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

Randy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember; it has been something that I’ve truly enjoyed since I was a small child. However, art wasn’t something that I made money off of and I didn’t feel like people took a particular interest in what I was drawing; I certainly don’t remember me offering it up for consumption either. Art was just something that I did for me. It wasn’t until I was senior in high school, that I got my first computer, a laptop. I would catch whichever neighbor’s wifi, created a Facebook profile, & started posting different drawings that I did. I was really getting into graffiti at this time, so it was all heavily-graffiti inspired works. From there, people would starting inboxing me & commenting under my pictures, asking me to draw their name or a future tattoo. I started charging people a few bucks & it continued to grow & grow. It was at this time I knew that art was something that I was destined to do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Randy Evans, notably known as Dimaggio Armucci of Elusif Xklusif – it’s just me. I’m 30, from Norfolk, Virginia, been living in the Valley of the Sun for about 8 years. I’m a self-taught artist, I’m also really into sneakers, gardening, & cars – anything working with my hands. I started out drawing at home & in class, then one day of my junior/senior year of high school I decided that I wanted to paint my sneakers – I wanted them to be different from what I saw everyday, I wanted to stand out & be unique. That was the first time I picked up a paintbrush, to paint a pair of sneakers. Everything took off from there, I dabble in everything from airbrushing to tattooing. At Elusif Xklusif, I mainly paint – whether its a, design, pattern, idea, picture, or color scheme; you name it, I paint it on whatever you want – I can do anything, I don’t like to put myself in a box. The main thing that I’m known for are my custom sneakers. Whether you would like them dyed, hand painted, or both – any idea you have, I can bring to life on a pair of shoes. I, mostly, do 1-of-1 customs, but I produce small batches from time to time of popular themes. I pride myself in creating high quality customs with a keen attention to detail that you can actually wear & enjoy.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the reaction you get from people when they see your work, more specifically, when a customer finally gets that piece that you created, that you both dreamed up together. The glow in their eyes & the happiness in their faces mean everything. Artwork can have a profound impact on someone’s life in numerous ways & to be able to give that to someone is a beautiful thing.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Back when I first started painting kicks, tutorial videos & reels weren’t really a thing as they are now. You learned largely by trial & error or asking other artists. I believe if I did have access to that learning material earlier in my journey, the learning curve as far as the processes & different techniques wouldn’t have been so great. On the other hand, that’s one of the great things about the journey – the story, the struggle, & the resilience. Nonetheless, with the amount of tutorial videos out there now from really awesome artists, that would have made a huge difference at the dawn of my career. Take full advantage of all the resources you have out there.

Contact Info:

• Website: elusifxklusif.etsy.com
• Instagram: @xklusifly_me – www.instagram.com/xklusifly_me
• Facebook: Elusif Xklusif
• Twitter: @xklusifly_me – www.twitter.com/xklusifly_me
• Other: www.xklusif.me