I was born in Perú, my parents moved to the United States in August 1988, looking to start a new life in hopes of new opportunities for me and my brother.
We settled in Jamaica Queens, New York. With little English, I made friends, went to school and was able to adapt to a new environment easily. The opportunity of seeing the world was through my friends, who all came from different parts of the world.
Making my parents proud, I finished with a Bachelors of Communications, focusing on Multi Media at Marymount Manhattan College in the upper east side of Manhattan. I liked questioning and learning and so it was easy for me to graduate with honors, earning to be part of the Communications Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta.
A few years after graduating college I had an epiphany of my future. My passion for art leaned towards children’s illustration and story writing with a focus on education. My drive to change my career drove me to attend FIT’s summer courses and I learned graphic and web design. Eventually earning a certificate in Flash Action Script 2 at Noble Desktop located in Soho, New York.
I picked up photography along the way and learned digital photography on my own. Handling the camera became easy for me since I was technically trained. In time, I discovered the use of photography in regards of story telling and expressing myself. I later covered a tragic experience in my life in 2005 which I later put together as a series named Bicycle Series, NYC. Eventually, I proudly exhibited Bicycle Series, NYC at Galeria Juan Pardo Hereen in Lima, Peru in April 2010.
My college training and other trainings after helped me refine my art projects and my business ventures. I’m now a well rounded artist with technical and visual talent. Because of this, I was able to create a character in which later helped me move forward with my personal aspirations of being a children’s book illustrator and writer, that character being called BatOwl. The creative process helped me take upon other mediums, one in which I discovered to like very much, wood.
I am currently self-employed and work as freelance graphic and web designer, along with product photography.
If you would like to know more of my services, you can e-mail me at gabriela@gabrielamanrique.com or visit www.gabrielamanrique.com
