Charlene Villena

“I started out wanting to major in graphic design but switched over to fine art. I wanted to focus more on illustration and painting. It was really hard to find a job in San Diego because I had so many interests – from photography, art, and videography. But I decided that I wanted to start creating content on YouTube combining my love for both art and videography.I do a lot of urban sketching. I’m the type of person with a bad memory so I draw to remember my surroundings and details. With drawing I’m able to understand my surroundings better by taking the time to observe and remember those little details like sound and smell. I use these drawings similar to a photo album of my life.Since starting to create videos a few years ago, I love that I have the ability to inspire people around the world to document their own world on paper as well just by sharing my own urban sketches and vlogs.When asked, ‘what’s next?’ I want to be to travel more and urban sketch my adventures. I created a mini travel sketchbook during a weekend trip to SF almost a year ago and it was a fun way to document my trip. I want to be able to do that more often! I’d love to travel to all the places on my list (all over the US/Canada, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Sweden, Santorini, Thailand, etc!), immerse myself in different cultures, lifestyles, architecture, food and people and fill a sketchbook with everything. Eventually, I would love to convert them into books for everyone around the world to enjoy and use it as a way to inspire them. That’s definitely an ultimate dream of mine!”

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1467914717337-ed228d8b-afb9-5" include="2006,2004,2003,2002,2008,2001"][/vc_column][/vc_row]We’ve followed Charlene’s journey for quite some time now and finally had the chance to sit down with her at Communal Coffee. If that wasn’t enough, we were able to see her draw up an Urban Sketch of her point of view of where she sat at Communal Coffee as well! It was an incredible experience getting to hear about her passion for art and videography and how she combines the two in sharing videos she makes on her YouTube channel. You can find vlogs and behind the scenes footage of it all and see her in action as I did in her recent video: Moment Diary - June 27, 2016Char is an incredibly talented individual who lives by her motto “Create everyday. Stay motivated.” And we love seeing what she creates! We can’t wait to see her journey continue to unfold! Be sure to keep up with her and see what she’s up to on her Instagram and YouTube! You won’t be disappointed! Take a look at her photos she shared with us below from our Coffee & Convos![vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id="vc_gid:1467914674287-4b91808a-7cc1-3" include="1998,2000,1999"][/vc_column][/vc_row]