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

Godriguez, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

i often get asked about my “Devil” persona and why at times i dress like the devil in many of my self-portrait pieces and use it as my company logo…the answer might surprise you.

In October 2011, I found out just how cathartic self-portraiture could truly be. I was planning a self-portrait for a selfy group I was a member of, and it was to be a Halloween-ish themed shot. I was going to be a swanky devil with a martini glass and looking quite smug

Unfortunately, something tragic happened in my life the day before I was to do the shot. My mother passed away from complications from a stroke she had suffered earlier that same week.

Now, many people might shut down and withdraw from the world when something like this happens, but I threw myself into the shot I had planned but modified it into a fitting memorial to both my mother and father.

Instead of a happy devil, the devil in a state of remorse holding a portrait of my parents. Both of my parents were huge in my life, and they were the most loving people I have ever met, So in my mind the devil was depressed because these were two souls he would never have

To reinforce the symbolism of the shot I am wearing what was once my father’s red sport coat and tie, holding the portrait and frame my mother gave me when my father passed away and I am sitting in a chair that came from the house where I grew up.

I pulled from my parents the strength to make this shot as they always found a way to see a positive in every situation. They always supported my art and I felt by honoring them with a portrait that celebrated that spirit was the most fitting tribute I could ever create.

I look at this moment and see how it changed my life forever as it solidified myself as a self-portrait artist and I can say without doubt that it is the most important image I’ve ever created. What you are seeing is pure, unfiltered, emotion and a glimpse into my soul.

so you see, the logo of me dressed as the devil is a constant reminder of that life-changing moment and shows just how much my parents meant to me and how they shaped my life and my art forever

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.

i have always enjoyed doing art and creating things. back when i was in bands i was the one that always created the logos for the band as well as the flyers and any other promotional items. however i always said if i never made it as a rock star i would pursue my art seriously and i did just that

after my band days i attended the Art institute of Atlanta to get my Bachelor’s degree in Graphic design however in my senior year i took an animation class as an elective and ended up loving it so much that i created an animated character and based my entire senior project around it complete with a small movie, an action figure with packaging, interactive games, and more.

my first job out of college was that of an animator/interactive game designer and it is what i still do to this day for the non-profit Why-U, creating animations and doing character voices for animations that explain math. so that is why to this day i call myself an accidental animator as it was not what degree i earned in school yet it has become my career

aside from my day-to-day animation work i have many different creative endeavors and one that i am most well-known for is my self portraiture

self-portraiture gives me an outlet to be whatever comes to mind and allows me to tell stories visually which is something i love to do. my self portrait photographic art can be dark at times–but not too dark–and is what i like to call “approachable darkness” as i never do anything in my images purely for shock value and often draw the viewer into a scene that they might normally look away from. in my self portraiture i cover topics from depression, to pop culture, and all points in between

as an example one of my more controversial dark images is that of a clown that appears to be committing suicide. rather than giving the clown a real gun, he has a toy gun with a “BANG!” flag coming out of it and rather than blood, he has a blast of rainbow paint splattered on the wall next to him. i have had people that are terrified of clowns say they cannot look away from the piece as the message is so strong that they can look past what it is that terrifies them about it and take in the commentary on depression in the image.

over the past couple years i have expanded my creative reach to creating physical art and doing dark art markets as well as selling pieces on my website and etsy store. some of what i create is designed and modeled in the computer and either 3D printed, cut on my CNC, Laser cut, or even created by making molds and using traditional casting methods. i really enjoy having art that is tangible and you can hold in your hands and feel, it just makes all seem that much more real

with all of my different artistic genres they all fall under my unified brand of Godriguez and all of them have a common thread and feel that joins them seamlessly together

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

something that non-creatives sometimes fail to understand about my work is that first and foremost i create it for myself and if others like it, then that’s an added bonus

i only create art that i would have in my own house and don’t follow trends when i create my art. styles come and go and i feel as long as i am being true to myself in what i create then that will reflect in the finished pieces and people will take notice when you do that when it comes to selling it

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

i was in the t-shirt industry for many years printing shirts and other products and had been promoted to a management position at the company i was with. i was frustrated as a manager as i actually enjoyed setting up and printing shirts as well as spending time in the art department, however, i was too valuable to the company as a manager that they wouldn’t let me go back to just printing or working in the art department and that resentment was starting to build up inside me. i felt so at home in the art department and that was the part that was really tearing me up inside as i felt it was something i would really like to try

one day after work there was a hurricane coming our way in the gulf of mexico (i live on the west coast of florida) and so i was going to head to the beach to try to catch some of the swell that the hurricane was pushing our way

while trying to surf that day all i could think about was my displeasure with my work situation and frustration of being held back–so much so–that it affected my surfing and i was wiping out left and right and having a real sh*tty day out in the water so i paddled in to head home

i had drifted a ways down the beach so i started the walk back the beach to my car and while making that walk a huge gust of wind came screaming up the beach swinging my board up out of my hands and hit my square in the face and i literally screamed with pain and frustration

it was that “lightning bolt moment” that i said out loud “f*ck this, i’m going to art school” and when i got home i told my wife my plan and started the process of registering for art school and the rest as they say is history

Contact Info:

• Website: www.godriguez.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godriguezart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Godriguezart
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Godriguezart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Godriguezart
• Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Godriguezart

Image Credits
all images: Godriguez