Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to David Fuentes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

David , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

As far as I can remember I wanted to be an artist of some kind. I always loved to draw, but it wasn’t until I entered high school and then attending college that I really started taking the idea seriously of making art as my career path. For me I was a child that kept to themselves most of the time. So comic books were a big influence of mine. For the longest time my focus in art was creating fan art and exploring the ideas of making comic books. When I entered higher education I was sure that was what I was going to do until I had a conversation with one of my professors. He mentioned some ideas to me about teaching because of the way I was around people. I told him I had never considered that, and don’t even know where to begin. He gave some advice to consider, The first thing you have to do is look at what you’re doing as an artist. Is it personal to you? Can you share your experiences with people? And most importantly can you connect your art with the audience that will view your artwork. These questions I continue to use to this day as a professor and as a artist.

David , 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 goal as an educator/artist is to create content that students, colleagues, and my audience will connect with in some way. The way I teach and how make my art are very important to me. I am constantly trying to better myself. I have a form of cerebral palsy that affects that right side of my body so for the longest time my work reflected how I dealt with a person living with a disability. It always revolved around how it felt growing up with a disability and the hardships I faced. As I progress as a human being and get older. I realized that my disability is only one part of who I am and doesn’t define me as a person. For the longest time I would pose questions to myself: What kind of person would I be if I wasn’t born like this. Would I be left handed? Would I have the same personality? Would I be a good person or even an artist? As I move away from the idea of disability within my art the artwork is beginning to change. The ideas are no longer about a physical representation of something, but now and abstraction that involves color, and feeling.

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

It’s a really good feeling when you can change someone’s perspective on how they view art. Really our relationship with art and culture is everywhere. When you have someone feel that as much as you do it’s s a very rewarding experience.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Never underestimate someone. Until you know who they truly are. Again growing up with a disability you are always looked at a little different than everyone else. I had to constantly prove myself to let people know that I’m just as capable as they are. Don’t give up on yourself, always find a way.

Contact Info:

• Website: worksbydavidfuentes.com
• Instagram: @worksbydavidfuentes
• Facebook: Works by David Fuentes

Image Credits
Headshot provided by CantuPhotography