We recently connected with Damian Alvarez II and have shared our conversation below.

Damian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’d say I mostly learned how to create the way I do by taking the creative process with me everywhere I go. Now I’m not saying I had a sketch book in hand at the dentist, but essentially that’s what it takes. I spent a lot of my youth learning through art books, art collector websites, and the real world art galleries. In between those moments are schools education, life lessons, and of course my family. Picking up the pen to draw is special because of the specific world and life God has created for me. There is no way to speed up who I am or can be, especially in the realm of creating work.
My most valuable skill is patience. And a little bit of patience can change the way a piece of work looks, the way you see others around you, the way you engage with life itself. Everyone experiences the understanding of what it means to put knowledge into practice. But we all find our control at different times in life. The only obstacle that stood in my way when creating was my own ego. Wanting things to be done when they are not ready to be done. You can only change how the wind flows to you, not the direction.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a black/hispanic man from Hollis Queens, New York. My favorite day of the week is a Wednesday, and I’m a perfectionist.
I became interested in the type of work I do essentially from storytelling. I grew up watching cartoons and reading comic books. But at a very young age, something in me said “I can do this too” and that’s how it pretty much happened.
My favorite thing to do is build worlds, universes with multiple characters, life’s, and objects of interest. I think of my self as a designer when I am in the flow of creating. Everything is self indulgent in the desire to see these worlds come to life. I obsess over the small details, and wish to blend my works in all forms of 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional spaces.
What sets me apart from other artist is my commitment to the type of unique beauty I can provide. My work has its own vocabulary and life. I can be separated from it so that it can grow, but it’s also something only I have truly created. I am proud of everything about my projects and their ideals. My biggest goal right now is to create larger and smaller projects at the same time. There’s a lot of me locked in that needs to be free. Many ideas that need a complete focus of energy that I just don’t have at the moment.
I’d like everyone who is interested in me to understand that I only want to create things that are even more beautiful. I strive to make today better than yesterday, and my art can be a reflection of that.

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

Well the blend of commercial art and the needs of independent artistic freedom should be more of a union. Artist should feel like their ideas are valued in any space, though it can be hard to establish whose “vision” is more important (when stepping into commercialism). Most of the artist I know are highly creative, but the outlets for them- though independent, aren’t necessarily reaching enough within the corporate landscape. These two worlds need a better coexistence because new and interesting ideas are led by leaders who can challenge what we see in images as a whole.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes! I wish to be the best artist possible. Meaning I’d like to be considered one of the greatest to ever do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mauriceultras.wixsite.com/myworld2
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauricethewave/

Image Credits

Damian Alvarez II