We were lucky to catch up with Karrtune recently and have shared our conversation below.

Karrtune, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

I was married to a man for 25 years who did not support my artistic vision. He would not help me physically or mentally setting up at art fairs and other artistic venues. I remember him saying to me as I prepared for an art Fair I don’t know why you bother doing this nobody’s going to buy your art. I finally broke off with him and divorced him and ended up homeless and on drugs and alcohol. 2018 I meant this man that I am currently with. He right away help me sober up and has been my biggest support. Every single thing that I need or use to create my art he has bought for me. He has given me nothing but praise and positivity and help me gain my self-esteem and is my biggest cheerleader. Anytime I’m feeling sorry for myself he reminds me of what a great talent I have and to keep going
. So that is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.

Karrtune, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Let me start off by saying my mother is an artist so early on she realized I was blessed with the gift of creating art. She was a single mother and could not afford putting me in specialized schools for art so she encouraged me to always take an art class through my general education. My first professional job in art where I got paid was creating book covers for an Australian writer friend my mother had. I wasn’t paid in money but he bought me a $700 computer as payment. I was about 17 at the time. That was the most exciting feeling that I got creating these book covers and knowing that I’m a published artist now. I have a creative mind so all my art did not match. it was pretty chaotic. So fast forwarding from there I did art shows and art fairs but had to difficulty selling
my art . I did murals and sold like a piece of art here and there until 2020. I would do First Fridays in the gallery and the curator is very smart. I asked him why isn’t my artwork selling and he said that he knows that I’m talented but my artwork looks like college assignments. That none of my artwork matches and I have to find a niche. He continued to tell me to find what I love to draw the most and just stick with that. And I did. I started to draw beautiful women that I found on the internet from the 1920s to 1970s these women would be movie stars. I also change my medium. Even though I’m able to use acrylic paint I found that I enjoyed using colored pencils and markers to create my images of women. I also created a special way to do their hair .That helped with Niche and people can identify that was my art. I also chose an art name for myself which is cartoon however I changed the spelling of it so people would remember my name. KARRTUNE was now the name I go by. I received the name from a young man who said that my art was cartoony and so was I. I also change my image by wearing different colored braids. And believe me people remember me. One night while I was doing first Friday I heard a potential buyer say to her husband these women are so beautiful but I don’t know who they are. So that’s when I realized I have to do something
different so that my potential buyers can relate to the images so I chose to put reflective sunglasses on every picture. Hiding their eyes with the reflective sunglasses made people connect with my art. Remember eyes are the window of your soul and take away the eyes they can relate to the women. Since I’ve done that I’ve heard many many people say doesn’t she look like me ? So I achieved my niche and people know that is my artwork on
murals or canvases or paper they’ve
seen. One thing I want everyone to know is that making money off my art is
exciting and it’s a great way to pay your
bills but that is not the reason why I do it. The Feeling I get knowing that my artwork is hanging on someone’s wall or my murals on the street and people driving by to see it that is the most rewarding thing to me that’s why I also donate my art to organization every year. The most satisfying donation I did was during the unrest and covid I donated a picture to the Long Beach Police Department it was a picture of a white police officer kneeling down and tying the black child’s shoelace and behind them is positive words and I donated to the police department and I received a phone call from Chief Luna Long Beach Chief of Police thanking me for my art. What a great feeling to donate.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My main mission with my art is to make people smile. Seeing the joy when they look at my art warms my heart. And I also enjoy talking with people in person so they can tell me what drew them to the piece of art. I don’t have time to do much social media cuz every moment of the day when I’m not taking care of my mom or my family I’m doing art so doing these art shows are a great place for me to relax and speak with people.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

It’s amazing to me how people don’t realize that everything they touch and see is art. Example, furniture, food packaging, billboards, everything that we see. The blinds on your window. Some creative person designed that so for them to take art out of schools is just crazy to me. Not everybody can afford to go to art college and having art in the schools is the way for them to learn and achieve their talent.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ogkarrtune