We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dan Aponte. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dan below.

Dan , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

In my childhood I used to draw every cool art piece I came across… I tried to mimic every aspect of it to its tiny detail. Because of this practice, I developed a skill for drawing. When I was in second grade I entered an art contest competing against various schools of the region and won second place. At that moment I realized that art was my calling.

Dan , 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?

I’m a Puerto Rican Graphic Designer and Visual Artist, Oil on canvas is the main medium for producing art. I love making art that captures the spectators attention and evoke thought.

My art is tends to be saturated with detail, bold colors, dark shadows with the style being surrealism. Ever since I was a kid I kept to myself often and engage in processing the world around me through tough and learned the ability to output it through art making. My surrealism style developed through education being exposed to painters like Salvador Dali, Goya to mention the old masters but also the modern ones like Esao Andrews, Gerg Simkins Craola are the main inspiration and responsible for my art style.

My focus in art is to communicate with the viewer and share my world view employing philosophy and offering a solution to the problem presented in all of my artwork.

Since artmaking is more of a lifestyle… you will always see me in the underground art scene or in collective artist art exhibitions in the major phoenix area.

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

The most rewarding thing of being an artist in my opinion is being able to let emotions and feeling determine the outcome of the artwork. To be able to able to convey a story without the use of words is another thing I really enjoy doing in art.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

There is a book that has created a significant structure in my life as an artist and highly recommend to any artist out there . The book is called “The Art of War” by Steven Pressfield. This book helps you identify your inner creative battles against fear and self-doubt and offers advice on how to win those battles.

This book also has been helpful in the sense of knowing when the “Resistance” is at work. This is a term the author speaks about which he describes it as a force that stops you from doing any creative work and learn to harness it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @artistchoko