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You mentioned your circle of friends is a driving force in your art. But in terms of content, what stimulates you to draw what you draw?

I've always been the shy guy growing up. I grew up in a place where I was one of the few Asians in an all-Hispanic community. This led to many occasions where I got beaten up and picked on because of my race. I think this is the reason why I’m so shy. I tend to paint scenes with tons of people, which is strange, all things considered.

A lot of my paintings are like still shots of my life. When I'm driving, my mind wanders off and I think about the past. I’ll get home and draw several quick sketches of that particular memory. I never had a journal growing up, but now I feel like I have a painting for each year of my life.

Other paintings are inspired from quick sketches through observation of my surroundings. Paintings like Spring Dance and Bus are based on quick sketches that I did on napkins. I try to carry a sketchbook with me wherever I go, but usually forget and end up having tons of sketches on receipts and napkins.

Does your childhood explain Bully then?

Yeah, that painting is based on the bullies who made my middle school years really tough. I really don't know how bullies get so big, but they’re always twice the size of an ordinary 12-year-old. I remember every time my mom bought me a new pair of shoes I’d put mud on them. If any bully found out that I’d gotten new shoes, I’d walk home shoeless.

I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve been jumped. My friends and I found a way of prevention after years of getting punked. Every time we’d see a group of gangsters hanging around, we’d find a rock and start kicking it. We'd kick it off the path and start a whole new route away from them. This method worked.

By the time I got to High School the bullying had ended, probably because I was winning the respect of gangsters and taggers. While every tagger was getting up in the school bathroom, I was the only one going out on the streets every night. By my senior year a gangster approached me and asked if I was a tagger. I thought history was going to repeat itself, so I said no. But he told me to keep up the good work and then said my name.

Did you start listening to Radiohead around this time?

As a teen I'd listen to nothing but angry music; a lot of Mobb Deep. As a result I felt like my characters were always too raw; too “street” and a little grotesque. In art school, my friend Eli lent me all the Radiohead albums. I fell in love.

The music is so relaxing and yet depressing at the same time. I'm one of the happiest guys around but I think because of the music I listen to, my paintings turn out melancholic; my colors de-saturated. Even when I'm not listening to music I find myself whistling a melody from Radiohead.

I had a couple of collectors from my graffiti days check out some of my new work recently. One said, "Wow, you really toned down your stuff.” I'm happy with the direction I'm taking.

So what are your current plans and goals?

I want to do so much that I feel like there's not enough time. My current plan is to continue freelancing and pursuing gallery work. I want to get my work out there any way possible. It's so much easier though when you’re advertising through the streets.

My new way of getting up is through annuals. I'm thinking about doing murals for the community and painting on small paper to paste around town. I'm also trying to come out with my own clothing line. My sister studied fashion design so I’d like to team up with her and start something interesting. Basically I want to be a businessman, yet money isn’t a big deal with me. I've always been an average student getting nothing but Cs. I want to remain an average person making enough money to get by. The only thing that worries me right now is paying back loans.

My major goal is to make a living from gallery work, but I think that's really hard to achieve straight out of school. One of my art instructors mentioned that saying you want to be a gallery artist is like saying you want to be an actor. After hearing this, I started to think that maybe I gotta start being realistic. So I told a friend what my teacher said, and he said, "Ice Cube is acting.”

I don't know why but hearing that gave me hope. I'm not saying Ice Cube can't act, but for some strange reason I started to think that my goal was possible. I would love to show in museums all around the world, but that's just a silly dream.

Really? If you were truly content with average and becoming a businessman, would you have turned down the 9-5 jobs?

If there were a job where I could do what I love then I’d do it in a heartbeat.

It’s said that if you take the entertainment route, you’re selling out. I don't agree; these people may be doing what they love. I think that if I went the entertainment route I’d be selling out. These companies are only interested in what technical skill I've learned at school. They don't care about my natural style because they have their own trademark one. One company told me that that if they hired me I would have to throw my style away. That's when I concluded that I’d become my own boss. Though I don't know if I'd make a good one; I don't have enough confidence in my own work.

I know people who want to go straight to a certain type of gallery and not bother with the smaller ones. Some even want to go straight to museums. Some people are shooting really high and not planning on taking the small steps. I don't think I can do that. Right now I’m taking baby steps and at the top of the stairs are museums.

 

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