We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ivan Roque a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ivan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Well in my industry there’s this thing in which people or outsiders believe its ok to ask an artist or a creative to work for “exposure” acting as if its some sort magical opportunity that will open a million doors and have money flowing in. Myself and my fellow creatives have gotten wise to these tactics and usually try to educate these people on the damage working for exposure does on the creative industry. Theres even been times where I’ve had to put people in their place because they disagree with my point of view on the matter. No one whether it be a creative, an engineer, a medical professional etc should have to work for free. We all have bills that we need to pay and if you can’t pay for the service then come back when you can.

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

So I started my career as a street artist painting illegally on the sides of buildings, abandoned places and anywhere I could get my work in front of people. I eventually started doing legal murals I would say around 2o13 and little by little evolved my style and fortunately I am where I am today. I create murals of all sizes and thankfully people reach out because of my aesthetic and style of work so I can actually collaborate and be proud with the people I do business with. I feel my work allows expression not only for my self but my clients as well since there is this connection where I bring their vision to reality within my world of vines and color. The most important thing about what I do though is the community aspect of it. Meeting the people where my work lives, getting involved in their cultures and seeing the reaction when these landmarks come to life.

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

So at a certain point in my career before I was painting the style I painted now I found myself in some hard times being practically homeless living out of an office building which was also my studio. I lived off a part time job that paid like $200 a week or so but I didn’t stop never did it cross my mind and when it did I just had to keep pushing and tell myself that one day it would all be worth it. I’m very thankful for the dog days for they helped me become the person I am today and you can see the dog days in my work for they are the thorns, the hardships that make us stronger and much more resilient.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Never try to follow someone else’s recipes always stick to your gut and do things your way. Early on my career I tried to mimic if my mentor and although I learned a lot in that process it just didn’t go the way I expected it to. Eventually I became my own artist and found my own path and thankful for that as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.IVANROQUE.com
• Instagram: @ivanjroque
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ivanisforeverlost
• Twitter: @ivanjroque