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COACHELLA GAVE ME A COMMUNITY THAT I DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED AND DIDN’T KNOW I WAS A PART OF. THE ART COMMUNITY IN COACHELLA THAT I NOW GLADLY CONSIDER MYSELF A PART OF. — Anta52
do a lot of imagery with her. I only recently got my hands on a pair. I was just completely blown away and I bought three pairs on the spot, not including the complementary pairs they gave me. Let’s talk about your series titled “New Year, New Me.”It’s going to be a zine correct? ANTA52: Right, “New Year, New Me” it’s a series of daily drawings that are more an exercise in just drawing and not having to think about something too much. I tend to overthink most of what I work on and take far too long drawing, painting and putting stuff together. The whole point of the series is to come up with a new end rhyme for “Me” in “New Year, New Me.” Same goes for “New” in “New Me”. The whole project was a stupid half-assed idea that I cooked up for the sole purpose of making a series of drawings that I can share online. The project was way more than I expected. It just became a challenge for me to have, to put out a drawing every single day, however ill-conceived, however poorly thought out, however quick or brief. However sloppy! I thought it would be easy. I was in the middle of moving into my current spot at the time, working full time as a production designer at a print shop and committed to weekly sit down sessions with an artist who was teaching me how to paint with acrylics. Still, sleepless and exhausted I stubbornly saw the series all the way through. Initially the drawings were just silly for the sake of being silly. Then the series, as it progressed, slowly just became more and more personal. It became whatever I was feeling during the day, whatever I was going through, it was reflected in the drawing. Is it like a journal, but in visual form? ANTA52: I would say it’s like visual Tweeting. You just get that initial stupid thought and then you draw it and you post it and you didn’t really think about it. I just kind of did it. Right now, I have all the originals and I’ve had people suggest
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doing an art show with the originals and that might be an interesting idea, to actually maybe do a whole exhibit, or make it a part of an exhibit. Put all the originals up in frames on a wall for people to check out. A lot of people see them and I still have people ask me what apps am I using, because they don’t know they’re all hand drawn. They’re all just markers on watercolor paper. Then occasionally mixed media, depending on what I was doing that day. The drawings will be in two separate zines, one for the 29 drawings of 2016 and the current 31 drawings I’m finishing now for 2017. What is the core of what you do as an artist? ANTA52: I would say it would be one part love of the craft and one part just trying to make sense of everything through my art. I’m the kind of person who can’t pick up social cues, has most things fly clear over my head and would much rather be at home drawing, doing my studies, reading my books or slaying demons on DOOM. The core of me as an artist is trying to communicate the thoughts and ideas I have a hard time articulating with words alone. Is there anyone you want to give a shout-out to? ANTA52: It would definitely be AJ Davila, for everything he’s done for me and how much he’s helped with promoting me as an artist and my work. A huge shout out to Mike Rios and all my friends at Cactus Tattoo for how much they push me on the daily and really just inspire me with my personal work and being able to help them with their projects. Lisa Soccio at the Marks Art Center. One last super fat shout out to all of the people who have been following me and my work since the Myspace days. To anyone who has bought anything off my site and all of the people who buy prints and originals from me! Thanks a ton! web ANTA52.COM
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