We had the good fortune of connecting with Derick Fuentes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derick, what makes you happy? Why?
What makes me happy? Besides coming home from work every day and seeing my dog wag his tail at how happy he is to see me? Painting. As a kid, art was always something I was interested in. Learning technique in school was possibly the greatest experience in my life. Painting has really allowed me to get lost in my work and be as creative as I could possibly be.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Learning technique was the most important part of my journey, but painting in school made me feel like I was trapped within the assignments given to me. I didn’t really have an option to be creative with my work. I set out to paint for fun and found absolute joy in my work. I did a dog portrait for my brother as a birthday gift and began to recieve requests for other dog portraits from other people. This is where my new journey began, pet portraits. Over the last year, i’ve recieved many requests for pet portraits and i’ve had a lot of fun working on them. I feel that pets are family members too and each pet portrait I paint has sentimental value. I want to continue working on my pet portraits and also venture into new territories, possibly making shirts. My advice to people who be to never give up on your craft, especially if it makes you happy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I enjoy doing things that keep me calm and relaxed. I would take them to museums, as well as acrades that I enjoy going to. Some of my favorite spots to eat are in little tokyo so having ramen would be a must.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest influences are my favorite artists. Greg “Craola” Simkins, Alex Pardee, Jeremy Fish, and Mark Ryden are the artists i’ve always looked up to.

Instagram: tyrant731

Image Credits
Derick Armando Fuentes

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