Written by Giovanna Zavell, DSMG Contributor

You’ve probably seen one or two of Marissa’s murals out in the community–grabbing a coffee at Slow Down, or picking up a new plant at Art Terrarium. This young artist showcases identity and diversity in her work, with her signature style: featureless faces. 

More Than Just A Hobby

Marissa Hernandez

Art wasn’t always something Marissa Hernandez pictured in her future. In fact, she originally thought she would study actuarial science–thinking that would be a financially secure career to follow. 

“My dad is an immigrant and my mom doesn’t have a college degree,” Marissa says. “Growing up in a low-income household and the daughter of an immigrant, I always had it in the back of my mind to aim for a financially secure job, then I could provide for my parents.” 

A Des Moines native, Marissa grew up in a predominantly white school, where she struggled to find her place. She shared that being the child of a Mexican immigrant comes with a certain push to not just do well, but exceed in school. This is why her creativity and art felt more like a hobby instead of a career. “I’ve always been creative,” Marissa says. “But I never considered the possibility of a career in art.” In the end, all it took was the support of her parents and professors to push Marissa to pursue what she really loved. 

Representing the Underrepresented 

“My painting professor at Drake was super understanding of my emphasis on my culture and heritage in my work,” Marissa says. “She saw how these experiences affected me both on and off campus. She knew how important it was for me to showcase marginalized communities in my pieces.”

Marissa is open and honest about her experiences when it comes to feeling out of place and treated differently – at her time in college and in the world. At times being told that she should “drop out because she couldn’t afford it” and was asked if she was “a cleaning lady’s daughter.”   But it’s these experiences Marissa takes and turns into art. They are the reason she finds joy in working with schools. 

“Some of my proudest murals are the ones I have done in schools,” Marissa says. “Pursuing art as a career is not something that is commonly encouraged, especially if you’re the child of an immigrant or BIPOC. The traditional ideas of success often come with privileges and may be tied to the color of someone’s skin. For children of immigrants and BIPOC, we have to work twice as hard as a peer who is white. Working with kids in schools, I am able to show them the types of things they can accomplish, no matter how they look or what society says they should do.” 

This is part of the reason why the people featured in Marissa’s murals and paintings don’t have any facial features. They are bodies of all shapes, sizes and colors, allowing anyone who admires them to find one to identify most with. This now signature style was accidentally created when Marissa was in college. 

“I realized painting without features was a really good way to portray representation,” Marissa says. “To really show representation, it’s important to have color and different hair and body types. The facial features aren’t really all that important.” 

Dreams Do Come True

After graduating from Drake University, Marissa was chosen for a one year, artist in residence position at Mainframe Studios. Having a space to call her own, and make as many messes as she wanted, really kick started Marissa’s career after college. “I was so excited when they picked me for the artist in residency program,” Marissa says. “It was amazing to have a big space to work on projects.”

The first mural Marissa painted is at Conmigo Early Education Center in Des Moines. After posting the completed project on her Instagram, Marissa’s followers quickly began to rise. “I started my Instagram in college just for fun,” Marissa says. “I had like 50 followers. But then I noticed more and before I knew it, I had a message from the owners of Slow Down asking me to paint a mural in their new coffee shop.”

Other local small business owners began reaching out after seeing Marissa’s murals pop up around town. It didn’t take long before Marissa Hernandez became a popular name in the Des Moines artist community. And, she and other BIPOC artists began challenging the way we see art. 

“I used to think of art communities as pretentious and exclusionary,” Marissa says. “The Des Moines art community has only recently become more diverse and highlighting artists from BIPOC communities. I’ve connected with a lot of BIPOC members in the community, and we all support and help each other.” In May of 2022, Marissa and many BIPOC artists displayed their work at the Polk County Heritage Gallery in a show called “Who We Are,” which focused on the theme of identity. 

Through her work, Marissa continues to showcase BIPOC and serve as a role model for younger generations. “When working with the students at school, I remind them that their voice matters,” she says. “Adults may tell them they aren’t good at something or should stick to something more practical. But I always tell them if they love what they are doing, and it makes them happy, then stick with it. Those are my proudest moments–empowering our young students and young adults to follow their dreams.”

Where to find Marissa’s Murals

Next time you’re out and about, keep your eyes peeled for one of Marissa’s beautiful murals!

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