandemic and quarantine, Melissa shares how being stuck at home was a blessing in disguise for her personally, even if it did come with challenges.

“I feel like quarantine taught me discipline. It was crazy, it was hectic and very emotional but discipline came out of it and I learned that you can also have fun at home so its a positive thing in the end.”

Melissa has already accomplished so much recognition in her community for her work and has gotten many great opportunities to spread her art around the city of Compton.

Currently she has been a part of two major pieces in the city: a mural right outside Foot Locker and one inside the Buffalo Spot restaurant.

She also currently has some of her art on clothing that is selling on footlocker.com and you can also buy some of her other pieces on her website.

It’s no doubt that she is a creative who will only continue to grow and get more amazing opportunities in the future.