Today we’d like to introduce you to Diego Garcia
Hi Diego, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been into the visual arts for as long as I can remember. Natural calling to it reinforced by graffiti and skateboarding culture in my teen years yakno. Fast forward I’ve been selling paintings and exhibiting my work for a little over a decade now. DIY and professional experience all taught lessons on the way and I’m eternally thankful for all the support thus far. These days I’m coming around to really understanding the spirit in my work and where it comes from. I’m currently working on new collections of paintings that I will put out online and through public events throughout the year.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My creative journey has been an abundant one which I am thankful for, but it definitely wasn’t always a smooth road. Lots of creative thresholds that I had to push through to get to my own style and level of art that makes me happy. Many waves over the years of learning curves with new business opportunities and collaborators. And all of that while being human and not having yet experienced any ego death or anything. Took some seasons to learn and develop the leather skin so I see now how the struggles helped work it out.
All that isn’t specific to me though, any professional who’s started a business can relate. So just stay true to what you really desire creatively, stay humble and move towards it without malice. Nothing worth having is easy to obtain so talk to God abundantly about what you want while you hustle. That fire that made you start in the first place stays strong when you close to the source.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a painter. I’ve been called to it since I was a kid. I started to work towards a career in painting right out of high school, moving paintings and hosting diy shows with my brother Dudley. He’s a musician so our path led to avenues for me to be a dj, live painter and curator for a multitude of various experiences.
I started my gallery career from a really pure place creatively, in terms of energy and subject matter. Since 2015 I’ve had seven solo exhibitions. Over the span of those years I’ve unpacked ideas and styles that I believe make me who I am as an artist. The purity and nostalgia of childhood, the journey of a soul that grows art. I like to explore the human experience through these characters, scenes and compositions. Narratives and visuals that create wonder and help us resonate with each other. All these things through this abstract expressionist and graffiti type scope.
I’m currently working on a new catalog of paintings that is a broader, more ambitious spectrum of all that. I’m diving deeper than ever before on a technical and spiritual level. I want to continue to push and evolve with my art and cultural palette.
It’s all just like learning an ollie. You gotta really be comfortable and have it down first try before you can take it off anything. That’s when you find your own style you know ?
I sincerely appreciate anyone who is reading this here with me by the way because I don’t even think I’ve answered the other questions yet. If anything could set me apart it’s me I guess. My morals and lifetime have shaped the work that I channel. The inspiration I extract from my lifetime and nostalgia tell of my lens and ultimately my soul.
I really appreciate everyone who has contributed to the journey along the way, and that even goes for you reading this on your screen. Thank you for taking the time to read about my story and art.
If you check out my paintings and enjoy them, know that they come from a pure place…. That’s what I’m most proud of, the place that I channel this work from.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
AUTHENTICITY ONLY AND NO MALICE. Let the ego go. I’ve been able to work and paint with people I’ve looked up to since I was a teenager and getting through has just been a matter of staying true with my day one people and working towards the craft. Give yourself grace and trust that if you’re answering true North, it’ll all line up.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Name- Felipe
Instagram – @thirty1eighty8