A Brazilian artist’s career took off after an influencer walked into the supermarket where she worked as a cashier.
27-year-old Jéssica Lira was in the middle of a shift when Instagrammer Otto Compiani walked into the supermarket in the southeastern city of Joinville and was shocked by how much she resembled pop star singer Sandy.
Compiani asked his followers if they agreed that the woman who packed a customer’s groceries was really the singer who rose to fame in the 1990s with her brother in the duo Sandy & Junior.
The video was viewed more than 10,000 times by the time Lira settled in and eventually caught Sandy’s attention.
The singer was impressed by the drawings on Lira’s Instagram and urged the young woman to pursue her dream with a heartfelt message.
Jéssica Lira’s (left) career as an artist began in June when she was unknowingly recorded by an influencer who thought she looked like Sandy (right), a famous singer
Jéssica Lira (pictured)’s days as a cashier at a supermarket in the city of Joinville in southeastern Brazil were numbered when a video in which an influencer asked if she looked like star singer Sandy went viral in June. Lira would work for another two weeks before quitting to focus on her career as an artist
“I believe things don’t happen by chance,” Sandy wrote. “Be happy, thank you for your affection.”
Lira continued to work for two more weeks and had to walk away permanently in July.
“I started to realize that I couldn’t reconcile the two things,” Lira said. “I would come home tired and then start drawing and doing live shows.”
“My clients themselves started encouraging me to dedicate myself to art,” Lira added. ‘After thinking about it a lot and realizing that I needed time to fulfill my obligations for the completion of the works, I decided to leave.’
Brazilian realism artist Jéssica Lira (left) saw her career take off in June after social media influencer Otto Compiani visited the supermarket where she worked as a cashier and was shocked by how much she resembled Sandy (right), a pop singer
Jéssica Lira (pictured) said that companies have made offers to work on promotional campaigns
Jéssica Lira (pictured) has seen drawing commissions increase since the viral video filmed in June by influencer Otto Compiani when he walked into the supermarket where Lira worked and did a double-take after thinking Brazilian singer Sandy was bagging groceries at the checkout.
Lira found her passion for art at the age of 7, but started focusing on it seriously six years ago.
She organized her first show in July and companies soon followed with offers to work on promotional campaigns.
“I had never done an exhibition before, my dream was to get an opportunity like this and as a result I got invitations to different events,” said Lira as she recalled how fans approached her to say how much they looked like Sandy.