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

Alright, Oliver thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Learning a craft takes perseverance and hard work. While many may say they can do it, it’s not easy. Learning any skill takes time, just like learning to walk before running and processing everything around us.

For me, art was always in my blood. My family consisted of jewelers and creators, and my father always encouraged me to work with my hands. He advised me to learn a craft to fall back on in case my dreams didn’t come true. This pushed me even harder to pursue my dream of being an artist.

Though art was often seen as a mere hobby, I was drawn to it from a young age through my love for comics and history. I started by copying characters and creating my superheroes, but I didn’t realize at the time that art could become my career.

I learned from my mistakes through practice, whether it was terrible drawings or horrible paintings. Learning from others, attending artist demonstrations, listening to lectures, and reading history books were essential skills in my journey. As an art educator, I always tell my students of all ages that there is no shortcut to learning – it takes time and practice.

What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

When I was younger, Spanish was my first language and I struggled with reading in English due to a language barrier. However, I found that images were incredibly helpful and captivating, providing me with a visual aid to assist in my learning. Writing was a struggle in my early education but that didn’t stop me, my family pushed me to work harder and learn new ways.

Nothing should hold you back from your dreams always pursue for awesomeness!!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in Miami, with a strong desire to become a renowned artist. Drawing pictures has been my lifelong passion. Before that, I harbored aspirations of becoming a race car driver, oblivious that I needed to learn how to drive first.

These were dreams as I was only 5 yrs old.

Growing up in the 80s was a blast as a child. I enjoyed biking, spending time with friends, and listening to music while playing boxball on my front porch. However, I always had a passion for drawing that consumed me at any given time of the day. My main objective was to improve with age, and drawing was always my top priority. During high school, I was nicknamed “art boy” and always carried my portfolio with me. When I attended High school in Miami, I discovered my love for graffiti and my desire to utilize my talent to generate income. Despite my admiration for graffiti, I never defaced any property with my art. Instead, I began offering to draw on students’ backpacks as a way to earn money, which proved to be a prosperous venture. As I matured, I began participating in art scholarship competitions and experiencing success in them. This was when I realized that my passion for art could potentially become a career in the future.

Even after graduating high school, I was uncertain about which type of artist I wanted to become. I was unsure about which college to attend or which path to pursue, as finances were always a concern. I had been working since I was 13, and my father instilled the value of hard work in us early on. It took me 5 years of studying graphic design, interior design, architecture, fine arts, and art history to find out this was not my calling. However, I still felt unaccomplished until one day, I attended a college fair and met an exceptional instructor from Ringling College. The instructor encouraged me to pursue a career in illustration, and that’s when I finally felt like I found my true passion.

During my three years at Ringling College, I learned more than I did in five years of prior art education. My passion for pushing boundaries in my art and achieving success is largely due to my instructor and friend, George Pratt. He provided me with guidance and support, emphasizing that crafting art takes time and that learning new techniques is necessary to become an accomplished artist. During my three years, I also went to the Illustration Academy. The academy was an amazing school of information and demonstrations from world-renowned artists that shared their wealth of knowledge.

But, after graduating, that’s when “The real world” happened. Learning art was the easy task but learning the business was the hard part. After graduating in 2008 I went back home and didn’t get a job with a studio. Started working at Home Depot and worked on my portfolio. It took about 6 months to get a freelance project, my first big gig was with Men’s Style Australian Mag. in 2009. From there I started working as a freelance artist. It wasn’t easy, I lost gigs on the way I picked gigs that weren’t good pay but I knew I wanted to improve my portfolio so with each assignment I took it as a big paying gig.

I shifted my focus to personal projects in 2011, with a particular interest in American History. I created a portfolio that reflected this passion, resulting in fascinating assignments that captured my attention. In 2012, I worked on children’s books, which became my second most significant project.

My first book, “Electrical Wizard: How Nicola Tesla Lit Up the World,” was a children’s book that I illustrated. I discovered my niche in children’s book biographies and have never looked back since. I love depicting the stories of important people who are not commonly known.

Over time, I expanded my work to include illustrating more children’s books. However, my ambitions went beyond that. With experience. came an understanding of the industry, both successes and failures, and I realized I had a voice to share with others. I climbed the ranks and began teaching, starting with middle school and eventually advancing to high school. Eventually, I returned to my alma mater, Ringling College, where I now teach as an illustrator instructing students in children’s book illustration, media, and figure drawing.

Hard work is the key element in any succession in life, I always tell my students you have a voice don’t hold back, and explore new ways in finding your passion.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Pay artist! I know that sounds cliche and pretty sure you’ve read or had conversions about it. But this is the most important aspect of supporting an artist. Underpay is disrespectful to any artist, the saying “anyone can do it” is not mindful of how hard it takes for someone to create.

Understand the struggles when you start any career, it will help if pay is not an issue.

But once you found a voice in the community you should always as an artist share your wealth of knowledge don’t hold back and keep it a secret.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2013, my life changed forever with the birth of my first child, whom I affectionately call Monkey. This momentous occasion altered my career aspirations and life goals. The desire to achieve fame or recognition in the art community no longer held much significance. Instead, my attention turned towards making wise decisions that would positively impact my child’s development. Nonetheless, I continued to dedicate time to honing my craft. It’s crucial to ask oneself, “What truly matters?” Time flies by quickly, and missing out on opportunities with your children can lead to regret.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.oliverdominguezart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliverdominguezart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-dominguez-290b47b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oliverdominguez
• Other: www.breeandgagehatco.com My hat company