Colombian-American artist Jimena Buena Vida codes catharsis into every piece she creates. A self-taught digital painter, trained engineer, and mom of two, she combines her knowledge of tech with strong emotional intelligence to create abstract generative art that invites collectors to embrace healing and personal transformation.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and now living in the U.S., Buena Vida is on a mission to inspire underrepresented artists to trust their creative vision. Her sold-out collections include “Epiphanies,” which delves into the fundamental aspects of existence, and “All Our Faces,” a generative art series decoding the layers of identity. Her animated piece, “Where We Come From,” was spotlighted in the 23rd Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards® NFT Collection.

This interview took place at the lounge at the Thunderbird Marfa during Marfa Art Blocks Weekend, where Buena Vida shared her journey, her process, and how generative art is reshaping creative possibilities in her life.

‍Note: This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

OpenSea: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your work?

Jimena Buena Vida: My work started with a desire to create a space for catharsis. I believe we’ve all experienced trauma on different levels, and with my art, I aim to create a space where people can recognize that we don’t have to be identified or labeled by trauma forever. Instead, we can digest and process the things that have hurt us and move toward a place of compassion, self-love and love for others.

OpenSea: What initially drew you to generative art?

Jimena Buena Vida: What drew me to generative art was learning about NFTs and realizing that I could use my coding skills to create pieces of work that resonated with people. I have a background in computer science and engineering, and so in a way it was an easy transition to move from creating physically, like in ProCreate by hand, into trying to translate my vision using the coding skills I already had used in college.

It’s interesting because I did struggle with imposter syndrome at the beginning. I was never really a coder by myself; I just did it for work. But what struck me as so beautiful was realizing that with creative coding and generative art, beauty comes from mistakes and errors. I realized that when I felt like I wasn’t good enough or made mistakes in my coding, those were the moments that actually created more beauty in my art. So, that was a transition for me. It became a meaningful outlet where I could experiment with programming in a way that felt creative and fulfilling.

OpenSea: How do your personal experiences, culture, and background influence your work?

Jimena Buena Vida: It's such a beautiful question because I think I'm at a point in my life where I feel so sensitive and open to experience that inspiration comes almost effortlessly. I include practices like spending a lot of time outside, walking, and being in nature. It's been amazing to use the movement of trees and water, for example, and incorporate that into my work, animating pieces inspired by those elements of nature.

But it's not just nature. As a mother raising two little ones, I get an infinite amount of inspiration from them on a daily basis. It's beautiful to see my daughters naturally being artists. For them, everything is possible. Everything they create is a masterpiece. They don't deal with imposter syndrome or self-doubt. They're not sitting there questioning, "Did I create something cohesive to the last piece?" For them, it’s simply creating for the sake of creating. Once they're finished, they move on to the next piece.

A lot of that has really inspired my own work. I'm very experimental, and I think that comes from watching my daughters and connecting with their natural, fearless approach to creativity. They’ve taught me so much about letting that creative outlet flow naturally.

OpenSea: What exercises or practices help you get into a creative flow state?

Jimena Buena Vida: I love meditation. I've been a dedicated practitioner for years, and just ten minutes of meditation each morning when I wake up has been amazing for finding a sense of peace within the chaos of myself.

For the longest time — about three decades — I was stuck in a mindset where I believed perfectionism and achieving perfect outputs in life were the only way. But art has humbled me and guided me to recognize that the chaos and imperfection are actually what makes me myself.

With meditation, along with the walking practice I mentioned earlier in nature, I’ve slowly — though it’s still a work in progress — learned to find peace in the chaos and the uncomfortable. It’s about giving myself permission to embrace the unknown. That mindset allows me to keep exploring and experimenting in a medium with such vast opportunities for creativity.

OpenSea: What is your starting point when creating generative art? Do you begin with an idea, algorithm, set of rules, or something else?

Jimena Buena Vida: Usually, I start with an idea of the color scheme. Colors have definitely become a language in my work. That language changes daily; it shifts based on my mood or whatever I’m going through in the moment. For me, there isn’t necessarily a defined goal. When I finish an artwork, I let the artwork tell me what to do. A lot of people ask, "How do you know when an artwork is finished? How do you know your pieces are complete?" Honestly, I don’t think I ever feel like a piece of my work is truly completed. I know I can get stuck when I don’t have a sense of completion or closure, but I feel like I could work on a piece infinitely. Especially with generative art, you can keep mutating the code in countless ways. You could start with X and end at Z. It’s like Play-Doh: if you don’t let it dry, you can always go back to it, keep molding it, create new pieces, or even break it apart and make new work from those pieces. Generative art is such a beautiful medium with so many possibilities.

OpenSea: What tools or platforms do you use in your creative process?

Jimena Buena Vida: Right now, I love a platform called OpenProcessing. It’s been a fantastic tool that has really helped me with my attention deficit. It helps me stay organized visually and manage multiple projects at once. OpenProcessing has allowed me to experiment freely, starting with an algorithm, tweaking it, and creating different outputs from the same seed. I’m so grateful for tools like this; they make the process exciting and accessible.

OpenSea: What does being in Marfa for this weekend mean to you?

Jimena Buena Vida: Being in Marfa feels magical. I think the town itself has a mysticism and beauty because it carries so much energy connected to art and creativity. 

I was speaking with someone today, mentioning how this town is a little bit creepy, mystical, and artsy. It’s also, like, quintessentially American in a way — when you walk the streets, you see so much of what feels like the United States. But then you have the museums, the weather, the dryness, and the slow pace, and it all has this ability to push you into a creative flow. Being in Marfa also gives me a sense of belonging and connection. This is my second time visiting, and the amazing, beautiful, one-on-one conversations I’ve had so far are what really keep me coming back. The people here are what make it so special. Getting to know so many individuals with such unique creativity and intelligence is incredible — not just artists, but also people in marketing, curators, and so many other fields. It’s fascinating to learn from everyone and feel this huge sense of connection and community. Honestly, it’s all about the people and those moments of connection. They are the reason I keep coming back. I feel that there is so much goodness in the world and that we all have a place and that we all belong, because we are truly so special and unique in so many ways. It's incredibly inspiring to be here.

OpenSea: Finally, where can people find your work?

Jimena Buena Vida: You can find me on X at @JimenaBuenaVida, Instagram at @jimenabuenavida, and LinkedIn.

OpenSea: Thank you so much for your time and thoughtful answers!

Jimena Buena Vida: Thank you so much! This was wonderful.