About

Neftali Mejia was raised in a small town in El Salvador, the youngest of twelve brothers and sisters. His passion for art started at five years of age, and he spent much of his childhood alongside uncles, cousins, and other families who loved to gather together to draw and sketch.

After graduating from high school, Neftali went to work full-time in order to support his family. He enrolled in a small local college in the evenings, where he focused on the fine arts and expanded his artistic medium beyond pencil and paper to acrylics.

At the age of eighteen, Neftali traveled alone to Queens, New York, with the goal of being able to support his family back home. He learned English and worked a variety of restaurant jobs washing dishes, prep cooking, bussing tables, and bartending. While these jobs never stopped him from drawing and painting, his pursuit of art as a career began in 2014. At that time, Neftali began experimenting with oils, which is now his preferred medium.

Much of Neftali’s early work was based on memories from childhood. His more recent work is noted for its strong use of color, abstract imagery, and celebration of the feminine. Neftali currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.