We were lucky to catch up with Persaeus Molina recently and have shared our conversation below.
Persaeus, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
My most meaningful project would have to be my main signature piece, Toxic Space. This piece is the third evolution of a piece I made three years ago. It was first inspired by the song Space Cowboy by Zillakami. In an interview on YouTube Zilla explained the meaning behind his song and it struck a chord with me. Space Cowboy is about one of Zillakami’s friends who sadly took their own life. He made this song for all those who lost their lives to suicide or struggle with suicidal thoughts. Now my piece Toxic Space is my own take on this topic, which is comfort in misery. Many have lived with depression their whole lives and can feel uncomfortable with emotional growth. They’d rather remain in their “comfort zone” than seek help. My piece is made to represent how much one suffers while they’re stuck in their comfort.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I first started a business as an artist with my family. I would often ask around if anyone would want me to draw them a picture or if they needed any logo work done. This started out as $5 drawings on printing paper, now I am creating logos for small businesses like Level Up AZ Nutrition and Unwavered Apparel. With my clients, I engage with them in brainstorming their requested pieces so they can be perfect and personalized for them. I also provide updates to ensure represent what they hoped for. Despite some success, my business is still very small. However, I hope to grow my audience on social media so I can sell some original works and prints rather than just commissioned art. This would allow me to gain recognition for my most passionate pieces. These are oven vivid depictions of negative emotions; such as depression, anxiety, and anger. These are what I would call my best work, both in quality and meaning. If my audience could know one thing about me, I would want it to be my passion. My passion for emotion, people, our world, and issues that surround us. All of these passions are integrated into my work in some shape or form.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One lesson in art I saw that was flawed was the need to follow trends and draw from pop culture. If these topics are your passion, then by all means use them. However there comes a point where you no longer draw for yourself, you draw for the algorithm. When beginning my social media for my art I struggled a lot with this. When I saw that Naruto was trending I would draw Naruto, when Among Us was trending I drew an Among As sona (persona). This made my ability to create, feel more like a chore rather than a passion. I quickly found myself hating art and my inability to gain followers despite following the trends. Then I realized that nothing was forcing me to draw these trends, I could draw what inspired me. No matter what I created the algorithm wouldn’t work for me so I might as well enjoy what I put out there while I’m at it.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
For me, what helped my reputation was supporting other artists. It is not rare for me to share artist posts on my story, tag them to boost the algorithm, or share some kinds of words about their art. This has led me to make some social friends where we mutually support each other’s page. My best mode of promotion is being kind and supporting others like me!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: sayusk.kageart
- Facebook: Sayusk.kageart
- Youtube: SayusK.kageart
Image Credits
Images created by Persaeus Molina a.k.a. SayusK.kage