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

Alright, John thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Let me tackle the last question first: What stood in the way of learning more? As I write this my age is 50. I come from that generation that did not have the incredible resource of the internet until my mid 20’s. Even then it wasn’t an everyday use as it is today. I say this for a reason. Today it is easier to come across interesting topics. A plan can come together quicker! It took longer for me to think of art as a profession. Lack of education and wrong thoughts about what it meant to be an artist held me back. Then, even when art was on my radar the cost seemed so prohibitive. I remember looking at flashy and colorful catalogs from “prestigious” art programs. Their costs were astronomical for a blue collar single mother latch key kid like me. Crazy side note, I have seen that recently many of them are now defunct! All this is to say that lack of confidence was at the bottom of what stood in the way. If only I had learned a way to think about the profession. I would have found the method that I now advocate in educating.

John, 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 circuitous way into this profession has forged much of my philosophy on how I now think of molding an artist. I was lucky to have a library not too far from the apartments Years of growing up in Hudson County New Jersey. Boredom and freedom to roam, lead me to hours of browsing the shelves of the local libraries. Any topic was at my whim. I read almost anything. No topic was out of the question. Reading began to give me that much needed instruction on how to use my mind. It integrated my thoughts in that I found how reading a biography or even how to cook a steak can relate. I came across a few paragraphs in an autobiography of a psychologist that began to take art classes. I was in and out of college at the time and studying psychology. I thought about the sheer volume of doodling I did in all my classes since kindergarten. Why not investigate the place mentioned in the book? I had a job in “30 Rock” in New York City that began at 4pm and it was only 7 or so blocks from there so I went to take a look. The Arts Student’s League was both intimidating and a breath of fresh air! The system (which I find to be the best way to learn)is simple and tried and true. You look at the work of the artist that teach there and decide to learn from them. And how freaking easy it all was: you chose if you were to go every day or 2 or 3 times a week. Two different, very affordable, monthly prices and that was it. Almost 3 glorious and very rigorous years came and went. But there was that damn nagging confidence problem hanging around. Inundated since you can remember is that thought that if you want to be anything in life you have to go to college. I mean, there are all these studies proving this right? I didn’t realize it at the time that those studies funded by the colleges and universities! So I went back to school…..and dropped out….but “mama didn’t raise no quitter” so I went back to school ……..then dropped out again! It went like this for the next few years. It was during a stint at (the now defunct) Miami Art Institute that I met a local gallery owner whom took a liking to my work. I was living in what will soon become an exploding art scene of Wynwood (Miami). In those days a group(s) of us would walk around and call phone numbers posted in empty or unused warehouses. We’d offer to clean up the place if we can use it as a site for an art show. Sure enough the buzz caught on and the “scene” became international. Art Basel Miami show ensured that, even today. In 2005 I had my first solo show at one of the most important (and first) galleries in the area. I was actually living in the gallery itself, but that is a different story! The first show was a great success. We had a sell out event, including pieces sold from my studio space. It was exciting to say the least. My work caught the eye of a few great collectors that I still cherish. I continue to explore a varied interest in telling stories in paint. I’ve been able to have my works live in far off places like Japan, Germany, Argentina and across North America. I am grateful.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Yes I do believe “non-creatives” will struggle to understand much of an artist journey. Not to be a cliche but, speaking for myself, there is a constant struggle to shake off the non-creative structures put in place in our society. For example, as someone who also teaches art the concept of “grades” are nothing but busy work that gets in the way from real teaching. I struggle immensely with that because it is implied that if you do not use grades then you will be replaced by someone who will tow that line. Ultimately it’d be great if there were a sort of alternative structure that lived in concert with the non-creative world. The varied and seemingly disparate way in which I go about thinking of creating my works can be unsettling to the very structured of us that live by their “to-do calendar.” Giving time for the gestation of the work is just as important as the hard work it takes to actually put brush to canvas. But really I am ultimately talking about money. Money allows one to live closer to the way they want. I wouldn’t care much about the “non-creatives” if I had “F….. You” money right? I would’t let my children be so stressed to wake at an unnatural time and hound them about their freaking grades because some non-creative system says that must get certain points to move ahead. It all seems so anti intellectual actually. What about actual learning? I like the library (or the internet to a lesser extent) for learning. Don’t get me wrong I think the spirit of society is probably aligned but I wish each group (creatives and Nons) were to sometime reevaluate their methodology be more open to criticism and allow other methods that ultimately arrive at the same thing. Those things can be productivity, money, self actualization etc… I wonder if I am making sense. LOL.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

You know things are what they are. It’d be better if we tried to understand each other. I’d like to say that a better infrastructure for us creatives would be ideal. Where laws would bend to accommodate for our differences. Yet to hold us accountable for our duties as social beings. I suspect that it is in our nature to not want to conform to those structures as well. I continue to believe that the only way for the creative is to be of such value to the culture that he can control his own. We need each other. I know I would rely on the promptness and structure of the non creatives for much of my life. They would rely on us giving their lives images that are meaningful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.johnsanchezart.com
• Instagram: @johnsanchez
• Youtube: @jsanzart