Cuban-born graphic designer that emigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago to realize his dream to become a Graphic Designer, made the move into NFTs in 2020. He saw the opportunity to sell his artwork as NFTs, and to be a part of a growing community of artists that are doing the same thing.
He draws inspiration from everything in the world; music, images, words and feelings. As an experienced graphic designer, he has a multitude of skills to draw from when creating his art. He said that sometimes he will browse through imagery and think about how to make it unique, and that could turn into a series or 1/1 artwork.
We discussed his new series, The Orishas, which is a generative profile picture project that is minting on async. Orishas are spirits/gods that come from the Yoruba religion of Nigeria. That religion came to Cuba when Nigerian slaves were left there by the Spanish traders. It mixed with Catholicism in Cuba and is practiced by 80% of the Cuban population.
His series consists of the 7 traits per Orisha, and are based on his memories from the stories his grandmother told him about each of the Orishas.
His process for creating is 80% digital. He stated that he is almost always in front of a computer, so that when he has a creative idea, he usually starts on the computer. But in the rare times he isn’t in front of a screen, he will sketch or record his words as a means to get the idea down.
His favorite color is Blue! But more recently he has been getting into Red. Turns out he is color-blind to the color Red, and is drawn to using it more and more in his current work. This led to his series, Beauty Expressions, which uses many shades of red! He said that this will be a never-ending series, as all women are beautiful and he loves to show the beauty of women!
His favorite artist is Salvador Dali.
Currently, he working on a new series based on Lucha Libre wrestler’s masks. This will also be a pfp project, and will be free to those that sign up for the presale!!!
And the message that he wants people to take away from his art is, “to take whatever comes up for you when you look at his work, and that’s it.” “Make it yours.” And “ just keep creating.”
Listen to his full interview below!