We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anthony Ortiz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was very young when I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career. My story started the first time I went to the movies. It was in the late seventies and I grew up in The Bronx. I saw the 1976 version of King Kong. I was just in awe of the movies. The images just grabbed me and the intensity was incredible and I was hooked. As I got older I pursued a career in street dance in the earlier eighties which landed me in The Greatest Show on Earth (not the movie), but the actually show. It was then that I started talking my artistic Journey seriously.

I began auditioning for shows after my two year run on the road with the Greatest Show on Earth. I began taking acting classes and audition for movies, soaps, theater, you name it I was there. I landed another tour playing Cookie Monster for Sesame Street Live and I was off traveling again for another two years.

After I returned to New York I study with Acting coach Bernie Rochelle ( Inside Man, Blow Out, Rob the Mob). I spent about a year under his tutelage and auditioning. I was originally cast in a latino based comedy sketch show House of Buggin that was created by actor John Leguizamo. However, Johns career had taken off and the show was placed on hold for several years. One day it aired with a whole new cast.

So my acting career never took off like I wanted to and life went in another direction. I met the love of my life, we married, had three amazing children and I began a career.

During this journey I had always knew that I had this passion for art. I loved museums and loved looking at all the beautiful paintings. I was an artist in many forms visually, I loved photograph, especially Black and White photos. I actually do still love photograph. But it was my wife of twenty eight years that kept on me about painting. I had tried it in the late nineties and put it to the side and it sat dormant in my soul for many years. Until the pandemic.

I had decided to try again to rediscover my passion for painting and dived all the way in. I had no idea where it would go or if I even had the fire to go at it again. To my amazement I did. It felt like I found a new purpose, my passion was in fire again for painting. I have been slowly pushing my way into the art world. Art is so subjective so I had to learn this right away and not allow my inner self critic get in the way. The more I let go the more I noticed people were enjoying my work.

Anthony, 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?

I am a self taught abstract painter, I have never taken an art class although I would love to. I think that is when my inner self critic gets in the way. I learned by watching other artist on you tube, reading books and watching fellow artist in social media present their personal techniques. I simple abandoned all societal norms and decided to just take the risk. I am a risk taker I believe there is no time to fuss around with how people would view me. But I wasn’t always like that. It was a learning process of pulling layers off to get to where I am at. I got into the industry just by trial an error. I also watched the great masters on the abstract movement, Motherwell, Gorky, Pollock, de Kooning, Kline, Rothko, Frankenthaler, Clyfford Still, and many others

There are no secrets in the art world. It is hard work. Some of us are lucking enough to get our big gallery break and some of us work just a littler harder. I was the work harder dude and still am. I am an intuitive abstract painter. I seldom work with an end in mind. I work from my gut and instincts. I allow my work to tell a story and I think that resonate with people. My work can be interpret the way you see it. I want my work to be an emotional connection when you view it. My “why” is too connect emotionally with my audience and you do the rest by bringing your perspectives. I don’t have just one particular style so I can’t be categorized and I think this separates me from other artist. I work on canvas, paper, birchwood boards, canvas paper, mix media and collage.

I am most proud of actually taking the risk. I wish more people would do that. When you find something you are extremely passion about it is not a mistake and don’t let people blow out your candle. I believe that you have to just keep going in my work I learn by trial and error. Because I have a film background I’d love the opportunity to see my work on a film set just hanging in the background. I am also interested in commercial decor seeking to duplicate my art for the professional industry like hospitals, offices, and hotels.

I also do commissioned work and interested in doing large scale works. Work on a grand scale fascinates me.

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

I think that art has become an upgrade to society. WhatI mean by that is that it is extremely hard for an artist to make it in todays world. I have a dream of having a studio. Right not my studio is my garage at home. This makes it difficult to do larger works let alone storage. But space is at a premium and artist find it very difficult to grow and expand because of the limitations. I think more grants and support for the arts is a must.

Artist must come together and share ideas and if so share spaces to take off that heavy load of having an art studio. If an artist can apply and possibly receive a working grant where they can have a working studio and be able to focus on their craft I think we would see many more artist emerge.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

When someone can look at my work and learn something about themself from it. Art, in any form enlightens the mind and soul. I believe art is the universal language for humans. If we look at any form of ancient art we see humans telling a stories and connecting. When a story is told right many people connect emotionally.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.anthonyortizstudios.com
• Instagram: @anthonyortizstudios

Image Credits
Artist Talk Magazine