New Year Local Artist

My name is Joaquin Cruz, I’m 17 and currently a senior at SLVHS. I’m what feels like inches away from the end of high school which is somewhat terrifying but at least that means I’m growing. The paintings and art I do has meaning and no meaning, it really varies. While painting, sketching, testing different mediums regardless of how it looks, etc. I did my best to create somewhat of a surreal look, even though that look and mindset changed frequently. The majority of my art revolves around the themes of my ethnicity, how I see myself (portraits), how I see the political climates during the moments I paint, etc. But sometimes (which can be kind of shown with these works), I took a moment from making a meaning and just wanted to create something. Some of my inspirations or people I’ve looked up to for the works shown are artists like David Choe and Stanley Donwood, as well as some fashion designers such as Kerwin Frost, Jeremy Scott, and Nigo. I worked with various kinds of mediums, such as acrylic, pour acrylic, colored pencils, chalk, pastel, alcohol markers, watercolor markers, acrylic markers, sharpies, spray paint, flammable material, etc. Technique wise? I just did the good old Joaquin technique of doing whatever I assumed or thought would be a good idea at the time. I used what I could to my advantage to get whatever was in my head out. I intend to continue pushing myself to those limits and creating whatever I create, even if it looks like pure gibberish to the eyes.