Self Portrait, 2020, Oil on Canvas

Blanquita Sullivan

Visual Arts : Illustrator , Mixed Media Artist , Painter , Textiles

Blanquita is an interdisciplinary artist and business leader from San Antonio, Texas. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), holds a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and studied painting at The Art Students League and the New York Studio School. Previously, Blanquita worked as a merchandiser and multi-store retail director for designers Betsey Johnson and Anna Sui before developing her own clothing line, Bonjour Biqui. She is currently Retail Operations Director for Niche Clothing Co. and lives in San Antonio with her husband Michael and their 3 daughters.

Artist Statement of Work

Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):

Blanquita Sullivan is an interdisciplinary artist who weaves together painting, magical realism, and storytelling to explore memory, home, and ancestral presence. Rooted in personal and collective histories, her paintings remind us of our connection to the land, the lingering past, and the ghosts who live among us.

Drawing from family archives, oral histories, and imagined scenes, Blanquita constructs dreamlike landscapes and interiors that blur the boundaries between reality and myth. Figures are surrounded by symbolic objects, exist in inhabited spaces, and wear garments that speak to identity, lineage, and transformation. Her paintings serve as acts of remembrance telling us pieces of layered intergenerational stories.

With a background in fashion design and retail, Blanquita has spent 20+ years at sewing machines, cutting tables, in fitting rooms, and as a visual merchandiser. This experience has greatly influenced her work and she often includes textiles, fashion illustration, and garment making techniques such as weaving and embroidery into her paintings.