We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Guillermo Haro Jr . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Guillermo below.
Guillermo , appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Since I had starting taking my artwork serious as a artist back in May 10 of 2021. I considered one night going out for a family a party I was invited too. It was my friend’s dad’s birthday we are basically family them and i. He’s my brothers and I adopted dad form our friend/adopted brother “Sergio Lopez & Jr H” SAS.. lol. Also I’d like to give a quick shout-out to “Don Antonio” which is sergios & Jr H dad’s saludos viejon. For his birthday I created him a white and black drawing portrait of his parents, who’d never had a photo of them together at all. So luckily I just created that I image for him, which I had help gathering those two images of his parents with the help of his whole family la familia “González aka familia Lopez” lol IYKYK. When creating this piece I was working on the portrait on my free time when I wasn’t working or doing anything.there for it was a project that I had to get done before his birthday, but I got it done.The day came tol when i handed the finished portrait to Antonio.. I was talking his to his family about the portrait I created for him.I kid you not when it came time gift the gifts.. I tried my best not to look him right in the eyes when in so i had handed it to him. As if when he opened his gift you can see his reaction and expression he had on him.o He was trying hard to hold back his tears as a “traditional macho Mexican father”. I just knew when I looked at him he really admired my work and details on the portrait. Everyone around us was looking at the portrait I created and cried a bit as well watching Antonios reaction. But what really got me from him was him saying “ira esos detalles cabrón en sus caras” in Spanish meaning “look at those details on there faces fucker”. After that he pulled me aside and told me “tenés un talento chingon en el Arte” which means”you have a badass gift in creating art”. But he did tell me to keep it up and never give up on creating artwork, He also told me “LoL” to stop making people cry with my artwork. Since then I knew that creating artwork and portraits to me helps me bring back memories of a loved one and creates meaningful stories about a loved one. He really opened up my mind to keep on going forward and take my art seriously with new skills and different styles in art. I kid you not i do sometimes think if I would have stayed working in my regular Job I wouldn’t have been where I am right now. But on another note a I’d like to give a quick shout-out to the main manager at “Smart&Final” y’all know where at who laid me off for a dumb reason. Thank you, I wouldn’t be here where I am without your help of letting me go when I knew this wasn’t a forever job for me. Also I had the best support there from the crew, customers and the Assistant Managers “Ana Marie & Shauna Andre Peterson” Hi guy’s thank you guys for all the advice,stores and support you’d give me much love and I miss y’all. The first couple of weeks I had got layed off NGL it felt like a relief..I was able to create so much artwork that I had started a while back. Id spent time with my friend’s & family and explored around town for inspiration to create. After a couple of months I still hadn’t got a job, I was doing little side jobs like being my dad little assistant as a mechanic specialist on Classic cars. Especially “Ford cars” like Papa Haro says with his voice lol. Although I did help him a bit,I was also washing cars on the blocks and detailing them as well. Furthermore I was making commission artworks as well as in creating portraits and customizing shoes with artwork on it. Either way its been worked out ATM luckily enough to have some money in my pockets and being able to support myself in my needs I’d want. I’ve had a good amount of commissions these past 3 years with the support of my friend’s & family on my side and shout-outing me out with my art.
Guillermo , 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?
Hi I’m Guillermo Haro Jr I am an Artist born and raised in East LA. I come from both of my Parents being Mexican my mother is from El Salto, Jalisco and my dad from Magdalena, Sonora. My father is a classic car Mechanic and my mother is a hard working women being able to see through someone and having a big heart. I guess you can say I got the creative skills from my father as he works with cars I as well do a bit too I have two old cars myself. A 1975 Dodge Dart sport & a 1976 Ford pinto hatchback a bit restored at the moment. i do like classic cars because of its unique body lines and it’s unique shapes.. I don’t really like work on cars but I help my dad a bit.I figure that’s what also keeps me connected to art how all cars a created with a mock up sketch and gets created. I can also thank brother Joshua for letting me trace over his artwork as a kid. Later on we’d both be competitive together drawing the same picture to see who’s turns out better. I guess I was like 4-5 years old getting into watching a lot of Disney movies and showing inspiring me draw and create cartoons. Throughout the years in my life I was still drawing and creating art and only getting better at time. I kept myself passionate with art that I even had my teachers give me moral support on my artwork and telling my mom that she had a artist in the family when I was going to Humphreys elementary school up in 5 grade with the support of my teacher “Mr.Gracia”.
Furthermore in middle school my mom and Grandpa was by biggest supporters with my art that I’d be creating at school and all over the house. There was even times that me and my grandpa would go to my mom’s old job at “Ell Pollo Loco” on Olympic, Me and my grandpa walked there him on his walker and I in my bike or scooter knowing it was like 2 miles away. Heck we both stayed there eating together and hang out and talk to each other. At times I’d be drawing on my sketchbook my grandpa carried in his walker for me. He’d watch me draw and put I’d see a big smile on his face showing me he was giving me his full attention throughout the time we waited for my mom to get out of work. Me and my grandpa were basically my mom’s bodyguards and we didn’t allow her to walk back home from alone at night, so we walked back home together as a family for 4 years.
Therefore later on came highschool I was going crazy creating artwork left and right! Shit I was even making cheap t-shirt with my designs on them with my buddy “Andrew” and sell them to everyone in school. Also when i was there a freshman I had gotten a lot of opportunities and you bet I took em. I even had an art class with the seniors as a freshman thanks to my other teacher’s there for the support and giving me the opportunity to have a class to something I’d enjoy doing. Also I had some up and downs through highschool but it didn’t stop me as much after my grandpa had dementia and it was my moms, brother and I responsibility to watch him since he took care of us. I didn’t get to out as much as a sophomore till senior year because my responsibilities was “once I wake up at 15-16 years old I get ready and get my grandpa ready because my mom would leave early for work. I’d make us both breakfast and I’d be feeding my grandpa while I’d wait for my brother to get home so I can leave to school. It was hard but I managed to get it done with my family since it was like that I always stood home creating artwork and portraits either it was a singer or someone I knew. I don’t regret it at all it helped me get better as an artist and be able to hang out with my grandpa while he was still with me. Then senior year hit and it was a big struggle for me we’d still have my grandpa but my mom had gotten breast cancer and she had to leave her job.. so imagine watching my 87 year old grandpa with dementia and my mother work with breast cancer it was tuff. I didn’t really create any artwork as much.. I wasn’t doing homework or talking to my friends as much, but I did still have a lot of support from my mom knowing she was at the early stages of getting sick. She still managed to show up to my art show and parent conference.. I didn’t want to be treated differently in school so I had kept it to myself and sucked it up like a champ that year.
I was so proud of myself to keep my head together that I made sure I see my mom happy and keep my grandpa safe. Also in school I had some moral support from my class mates for example like “Eva, Amber, Johnathan/Micha and much more friends and teachers. May I also give a special shout-out to my senior art teacher, he is a badass “LA muralist” with a big heart and a colorful painter as well that and later on became a good friend of mine until he switched up. I Thank you tho if you see this, honestly it was for the best you cut ties with me as a friend. I know regret cutting ties with me, wondering what i was up to throughout the years.. just know I digital like ain’t always gonna make you happy and feel supported as a person..
Scratch that tho, that’s in the past I’ve managed to go to college for a bit and find myself as a artist. Heck I was able to find an artwork community at college and meet a lot of people. I grew in as a artist online on social media and started posting up my artwork and hearing feedback off it. Lastly I knew I was going to get where I am with the help of my grandpa watching over me and the support of my friends and family.
P.s,
Also who ever tells you “that you can’t do anything in life that you like and love, just smile at them and prove them wrong and don’t give up”. Also always feel free to learn different things and open yourself up to new opportunities and styles it’s fun.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Since I’ve started painting again I guess I have gotten the motivation to create portraits in black and white and create as well different styles of art, for example I also create custom shoes like paint over them or change the color. I’ve also opened up recently to graphic design in creating some digital designs for myself an others, especially “Los Dodge Boyz” tee that are on the way! But I have been learning while painting on canvas it’s a bit of patience and techniques in creating textures and shading that I couldn’t create when I’d create portraits on paper so I taught myself some tricks.
Finally I am in hopes this year or next to start up my new career soon as a “Tattoo Artist” I’ve bought my machine as well with that I’ve been practicing tattooing at home on some fake skin I have. At first It was a bit difficult at first but I’ve managed to get the hang of it a bit, I also know I got a lot of friends and family wanting me to get into tattooing, Especially a good friend of mine shout-out “Letzy Kimberly Montoya” lol she’s gonna hate me for that but it’s worth it. I still remember her constantly hyping me tf up with my artwork and saying I got this and giving me a lot of her support.. a quote from her you guys that I can’t forget is “I’ve been waiting for you to start since 2017 & no rush I’ll be waiting” is stuck in my head and I thank you for that. The for continuing with that being said I’ll soon start posting up some stencils and tattoos I’ve created and get the “Tattoo Career started up. Finally with all that being said I want my artwork to be successful and be able to share it with others and connect with them.i will also like to inspire people that are creative to not give up and keep pushing yourself to different styles of art and what ever makes you happy to continue and not give up.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect I’ve experienced as a artist so far is.. being able to create a photograph of a person or an object and recreate it on paper or a painting. It makes me so happy being able to recreate a old photo of a loved one or someone that had passed and see the genuine reactions on people’s faces when gifted the artwork I created. In fact it’s even crazier when I get to experience the gift being gifted in person to someone knowing I created it is amazing.. and the kind words I get back. Also it’s a good conversation starter after gifting someone my work because I can talk to them about the work I did, also I can connect to one another and bring in another with more people. But it’s mostly the feedback that I get back from my loved ones whether it be friends and family is amazing and the just be hyping me up and telling me how proud they are of me on how far I’ve came.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: gharodraws
Image Credits
Image 1 “Doble Cara, en vivo” – Nitro de cuartodeoro
Image 2 “El ABRAZÓ SOMBRERO 5,000x” – Marco Antonio Lopez y Cesar Silva Lopez
Image 3 “1000 Canciones, pa Mis viejos- Fuerza Regida” – Marco Antonio Lopez y familia
Image 4 “NUEVA VIDA, Pesó Pluma” – Familia Aguilar y Familia Haro
Image 5 “Manifest” – Russ
Image 6 “Gorra LA” – Dandyhats
Image 7 “Speaker man y plunder man, Nike dunks lows”- Lil Beto Jr
Image 8 “Double up” – Nipsey Hussle