If you’ve ever been anywhere near or in Los Angeles, you know there are murals, graffiti, and tags everywhere—an artist’s heaven. Many artists put their murals up all over LA for many different reasons and motives; some may even start to make names for themselves and become recognized around the LA area, which leads them to achieve and create things they couldn’t have imagined. One of my favorite examples of people who made it out of Los Angeles is Sand Oner. Sand, who was born and raised in East Los Angeles, is a female Latina street artist with a passion for art , but specifically creating murals of her dolls with long lashes and big eyes, or as she calls them, “Sand dolls.” I like that she compares their long lashes to her mother’s lashes Sand was raised by a single mom. She says, “I’m a free-spirited dreamer creating murals and paintings of dolls with long lashes just like my mother’s.” Sand states, “I always knew I wanted to be cool, but I never knew I was going to create a movement with my art. I can now call myself an artist. I love to paint – it is my passion.“ Since 2010, Sand decided she would dedicate the rest of her life to her passion for art, even though at the time of her start-up, the LA art field was mainly male-dominated. Oner was also discouraged by her own family, especially her mother , and she was a high school dropout, so to many people her future didn’t seem so bright. However, Oner had a plan and a dream; she didn’t want to be a part of the LA stereotypes; she wanted more. Sands’s first exhibition was in 2011, when she was only 15 years old , held in Casa de la Cultura Galleria in Los Angeles, titled “ Bow Ties: SandOner.” She says lots of people showed up to see her work; that’s when she realized she was not only making an impact but also paving the way for a potential career. She’s painted murals in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, Tijuana, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Kentucky, and New York.
Currently Sand Oner still resides in Los Angeles and owns her own business, creating her dolls and selling merch clothing, accessories, cups, home decor, bags & purses, prints, actual paintings , murals, etc. SandOner’s overall message is to follow your dreams and do what you want to do on your terms to empower all women. She says, “I paint for the city, the young dreamers, and the ambitious modern women of today.” and ”I am a woman, but I am far from weak. I get up, put all that hurts behind me, crush my insecurities, and get it done. Struggle is temporary, and amazing things will always arise once the storm is over and ambition begins.”
