One of this week's feature is Octo, @octoabe a creative within the 956 who is also showcasing his work at Tropicasa, @tropicasa under organizer Aficionado, @aficionadobrand. I heard about Octo from a few individuals at the Orange Valley Art Show and decided to Introduce myself and take a further look at his work. I must say that it is certainly eye catching along with much to be said and thought when looking upon his work.
We begin by asking Octo what he's been enjoying as of recently as he mentions "I’ve been enjoying experimenting with different mediums and techniques to express myself. I’ve been sewing and sculpting and things like that. I want to be an all around creator and touch down on everything I can." Experimentation is certainly something I also recommend to creatives even if it's just for fun. You never know what you'll stumble upon or add to your upcoming work.
He goes on to mention some of his favorite locals "For local businesses, I like shop lazy boy @shoplazyboy956. Their pieces are quality finds and they’re affordable. Tropicasa, @tropi.casa is also a dope spot, Flacucho, @_flacucho is mad welcoming and easy going. I can’t say I have a favorite local artist, but there’s a lot of people that are doing great things. No-forma, @00forma is doing a lot behind the scenes with Geral, @elonlygeral, .javi, @ech.javi and HiMarcus, @theregoesmarcus. Shoutout to 5kmarathon, @5kmarathon, AB Chan, @madninetysix and audiogrove, @audiogrove for their contributions to the music scene. Visually I like Csifue, @csifue and Vcpena, @vcpena. They’ve been doing cool shit recently." I certainly do recognize a lot of these individuals and they do great work! Be sure to give a follow! I'll be sure to check out the ones I do not know!
Looking through Octo's work what would he describe or say his art style to be? "I never really know what to label my work in terms of style, however I’d say it’s self expression through illustration. I just like to create and express myself. If I could give it a name it would be surreal expressive portraits." With expressions and portraits such as "Raw Dog" and "Ni aqui, ni de alla" could be expressions along with it being "surreal expressive portraits" as mentioned. Just using these pieces as examples due to connection someone may see such as with "Raw Dog" looking at it I get the idea of "sex on the mind" along with the term "horn dog." Even if it's just a drawing there may also be no meaning as well. Even yet looking at "might just lay in that grave that I dug." Looking at it and reading the caption that goes along with it. I certainly agree with "surreal expressive portraits" as the name chosen.
I'm always interested in how everyone gets into making their creative work whether its high school or someone they look up to and Octo goes on to share his creative beginnings "I come from a lineage of creatives, so I guess it’s in my nature. In the short time that I knew my father, he always encouraged artistic expression and individualism. His influence led me to always find a creative outlet. It started when I was young and would play with clay to make my own action figures. As I got older, I began illustrating. What keeps me motivated would be reaching people that can relate to the concepts, messages, and/or themes in my work." The creativity we have a young age is incredible! Our imagination along with being fueled by someone is encourages creativity and as Octo mentions "individualism" as we get older we tend to lose our sense of question/imagination/creativity unless we have we are met with a certain situation that involves it. Looking upon his work do you have any questions? Feel free to message Octo on certain pieces shown or what is shown on his page! Better yet speak to him at the Aficionado event July 31st at Tropicasa!
With Octo's creativity when he was younger to now how has his work changed or how has he evolved his style as he says "Shit, I’m constantly evolving. That’s my number one thing, I don’t want to stay stagnant. I came a long way from
tracing cartoon characters. University has helped me develop my skills and apply techniques that I learned in class. Right now, my style is fluid and constantly progressing." That's great to hear! Knowing Octo is still "evolving" and not wanting to stay "stagnant" along as he mentioned earlier "I’ve been enjoying experimenting with different mediums and techniques to express myself." So you know there's something coming up for sure! From learning in class which of course learning the history behind mediums/styles along with other individuals which leads to doing things outside of that environment and experiment outside of what you're "supposed" to do in the class.
As Octo mentions "I'm constantly evolving" what would he like to try working with next? "I want to animate, make toys, tap into fashion, furniture design, all that shit." I can certainly see toys due to the mentioning of "clay" when Octo was younger and with furniture I can imagine a design based off of "raw dog." I can picture it, but I can't describe it. I look forward to what comes out for sure.
From not wanting to stay "stagnant" and constantly "evolving" how would he like to grow with his work? "I’ve always just wanted my work to be a reflection of myself. That’s what it is, as I grow my work evolves too." I certainly believe in that. I have certainly seen artists change and even experiment with their work. From visuals to ceramic creations. From visuals to adding their own textures to their pieces giving them a touch of their personality.
Does Octo have a certain process behind his works as he explains "The less I think the better I work. I usually have days of inspiration where I just listen to music, watch movies, or videos or things like that to help me brainstorm ideas. When I want to get down to it, I don’t over think I just go in. No sketch. It’s not a formulated thing, it feels like a natural process to me." I feel as if the more you rough draft or think about what you want to create you may end up creating a certain expectation for yourself and what the turn may be. I understand having your ideas or wanting this and that, but in the end to each their own.
What does Octo enjoy drawing the most? "I like drawing faces and figures to capture my emotion in a composition." For the ones I have seen there is an emotion captured and even I was able to connect to it in a way from my own experiences.
Looking through Octo's Instagram account you will see parts of the human body that involve breasts and dick, but looking at it I am intrigued and not shocked. I ask Octo about his thoughts on this and others who just think "OH A DICK!" as he replies "I don’t really care. My work is an extension of my thoughts and personality. My concepts often speak about my internal and external issues, my identity, my view on the world, my experiences and all of that. Sometimes there’s no deeper meaning behind a drawing, it’s just a drawing. If I want to draw a dick, then fuck it I’ll draw a dick." Someones thought should not stop anyone from creating what you want to create as mentioned "My work is an extension of my thoughts and personality...my internal and external thoughts and personality." It is how the artist expresses themselves and to even sometimes show their vulnerability. I hope everyone continues to create how they want to!
Octo will be showcasing his work at Tropicasa on the 31st of July and I just wanted to ask how he feels about the event to which he says "I’m appreciative of the show’s curator, Luis Robles. He’s putting on for small artists to showcase their work. I have
work that I’m debuting on the day of the show that I’m excited to exhibit. It feels good to show my work. I like that I can connect with people and enough of them want to come through and experience it in person." I am glad Octo will be able to showcase his work and that he also shares his excitement as the date draws near!
As I kept looking through Octo's work I noticed the features on the "goblin" like characters and I was wondering if that's what he enjoys to draw from the "gin to tonic" to "ni de aqui, ni de allla." These "Goblin" features is just how I see, but what does Octo have to say? " For my figures, I like to exaggerate features. I like for my characters to look like they’re 'caught in the act' or candid. I draw it how I see it in my head. Not every piece is the same. In some, I’m personifying concepts and in others I include heavy symbolism." I really like the "exaggerated features" implemented on these characters and even looking at them I can see the emotion or sense the emotion behind the drawing along with the added description added. It's some really great work!
Octo shares his thoughts on local scene in The Valley,
"I fuck with it. There’s a lot of driven individuals, there’s a growing scene for every field in the arts. I’m glad we can all come together and support each other. I’d love to see the spotlight shared with more people other than straight men - there’s talent within communities of women, nonbinary folks, people of color and more."
He adds on final comment,
"I hope everyone can come out and check out Sara’s and my work on the 31st. There’s a $5 day pass available for purchase on the Aficionado website. I want to thank the Aficionado team and Tropicasa for giving me this opportunity to show my work. I’ll be showing exclusive work and I’ll have some limited edition tee’s, along with
stickers and prints. I hope this inspires small artists to showcase their work."
@patitosazul
aficionadobrand.co/
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