Alex Maceda, the Filipina American Artist Who Traded Start-Ups for Stillness
She shares her journey from MBA to MFA, Joshua Tree to NYC, and embracing her morena skin through painting.
Last Fall, while trying to distract myself from a draining apartment hunt involving 40(!) different viewings, I decided it was time to learn more about collecting original art. If I can’t get my dream apartment, I thought, at least I could fantasize about what I’d put on the walls. My first instinct was to find Filipina artists. That proved to be difficult until one fateful Instagram scroll led me to the work of Alex Maceda.
I immediately loved what I saw: Abstract landscapes, undulating shapes, all in prismatic colors, evoking the spirituality of nature. She also painted figures with tan skin like mine. I was surprised by how I felt so seen, even with their non-figurative, wavy forms. “The understory to all of that is it's based on this idea of getting darker in the sun,” Maceda says of the desert-inspired paintings. Despite not being explicit with her Filipino identity in her work, she says it’s “intertwined in everything that I paint. It’s like I can’t help it.”
Maceda, currently an MFA candidate in Painting at the New York Studio School, is very intentional with how she defines herself as an artist. “I feel very strongly that my bio always starts with, ‘Alex Maceda is a Filipina-American artist,’” she says. “That’s not for DEI purposes. That’s not for someone to feel good about putting me in [a gallery]. It’s for other Filipinos to see that there is someone like them out there in the world, because I am still searching for other Filipino artists in the gallery system. I did not grow up seeing, Oh, this person who looks like me is doing what I felt was unattainable.”
“The bigger turning point in my life and career is when I started to believe art wasn't just a hobby.”
Despite a lifelong love for art and even minoring in Studio Art while in undergrad at Dartmouth, Maceda didn’t pursue it full-time until her 30s. She spent her 20s getting an MBA at Stanford and building a business career in consumer start-ups. “I was always good at school, so I was told art is a hobby,” she recalls. “The bigger turning point in my life and career is when I started to believe art wasn't just a hobby.” That revelation came in 2020, when she quit her job, moved to Joshua Tree, started sharing her work on social media, and eventually sold her first painting. She hasn’t slowed down since, showing her work at exhibitions in Joshua Tree, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and just last month at Future Fair NYC with Visionary Projects.
Ahead, we discuss the art of creating brown skin tones in painting, the connection between yoga and art, how leaving the corporate world changed her skin, and her two-liner trick for getting the perfect cat eye.
What are your earliest beauty memories?
My Lolas telling me to get out of the sun. I'm the most morena in my family. My mom is super mestiza to the point that she has freckles, and I've always had the darkest skin. I grew up in the Bay Area but spent three months every summer in Manila. From a young age, I just remember my Lola saying, “What happened to you? Why are you so dark? Do you work in the fields?” Then, having that contrast of growing up in California at the peak of Roxy and Quicksilver and PacSun and Blue Crush, all my friends were so jealous that I was tan. That weird dichotomy was probably my first awareness of skin.
Do you remember the first beauty product you bought?
Mascara and an eyelash curler. I remember being little, watching my mom curl her eyelashes, and it took me many, many years before I realized not everyone curled their eyelashes. As a Filipina, my eyelashes are stick straight. I bought mascara from Sephora with my friends, who were mostly white, and all of their eyelashes curled. I didn't understand why mine didn't. So, the eyelash curler was one of the first beauty things I ever bought.
On those trips to Manila, did hearing family members’ comments or seeing whitening products in the Philippines trigger any insecurity in your skin?
I don't know if I ever felt that bad about it, but I definitely remember all of the billboards on EDSA. Anytime I'd go into a Mercury (drugstore), everything was skin lighteners and all of the actresses were super, super white–or literally half white. And then, I’d be in the States, and everyone was using self-tanner. I very much had the experience of feeling like a Third Culture Kid: Not Asian enough for some of my Asian friends in the States, not Filipino enough for my cousins in the Philippines, not American enough here.
I look more mixed than “typical” Filipino features. I'm always asked what my ethnicity is, and no one ever believes I'm full Filipino. My features are smaller, but some of my siblings have bigger eyes, bigger noses, and lighter skin. So I always felt like this weird in-between of my Titas saying, “Oh, you have such a cute nose.” But then, my skin was so dark. I was very aware of these competing beauty standards. I've thought about that a lot in my life: What does it mean to be Filipino?
Let’s talk about your art career and how you got started. Where did your love of art begin?
I can't remember a time when I didn't love art. I love to draw. I love to color. I was never that athletically gifted, but I had control of my hands and I had a really active imagination. So, I've always loved art. I didn't apply to art school, but I minored in art in college. I went into business and was looking for more creative jobs, so I started doing marketing, and I think that's a very typical story. There's a joke that all UX researchers all wanted to be artists and their parents wouldn't let them!
How did you finally make a career pivot from marketing to art?
I kept taking more and more creative roles. In my last role, I was the head of brand and marketing, managing creative teams, but I never quite felt creative enough. I was often in continuing studies for drawing after work. I quit my job in February 2020 not realizing we were about to be in a global pandemic. I was going to travel for six months and planned to be in Siargao for two months to do yoga teacher training and have my whole Eat, Pray, Love moment. Then, the world shut down, and I started painting. I had just started freelancing, so I had a lot more spare time. I started an Instagram for my art, and within a few months, I sold my first painting. Over the course of the past five years, freelancing has gone down, and painting has gone up. In the past two years, I got really serious about it, really trying to go for gallery shows. Then, I decided to come back to school to get my MFA in painting in New York.
You were based in Joshua Tree prior to New York. How did living in Joshua Tree influence your art?
I truly think they’re maybe the two most different places you could live in America. If I don't leave my house in Joshua Tree, I could go a whole day without hearing another person, let alone seeing someone. I've always lived in cities. I've always identified as a “city girl.” It sounds so obvious, but Joshua Tree is so quiet. In New York, there's no place in the city where you could go and not see someone. I can hear the cars. I can hear people on top of or below me. I used to have to drive to LA to see art shows, and now, if I have 30 free minutes, I can find multiple galleries. Being alone is so powerful. It's very scary, especially as an artist, but that ability to actually drop in and listen to yourself was really formative for my art practice. It's hard to say if I would've been able to pull off such a big switch without all of those things aligning–the world shutting down, moving to a new place–I truly feel like I emerged a different person.
As you transitioned out of the corporate world, did you feel like your beauty and wellness routine shifted, too?
I worked at high-stress start-up jobs for most of my career, and it was both amazing and frustrating to see that once I left those jobs, most of my health, skin, and everything got better. After I left my last corporate job, I went through a whole health revitalization. I finally had time to take care of my health for the first time. My skin got way better just from sleeping and not being super stressed. I was 30 when I quit, and I had never taken skincare that seriously. Being in Joshua Tree, diving more into wellness, I really started to take more of an inside-out approach.
What were your skin struggles before, when you experienced more stress?
I would get random breakouts often on my forehead. I felt like my skin looked so dead. [I had] eye bags–just not vibrant and bright. No matter what lotion I used or if I got a facial, I just looked so tired. My secret skincare hack is that I've been on Nutrafol on and off for probably six years. I was convinced my hair was getting thinner, which it definitely was, but I kept taking it because it makes my skin look way better–something about the collagen in it! I only take half the dose, too. They tell you to take four pills, and I only take two. I just feel like I get a glow from that.
I’ve always believed that skin health requires a holistic approach, and that includes movement. For you, that’s yoga – what do you love about it?
When I was younger, I wasn't particularly athletic, and I was actually very sickly. Not only was I the darkest in my family, but I was also the smallest. I have asthma, and I'm allergic to all the things. So, I never felt particularly connected to my body. Part of the reason I quit my job is that I had all sorts of health issues. I was introduced to yoga in high school. As someone who did not breathe well for a very long time, the focus on my breath, combined with the body movement, was so powerful to me. After I got into yoga and started practicing it regularly, it helped so much with my stress and a lot of the aches I felt in my body from just being so tight all the time. Now, if I don't do it almost every other day, it feels like everything starts to fall apart. It feels really connected to my art.
How are yoga and your art connected?
My art practice is mostly using my hand, and I feel like art is just moving energy. That's kind of what the feeling is for any type of creation. It's like you're touching something, you're expressing it, and it feels like this continuous cycle. Anytime I feel stuck in the studio, I try to move my body. I think that's kind of how yoga relates in a weird way, because when you're a yoga teacher, you're constantly making small changes in your students to find anatomy. It’s all about angles. It’s all about shapes. So, I think that is reflected in my work.
In your paintings, you often depict a female form–this wavy, beautiful motif. How has painting reshaped how you view bodies and beauty standards, if at all?
Yes, it's definitely changed how I look at my own body. I am often my own model. I'll look at myself in the mirror and try to mimic it, or because I'm just so aware of my body, I'm the one I'm referencing. There was a post I did–someone asked me why all of my figure's hands are so long and spindly and the fingers are exaggerated. I have pretty big hands for my size, and my arms have always been long and skinny, so there's often reference to myself. I realize it's interesting to see that in your own work.
A lot of the figures you create have tan skin – is that intentional?
Skin tone is probably the thing I think about the most in art. In undergrad, I basically only did self-portraiture and female figures, and then I dropped it for a really long time because I couldn't mix a skin tone that felt realistic to me. I couldn't find my own skin tone. It wasn't until I found a color mix that felt good that I brought the figure back into my paintings. If you look back at my paintings, the figure is very, very dark: A specific shade of brown and tan or blue or something that's completely unrealistic to skin tone. I would take painting classes in a more “classic” palette. The flesh tones they have you mix are very white, so they're like peach undertones. They're kind of pink – and I'm not pink. I was so tan because I was living in the desert and I realized, actually, my skin tone is kind of red. I think it's interesting because as an Asian person, people always say Asians are “yellow.” So, I was quite literally trying to mix a skin tone based on an ochre color. I had this moment where I was like, no, it has to be a rusty red. And it opened up this whole color palette to me, and I brought the figure back into my work.
One of the things that struck me about your art is that I identify with this wavy figure, even though it's abstract. I see myself a little bit just in the tones of the skin–it felt very reflective of a Filipino person to me.
That makes me so happy!
Skin tone is constantly a conversation in makeup – I can’t tell you the number of times I’m disappointed by a foundation because the undertones are wrong, or the finish is too orange. It’s very hard to get that morena-tan color.
I've never felt like any kind of foundation has worked for me. Maybe a tinted moisturizer, but I feel like I gave up in high school, and I was just like, oh, I'm never going to find something that's quite the right shade tone. Being an artist has really made me dive into skin tone in a way I never had because I'm quite literally a little bit of pink, a little bit of red, a little bit of brown, a little bit of yellow. I'm so happy to hear you say that you saw yourself in the paintings because–especially for the body of work you probably saw–it's based on the desert. It has a very specific color palette that's warm and oaky and brown, and it totally works in the narrative of the desert. There is so much identity woven into it, but for most people, that's not something they'll ever really think about. They might just think it's pretty colors, which is also great.
A lot of Filipinos grow up not only intimidated but discouraged to pursue art, in all forms, as a career. What advice would you tell an aspiring artist who is scared?
I think I would start by saying, if you have to do it, you will find a way. I don't at all fault anyone for being an artist as a hobby, but if it is pulling you, you'll find a way and the path will probably reveal itself. For years, I was going to class 7-10pm on Tuesday. You find little pockets, and then the call becomes too loud and you figure it out.
“Studio as temple” is a phrase I say to myself. This studio is my safe space: It’s about me and the art. It’s a physical space, but also an internal space. If people are not really supportive, that doesn't mean you can't have a practice for yourself. It doesn't have to be big. It can start that small. I think that internal fire that you can build and keep safe is the spark for everything.
With social media, so many people have this unrealistic expectation of becoming an overnight success with their art. You prove it’s never too late.
I was 31 when I sold my first painting! I was 34 when I had my first solo show, which was a tiny solo show at a local gallery. I am 36 and about to do my first art fair. But, it took five years to get to a small art fair, and it took three years to get a show, and then it took 31 years to sell my first painting. It is so true: We just have to keep showing up!
P.S. Alex is also a writer on Substack! You can subscribe to her here.
Inside Alex Maceda’s Beauty Bag:
KVD Tattoo Liner and Glossier Pro Tip: “I use the brown KVD to get the shape because I find that black looks too harsh. Then, I use the Glossier Pro Tip to get a really thin line towards the end. That’s my secret: Two eyeliners.”
Dieux Air Angel: “Everything I've used from Dieux, I love. But especially the Air Angel. I have one in my bag, one in my bathroom, and their [Auracle] eye cream is so great.”
NuFace: “I’m a NuFace girl, I think it really works! I use it every other day, I feel like that’s pretty consistent.”
Jones Road Miracle Baum: “I've been using that as a blush, and I use the shade ‘Sunkissed.’”
SKII Facial Treatment - “My splurge is SKII water. My mom was like, you need to use this! And we always buy it at the Duty Free. Right after washing, I use that in the mornings, like a toner step.”
Wonder Valley Shampoo & Conditioner: “They're actually based around Joshua Tree! I use their shampoo and conditioner, it's like this yuzu olive oil-based shampoo and conditioner. It comes in the most beautiful bottle, too. That's my favorite haircare other than Nutrafol.”