We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diego De La O a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Diego , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

When I was younger my parents were very instant in me getting into a really good college and having a job that would pay me well. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with that, but they wanted a job for me that was almost guaranteed, so as a kid that’s what I prioritized. I would say that even when I was younger I showed an interest in art, especially photography, but I never thought of it as possible job. As I got older, I started realizing that something felt off. Mentally, I was exhausted everyday, I felt like I was putting everyone else’s needs ahead of mine, and honestly, life slowly felt like it started to loose meaning. Fortunately, I had just started actually getting into music. Listening to music had helped me so much during those years (and still to this day), but what I had realized was music had felt like it had help me in so many ways that I wouldn’t have been helped without it and because I love what it was able to do for me I wanted to be able to give back and help others with my art. Then and there I had decided that art is the path I wanted to take.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Chicano artist from San Diego, California, and I was always into the arts as a child but as I got older I realized that it’s something that I wanted to pursue more professionally. Although I haven’t made my break as an artist, I still love creating art for my self and helping other people with their artistic endeavors. I right now am just doing photography, headshots, photoshoots, and people will hire me to help direct/shoot their ideas. One of the biggest things that I have done was have my photo up in an art gallery and honestly, it is something that I am very proud of. If you know anything about me is probably my photography, but one thing I do want to mention is that I do have a lot of projects coming up that are not limited to just photography.

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

The thing that drives my creative journey is people. I love not only making art for the sake of myself, but also to possibly help people. In my art I try to express myself and my feelings, and I hope by doing this, other people can relate and hopefully not feel so alone, especially during these times that we are currently going through in the US. I hope my art helps and motivates people.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding part of being an artist is probably the free feeling of being able to express yourself. Mentally, it does wonders, it helps release emotions and it also really helps with processing things in your head. Another rewarding part of being an artist is being able to help others, whether that be mentally or even with their own projects. I also am an art director so I’ve had a few people ask me to help them with either a photoshoot or with a music video recording and being able to help them achieve their vision is an amazing feeling.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whosdeigo/

Image Credits

Marco
Ana
Mia