The studio of Oakland-based artist Anna Valdez feels familiar even on first visit. Light spills through the transom windows of the old warehouse, illuminating stacks of stretched canvas and a shelf full of hot sauce and postcards. A large canvas stretched across the far wall reflects the table near the door, artfully draped in textiles, plants, books, and vessels. The objects appear in various stages of conclusion, a tartan sheet supernaturally suspended on a yet to be rendered chair. Valdez explains that her inclination toward oil paints, an impractical choice considering the vibrancy and clarity of her images, requires her to be patient with her work. She grabs us a couple cups of coffee and we sit together at a paint splattered table to discuss art, travel and the importance of going slow.

When I started with archeology I did a field study. I put all of the money I saved over a few years of work to go on this trip, at this point I had never left the country. I went to Ireland, it felt like a good place because they speak English, so it was safe-ish. I believe in not going to the extremes right away – to have a good experience you have to step into it, which has served me well. I guess I'm a cautious person, and very curious as well, which is a strange mix. I was climbing a mountain every single day – doing an architectural analysis on this deserted village at the top. In the evenings we would climb down the mountain, have a shower, eat our dinner, and go to pubs. I was 20, so It was perfect.

I feel like I'm on the same side of that coin. I don't think my technical skills are great – I've only been painting for a short time. I wasn't trained in the classical ways of rendering, or how to use perspective or whatever. But I feel like I'm never out of ideas. The work just kind of comes out no matter what. I'll be having conversations with people or there's something funny that happens, and I want to make a painting of it – to record it. I don't want to say glorify it, that's not the right word, but to sort of mark the occasion. My favorite paintings have come out of not knowing what to paint and being on the phone with somebody and they say something funny and I'm like "Oh yeah, I'm not a romantic person", 'Yo no soy romantica', that's one of my favorite paintings I've made. It's kind of shitily done, but it was literally done while I was on the phone with someone. I look at the painting and laugh and I like that other people can look at the painting and connect with it as well.

I never aim for my work to be realistically rendered at all. I mean, I can respect people whose work has those qualities, it's not easy. It's almost a born talent, I think some people can learn it, but most people have it in them – or they don't . It's really amazing what they do, but I'm not so interested in the work that is being produced. Unless it's really conceptually interesting, like it is really funny or like they're saying something really strong, you know? There's something very exhilarating about it. I honestly don't feel like I'm painting sometimes, it just feels like I'm going into a trance. The act of painting becomes this spiritual act, in a very similar way to meditation or worship. I've got to be careful with my words, I'm not actually worshiping the paintings. I'm just saying, I find it fulfills that part of my humanity, so I've got that. Check.

You can find Anna's work at annavaldez.com and on exhibit at Gallery Bergelli.