We recently connected with Anthony “AO” Oropeza and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony “AO” , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

My name is Anthony “AO” Oropeza, and I am a sports painter, designer, and comic book writer and creator, and the Chief Creative Artist/Designer and Owner of my studio – AOART5 llc here in Kansas City. I also work 9-5 in the marketing department as a graphic designer / communication specialist for a local park and recreation organization in the Kansas City metro area.

The Leap of Faith
The Back Story – I basically got into the business by taking a risky leap of faith. A big leap of faith. Someone told me once that I basically bet on myself. I didn’t think of it that way at the time, but I guess they were right.

About 10 years ago, in 2012-2013, my kiddo was in the 7th grade, and we (the parents) were chatting about high school. If I wanted her to a school – the bill was going to be on me. Her mom took care of most of the tuition in middle school – so it was my turn to step up. Unfortunately, my funds were either low or close to zero. So, I needed a plan – but a plan that would work – this time. I decided I had to get a part time job.

So, my part time options were 1) Get a guaranteed part time job as a barista or 2) Take up painting one more time and attempt top drum up business as a painter/artist, or 2) Take a guaranteed job as a barista.

So, I made a deal with myself – after a year of painting and other odd art jobs, if it fails – no sales or not improvement in quality of work – then I’d shut it down and I would go to Plan B – work as a barista at Starbucks.

I was going back and forth about giving this part time painting thing one more shot (which I have failed at multiple times in the past) and I knew it was a huge pipe dream. But I also knew that if I proceeded with my painting path that I had to be all in – 100% – no shortcuts. And for some reason I felt that if I was all in – then maybe something better could happen than what happen in the past.

So, before I committed fully into making painting my for sure part-time work to supplement my income, I needed to test out the skills. So, I created a test project for myself – I started a Mother Teresa painting. It’s a 4′ x 2′ acrylic painting on wood. And after putting 100% into that piece almost every evening and weekend for over two months, The Mother Teresa painting came out better than any other piece I had painted before – ever.

So, during the Mother Teresa painting process and going back and forth on whether I was going to work at Starbucks or as a freelancer and one of the things I would listen at the 9-5’er and in the car were a ton interesting, inspiring and motivating interviews. One of my favorites were the Ted Talks. There was this one Ted Talk that hit me the hardest and the one that helped me solidify my decision to take the leap. This talk was by the Professor of Economics at the University of Waterloo – Professor Larry Smith – during a TEDxUW talk posted in 2012.

In his talk he said, “There was something you could have said to your kid, when he or she said, “I have a dream. You could have said — looked the kid in the face and said, “Go for it, kid! Just like I did.” But you won’t be able to say that because you didn’t. So, you can’t. And so, the sins of the parents are visited on the poor children.” That struck deep. I didn’t want my kid to not believe in chasing her dream – small or large.

So, I made a deal with myself – after a year of painting and other odd art jobs, if it fails – no sales or not improvement in quality of work – then I’d shut it down and I would go to Plan B – work as a barista at Starbucks.

So after the Mother Teresa painting and various small commissions and while I was working on large sports painting for my art show – my social media presence grew. Then my first sports commission painting inquiry came in – and my life had the potential to change.

Anthony “AO” , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Anthony “AO” Oropeza, and I am a sports painter, designer, and comic book writer and creator, and the Chief Creative Artist/Designer and Owner of my studio – AOART5 llc here in Kansas City. I also work 9-5 in the marketing department as a graphic designer / communication specialist for a local park and recreation organization in the Kansas City metro area.

The First Big Commission – So after my leap of faith and going all in, my attempt to getting into the sports art industry started to make traction when one person saw the sports art I was producing for my show – my art of the likes of Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones and the KC Royals – Lorenzo Cain, Salvador Perez, etc. where always highlighted on social to allow viewers to see the behind the scenes work and progress and to get them involved in the process. Most seem to enjoy it but no requests for original sports art were coming in – and then the DM came.

I got a DM via Facebook one day asking if I would consider doing a commission and for a quote. After getting a few details I gave him a quote for a 24×36 acrylic on canvas for an original of a former major league pitcher who won a world series with the Oakland A’s in 1972. My quote was for $400. The largest amount I had ever ask for. He agreed. After we got off the phone, I lost my breath. After I gathered myself, I got to work. At first it was very nerve racking because now it is real. Someone is paying real money, big money, for a piece of my work. I can’t mess this up.

So, after 4-6weeks it was finished. He paid the remaining amount he owed, I shipped it to him and I waited for his response … he loved it!

Once that first painting was finished, I knew I could do the work – my next step was how do I refine my work process and how do I make the next piece even better?

And for about the last 10 years I have been doing just that – every day I am working on something and always trying to figure out how to make something better in my art, business, marketing, customer relations and most importantly, how can I make a positive impact with my daughter, her life, her education, and how can I make a positive impact within my community.

So with putting 100% in I gained traction. I landed more commissions throughout the years. Social media and word of mouth carried and I started getting noticed by art lovers, sports lovers and the media – along with getting more commission inquiries. Today I am about a 3 month wait for commissions. Sometimes it just blows my minds

Not only have I been extremely fortunate with the small amount of success my commission work has brought me, but I have been very fortunate to have been interviewed by multiple local TV stations, podcasts, on-line magazines and newspapers. I have also been extremely fortunate that my fundraising live-paintings appearances have sold pieces up to $5,000. It is always an honor knowing that my art work has had some part in raising large amounts of money to help others in the KC area these past few years.

So after many years of struggling and working to improve the quality of work, and design my pieces are worth more than they were 10 years ago. Today, my smaller pieces (24″x36″) start at $3,000, and my larger pieces (36″x48″) start at $5,000.

It is always an honor to create a piece for anyone who believes in the work and appreciates the time and effort we artist put into the design and painting of each project. And who knows, maybe when this is all said and done, and I am long gone, my paintings will be worth millions for those who believed in this poor kid from a blue collar KCK neighborhood who almost didn’t take the brushes and paints back up and paint a few things to make a few bucks for his kids education.

what type of products/services/creative works you provide –

My Work – Simply put – I provide unique, creative, colorful, raw, gritty sports art piece that can make most spaces even better. I provide a center piece or a wonderful addition to a man-cave, sports bar, basement or living room.

I offer limited edition prints sized at 11×17 and 24×36, limited original embellished canvas prints and original works starting at 24×36.

(what you think sets you apart from others)
In Kansas City, there are many great sports artist. My sports art has a distinct style. Coming from a blue-color working and sports background – you the viewer will feel the rawness and grit in the work. It’s both beautiful and messy.

I combine a realistic foreground painting of an athlete with a background consisting or abstract art, graphic design and whatever else I see fit. With my pieces, most of my background are abstract. My use of color combinations and stroke movement attempts to give you a feeling that the abstract background could stand alone by itself. Then there is the texture. The background is not a one-layer application of paint. As you study it, the background shows its multiple-colored layers which possibly indicates a thoughtful well thought out process with calculated decision-making applied to each and every stroke.

My layouts attempt to show graphic elements that complement and enhance the overall presence of the piece at a very high level. The selection of the typography, images, manipulation of images and the use of repetition in some pieces is a tribute to my layout and graphic design experience and perhaps my attempt to pay homage to past great designers. One of goals in each piece is to feel right about the placement of each element which would make it easy for the viewer to travel through the piece.

(What are you most proud of)
Proud Moment – I believe that one of my most proud moments, ever higher that MVP and Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes asking a customer if he could have one of my first prints of my first Patrick Mahomes painting, is the accomplishment of paying all four years of my kiddos tuition with what I earned doing my artwork. Every cent paid to the school was due to taking the work serious, trying to separate the negative noise, working evenings and weekends and believing good things would come if I stayed to course. I also believed that being happy for fellow artists and their achievements and knowing that this was going to be a marathon of figuring things out vs a sprint has helped me out so much.

(what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc. – )
What Potential Clients Should Know About Me – It is always a huge honor to create a piece for each and every client and I want them to know that I’ll do my best to create a great design, I will always submit the design for you to review, I’ll do my best to meet the deadline, they are always welcome to visit the studio or contact me – and I can work with them and create a payment schedule.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The Marketing: Social Media – Social media was the bridge for me. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and my AOART5.com website are a few of the keys to whatever level of success I have today – and for the past 10 years its all been a learn-as-you-go process.

Going into social I told myself if I am to be successful I had to treat my social as a business department. So I need a few unwritten policies in this “department”.

A few of those policies were: if I was serious about this art game (business), my social had to be 98% about the work. I am not selling my personal life – I am selling my work. I hoped and felt people would be interested in the work – not me, nit my religion, not my politics, or what hair gel I use (ps – my hair gel is awesome).

Next, I told myself that I had to be professional and courtious to everyone – and – if there is any negative or mean remarks about me, the business or my friends on my channel – then they should be blocked – friend, family and anyone in between – no exceptions.

And if the negaitive remarks were about something I did wrong with my work – then I need to fix it and make it right asap – no exceptions.

Another policy was that I post consistently – especially on FB and IG. It has been a challenge sometimes but al-in-all it is worth it. I have a small but awesome following and am very appreciative of them and their kindness.

Social media has increased my visibility and presence (and sales) since I am basically a one-man shop. I do the marketing (social media, web design, photography, art direction, writing and communications), promotions, customer services, negotiations, packing, shipping and sales.

For me, social media has bridged clients and potential clients and has given the viewer the ability to ask questions on the type of work I can do or anything else. In the past when I started, all I wanted to do was sports art. But clients saw previous posts on social and and realized that I could draw and paint comic book and animation characters, so many have reached out and asked if I would consider drawing or painting an animation character for them. Of course I can, I would and I did!

Social has was a huge factor in my whatever level of success. Without it, I would not have had 90% of the work or the great relationships I have today with friends and family. For me and for my business, social just has to be used in a smart, fun, informative, creative way with your goals of your business in mind with every post.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Our AOART Studio has a mission statement – “The AOART5 mission is to create work with a purpose, to produce high quality and meaningful designs that ignite emotion within our clients and the viewer. We will collaborate with other artists and clients to create the best work within our ability, and we will help our community by using our creativity, talents and hard work to assist the poor, homeless, sick, youth and uneducated in Kansas City.”, and I for the most part – I have followed my mission and I believe the studio has done some good. Of course I have personal goals and the studio also has a list of studio Principles (see website for those) that I created for future employees that come aboard.

With that said, whenever anyone asks me – “What Drives You?”, my answer is easy and almost always – “I don’t want to be poor. I didn’t want to be poor any more. I hated being poor.” When I say “poor”, I do not mean homeless, although I almost was, I mean, I didn’t like that feeling when swiping your card through the machine at QuikTrip with your fingers crossed and you silently say a small prayer hoping you have enough in the bank for $5 worth of gas, a fountain drink and a lolly pop for your kid – that 60 seconds is very stressful. I hated that feeling. It is worst.

Some of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is that I can now say I am a creative with a small amount of success, and that my crazy idea of taking that leap of working as an artist didn’t fail – yet. And no matter how long this wave I am on lasts I will keep riding it. I’ll also keep pushing myself and work hard and do my best to give back to help others. Being able to provide for your family, receiving some acknowledgement for your hard work and creativity, and for being able to share and help others in various ways are very rewarding aspects of being a creative.

Contact Info:

• Website: AOART5.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/aoart5
• Facebook: facebook.com/aoart5
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyoropeza
• Twitter: twitter.com/aoart5
• Youtube: youtube.com/@AOART5
• Other: Cell (913) 205-5093

Image Credits
AOART5 Staff: AG & AO