Elias is a creator and an artist who has been painting since she was a kid. Elias has become known as “Art Bitch” and is commissioned for unique paintings such as her wall of angels. Her goal in life was to live in a dream world, and she’s living that dream today.
Playboy: Where were you born and what was your upbringing like?
Angela Elias: I was born in New York, but I moved to New Jersey right after I was born because my dad was an air traffic controller. So, I was technically brought up in New Jersey. My mom is super creative and is an artist, so that was always very influential in my house. We had an art room growing up. So to me, I thought everybody had an art room. Like, I thought that was like, super normal. Everybody should have an art room. So it was always like that – very creative, very open, and very imaginative. I feel like everything we did had a certain type of fantasy or imaginative nature attached to it. Everything was very nostalgic in a weird way. But outside of that, we were always outside and always doing something very creative to come up with games or whatever. And then I actually went to a Catholic private high school. So even there I was kept in my imaginary world and my imaginary bubble for a very long time. I knew about other stuff, but I thought my life was the same as everybody else’s and that everything was like the way I knew it.
Playboy: Did you enjoy school or not? And, why or why not?
Angela Elias: Did I? Yeah, I was always good at it – except math. I wasn’t good at math. But everything else I did really well. And, yeah, I liked school. I was always really into English and all those things because I was really really good at it. I also loved theater and cheered. I just didn’t go to college solely for the fact that I just didn’t want to live with a bunch of kids my age. That freaked me out. So instead, I just skipped that part and just went right to the art world.
Playboy: What was the first thing you dreamed of achieving?
Angela Elias: I feel like the genuine thing for me to say is that I wanted to literally live in a dream world. Like, I don’t want real things. I want it to be like my dream world, which I kind of do live in now. So I am very lucky. I feel like I never left my dream world. So I would say that I’m kind of living it. Very grateful for that.
Playboy: Does your art allow you kind of a portal to that world as well?
Angela Elias: Oh my gosh, yeah. And that’s my whole thing – visual manifestation. And so, if you sit there and you’re focusing on something for X amount of time, it translates into reality because you’re putting so much energy and focus into it. Like my little angels on the wall that you’ll see on my Instagram. My whole thing is that I just feel like through art and through all that, I get to live my dream in reality. And I just want everybody else to get in one too. There’s color glasses for everybody here, so put them on. I love that I really feel like that’s my dream achievement.
Playboy: Where’s your favorite place that you’ve traveled to?
Angela Elias: That’s so hard. I really like Greece, just because I have family there. So that was very homey for me. That will always feel very special to me. But, I went to Vegas on an LA layover and I was so starstruck by the lights. I’m not impressed by gambling and all that, but the lights and the scene made it feel like a giant movie set just dropped in the middle of nowhere. I was like, oh my god, I get it. Like, I get this. And I just loved that. So I was only there for six or seven hours, but we were running around and I just loved it. So I would love to go back there and just check it out more. There’s so much to see with the colors and it’s so aesthetically interesting.
Playboy: What book or movie makes you deeply happy?
Angela Elias: I love this question. Oh my gosh. Okay, a movie I really, really like is Blade Runner – the new version. Amen. Even though it’s the newer one, I really like it. There’s something about the sounds that are just so amazing – like the motorcycle sound that is in the background. I love that. I’ll have it on repeat while I paint. I also like the colors in it. I really like the holographic girl. I really just like the aesthetic. And I love Harrison Ford. I’m a huge fan of his, so that was just a huge plus. I just like everything about it, especially how retro futuristic it is. I love that style of stuff. The shots in that movie are out of this world.
Playboy: It’s interesting because the world in that movie has some similarities to Vegas. The colors and neon sign moments, so it makes sense. Have you been to Tokyo yet?
Angela Elias: No, I haven’t yet. But that’s definitely on the list because I totally get that vibe and style.
Playboy: What are you passionate about?
Angela Elias: Anything that involves any type of creation. Physically painting is my primary medium. I really like oil paints. I just started those, and I’m like, oh my god, I love this. But outside of that, I really like videography editing, photography editing, and anything that’s aesthetically eye-catching. I’m so into videography, specifically, I actually took a lot of the videos down off of our bits, just because I’m doing like a rebrand before the collection launch thing. But I love taking cool videos and editing them. Even if it doesn’t really have to do with the art, I’ll find a way to mix it in with the feeling of the painting. So I guess a creative-directing type of vibe.
Playboy: What would make you ghost a potential suitor?
Angela Elias: They have to have the vibe. If the vibe isn’t there all the way or if the energy is off then no, thank you. Oh yeah, and my dog – I have a German shepard, she’s downstairs. So she has to approve of the person too. If they even get that far, I would just say the vibe. Right off, right off, check, right?
Playboy: What’s one setback women uniquely face, and how do you fight back against that?
Angela Elias: I would say a setback is women not understanding them to the fullest and underestimating the power that women do hold. I would say that’s really, really misunderstood these days and it’s difficult to get your mind wrapped around it. It feels like I can do everything as a girl and the capability to do things doesn’t have to be based on sec or gender. I feel like a lot of times femininity isn’t fully embodied. And I get that because I’ve been on the other side, But once you are fully embodied in it, I feel like it makes everything make so much more sense. And a lot of girls, you know, they don’t feel safe enough to be able to do that. I feel so strongly for them, because I totally get that. But once you are able to feel in a safe space physically and mentally, you can fully embody that feminine energy. I feel like that really opens. Some women feed into the anger, which I understand to a degree, but I feel like it almost cuts you off as a woman in a way.
Playboy: What’s the title of your autobiography, if you had one?
Angela Elias: “Dream World.” That’s a wrap.
Playboy: Were you painting when you were a kid or did that come later?
Angela Elias: I would. I used to get so frustrated about it. I would get so bratty about it, but I was always doing something like painting murals on my walls. I did Starry Night on my one bedroom wall and my mom was super okay with all that. So I got the okay to do things like that.
Playboy: So then, what about art? Bitch? When did you decide to do that?
Angela Elias: So, it was four years ago, I think, and I was in Jersey. I was at cosmetology school and I realized that I hate touching hair. This is so bad. I hate touching hair. Hate it. Like, don’t like it. I’m like, This is not good. And I wanted to move to Florida. And I was like, how am I going to get the money? Because I was in school, I didn’t have the money. And I was really bugging about it. So, one day I painted a girl in a basketball court in Florida with like the prawns and the poncho swimsuit on, and it’s still one of my favorite paintings. Then I was like, let me post them all for sale. I posted them all before I went to school, then I went to school, and literally, they all sold. I ended up able to buy my little flight down to go meet my friend down in Florida. I was like, okay, wait, I’m gonna keep doing this. Like, I don’t ever want to go to work. I’m not cooked for that. No way, not happening. So I just kept posting them and people kept paying and they kept selling. And I was like, Oh, this was like, crazy good. And I just kept doing it. One of my friends said to me one day ‘so, like, what do you do?’ And I said ‘art, bitch.’ Like, what? Obviously. So I just took that and ran with it. And I just kind of kept running with it. And then, you know, kept getting custom paintings, kept doing it, and realized that this is going to be my thing. This is going to be my name. I ended up moving back home during COVID, like everybody did, and now I’m in Miami.
Playboy: You mentioned commissions earlier. Do you still take them?
Angela Elias: Yes. I’m doing one right now. The majority of my work are commission-based but, I mean, it goes back and forth. I try to fit in on my own also, but I get a lot of commissions for sure.
Elias is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her now.
