We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful 13row. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with 13row below.
13row, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I actually quit my “regular job” as a CNC machinist a few years ago to go back to school and learn to paint. I’ve spent a lot of time questioning this decision, and wondering if I made a mistake. However, I always felt underpaid and unappreciated in the field of aerospace. As an artist I get to bring to life to my own ideas and as a machinist I was simply manufacturing someone else’s ideas. Even though I was making and building things I was always deprived of creative freedom.
As a full time student and painter I spend my days living out my creative dreams. I get to bring my ideas to life and express myself in my own way. The biggest issue a new artist faces is making sure the bills get paid. I still need steady work and an income. My first semester at LCAD I had to cut back on a lot of the luxuries I had become a custom to. I didn’t know how my family would get through the month on only one income. Seeing the refrigerator practically empty triggered me. Then when we were five hundred dollars short for the rent, I really didn’t think being an artist was going to be for me. I soon discovered that the school hires students to work at their gallery. They taught me about art handling, worked with my schedule and referred me to the local museum. I get to handle paintings and sculptures all day which allows me to go home inspired rather than stressed out like my previous career. I realized that a “regular job” can also be stimulating and creative. It just doesn’t make you rich. I still have to work regular jobs to help subsidize my income, but it doesn’t have to be in a field I hate.
To answer whether I’m happier or not, I would have to say I am the happiest when I am creating. Whether creating for a client or just myself, the project is reliant upon my creativity and abilities. I find joy in problem solving and creating something from nothing. Painting allows me to do just that. It gives me the freedom that I have always desired. I may never go back to traditional work but I know I have found happiness in my new career.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a senior graduating from Laguna College of Art and Design. Originally, I wanted to make narrative based paintings that paid homage to hiphop culture but quickly gravitated towards painting portraits of my family, friends, teachers and mentors. I quickly began focusing on motifs such as painting people with tattoos and people who looked like they came from more urban environments. I also put a lot of effort in trying to fuse my background of painting abstractly with the traditional methods of representational painting that I was studying. I knew if I wanted to effectively break the rules I first needed to learn the rules.
As a child, I had a pretty traumatic upbringing and spent most of my early years moving around. I relied upon my imagination for entertainment and enjoyed drawing the images in my mind. Art has always been my escape from reality. I first started painting around 2008 during my junior year of high school. I was invited to join the advanced art program. I began painting non-representationally after discovering color theory. Abstract expressionism, or ‘action painting” as I called it, gave me an outlet to express the frustrations that words couldn’t seem to express. During this time skateboarding and painting were my only outlets for escapism and to be honest they kept me out of trouble while giving me a sense belonging. I even won best in show at the Orange County Fair. I didn’t have much of a support system and the idea of collage wasn’t something my family discussed. I went to a summer program at Cal Arts after graduating high school, but failed to get accepted into their BFA program. Not that it was ever really an option, but I did apply.
I quickly pivoted to a trade school in order to make ends meet and I became a machinist. As I found myself working long hours in the machine shop, I spent the next decade drifting away from painting. It wasn’t until the pandemic that my wife encouraged me to go back to school. It was during this time that I transitioned from painting abstractly to drawing and painting representationally. I spent a few semesters taking classes online as a part time student before tragedy struck and our entire apartment complex burned down. Literally, this lit a fire in me to apply to Laguna College of Art and Design.
Knowing that I was an older student, I convinced myself that I had to make this work. I was not going back to the machine shop. So for me, this was an opportunity of a lifetime. During my time here at LCAD, I have overcome many obstacles such as imposter syndrome, survivors guilt and even self doubt. But I have never allowed any of these obstacles to prevent me from learning or educating myself. I quit my job to pursue a new career doing something that would ultimately make me happier. Upon graduating and entering the art world, my only goal is to keep growing as a painter.
As far as clients, I wouldn’t mind doing commissioned portraits or dabbling in freelance illustration. I would love to collaborate with some of my favorite skateboard brands doing graphics or album art work for HipHop artists. Honestly though, I want to do it all! I don’t want to be limited to just selling paintings
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My only goal is creative freedom. I refuse to allow anyone or anything limit my creativity including myself. I refuse to be limited by any medium, surface, style or outlet for that matter. I don’t wish to create the same thing over and over. I don’t ever want my art to feel stale or gimmicky. I will forever strive to improve my craft and explore new methods and mediums. My choice to go back to school was driven by a desire to do something that makes me happy. I don’t create for others, I create because it makes me happy. My only mission is to authentically share my artistic vision by expressing my personal truth and documenting the world how I interpret it. Oh yea, and have fun while doing it!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I speak to a lot of artists who are often frustrated by the process of creating. As if painting is this constant struggle of problem solving that ultimately ends when an artist reaches satisfaction. To me that sounds insane and I simply cannot comprehend it. To not enjoy painting but only enjoy the end result sounds depressing. I refuse to sit in front of my easel and allow the luxury painting ever upset or frustrate me. If a painting becomes frustrating at any point, it’s time for a break. To me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the process and act of creating. It is a complete luxury to sit in front of my easel and create. There are so many worse things I could be doing. It would be an insult to say every second in the studio isn’t a blessing,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://13rowjmn.wixsite.com/13row
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13.row
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-mairena-nyquist-5544962a7/
Image Credits
All images created by Joshua “13row” Mairena Nyquist