Bio
Earliest memory of drawing was around age 4, mostly comic book superheroes. I remember drawing buildings too. There was something about getting the right dimensions of them.
My cousin Abe Ponce and my grandfather Enrique de la Cruz were two huge inspirations at that time. With my cousin I developed an imagination by playing with toys and making sets for them. Jungles, caves, concert halls, buildings. Everyday was an adventure. The other kids had nothing on our large scale toy worlds.
With my grandfather I developed a love for my surroundings. He would take me to the park and we would feed bread to the ants. He would ask me to watch them work. We would do this a lot. He was an amazing person to have in a house full of kids with sponges for brains.
1991-1998
Moved to Puerto Rico. I was surrounded by music, nature, by green, by water. This was truly an adventurous place. Smell the forest. Drawings around this time turned to the beauty of sunsets, water, vegetation, music (salsa and reggae), surfing, sound, and mostly, dreams and girls.
I got used to not sleeping much, maybe 2-3 hours a night. I would draw with pencils and pens all night. Tried my first attempt at painting with my mother’s ceramic paint. Success. I liked it.
Sometimes I would go 2-4 days without sleep and feel proud. Being delirious was fun! I started jotting down everything I dreamed. I was getting very colorful dreams and started drawing them.
1999-2010
After being accepted to an art school in Florida but deciding last minute not to go (expensive), I still moved to Florida. I had to get a job. Worked for the mouse. I was still drawing but mostly I was influenced by tattoo art. I partied more and slept more.
Being on your own is definitely an amazing experience but I must say I had no guidance. I would draw and believed something would come my way, that I would be discovered. This never happened.
After moving to a friend’s house with a massive wall, I asked if I could make one or two paintings. He said yes... What started as two pieces became 24 pieces. Some were bad, some were ok. But a passion for painting was born.
July 2011
Moved to San Francisco, started selling small originals at Oakland's First Fridays. After one year, started live painting at Temple Nightclub. Met some of the most prominent visionary artists in the Bay Area. Started the festival circuit as a live painter. Gained a social media following.