We asked some of the city’s leading artists and creatives to tell us about how they decided to pursue an artistic or creative career. We’ve shared some highlights below.

David CEEDs” Cedar | Music Journalist

It might sound cliché, but I’ve always been creative. My parents brought music into my life at a very young age. I began playing piano at three and drums at five. Of the two, I pursued drums and became intoxicated by jazz, exploring a wide range of subgenres, rhythms, and sounds. When it was time to apply to university, I opted to take a business route. Studying at the University of California, Riverside, I selected business as my major on a whim. Upon arriving, I learned that UCR was immersed in electronic music. My passion for jazz quickly became a passion for electronic music. I jumped in headfirst, following my heart and exploring to find a home in the scene. I bought a controller and began DJing. I bought Ableton and began producing. Read more>>

Ashley Nicole | Film Director

I guess I’ve always been drawn to creativity from a young age, as a kid I used to sit in my room for hours just drawing with my crayons. Drawing movie scenes from films that I’ve seen. This is going to sound bizarre, but my most favorite scene to draw was the prom scene from Carrie 1976, I had a good memory and could draw that scene over and over again. Was it strange? Yeah, but it was my favorite film at the time when I was just ten years old. But going back to the question, pursuing a career that involves so much creativity just felt right to me. I’ve always felt that I was meant to do bigger things. This is my destiny. And it feels easy for me also. Read more>>

Raphael Buisson Enlas | Director and Cinematographer in films

Originally from Paris, my love affair with cinema was sparked in the earliest days of my childhood. In those innocent moments, I held the belief that actors were somehow trapped inside the movie screen. This misconception that fueled my imagination and curiosity. Little did I know then that this quirky belief would kick-start a lifelong fascination with filmmaking that would shape my journey. On a film set in Paris at the age of 12, I became hooked. I knew I wanted to be a part of it. It continued to grow as I wrote and directed my own short films. Cut to 2015, I found myself at King’s College London, immersing myself in the art of visual storytelling. Terrence Malick’s masterpieces captivated me, and my thesis delved into the intriguing clash between nature and modernity in his films. Read more>>

Michel DeQuevedo | Musician & Neuroendocrine Cancer Patient Advocate

I had no choice! lol! One of my earliest memories is my mother saying to me: “you are going to be a drummer!” I come from two very artistic families, musicians on my mother’s side, actors and writers on my father’s side. From a very young age I was always involved in a number of artistic activities, including early childhood music education. By the time I was 8, music was one of my favourite games to play. My father used to have a restaurant on a beach and there was a live band every day; I’d rather be sitting beside the stage jamming along with the band than on the beach playing with the other kids! Read more>>

Angela Su | Abstract Expressionist Artist

Since childhood, I had loved to draw. As time went by, the social conditioning from society led me to focus more on material world pursuits. I spent almost a decade on and off in the automotive industry, working as a Realtor, and dipped my toes in various fields. However, none of the occupations I had tried resonated with me. I had always had a feeling of curiosity to realize what it was that fulfilled my soul. I later learned that I was not living in alignment with my true nature. I was what you’d call a “Projector” according to Human Design, which was a “non-energy” type. My entire life I had tried to live as a “go-go-go” person. We’re not all designed to operate the same way, and knowing this got me to ask myself where and what it was that allowed my true nature to flow the most freely. Read more>>

Jillian Whitaker | Composer for Film, Television, and Media

When I was growing up the arts were seen as extremely important hobbies for growth and development in my family, but they were never viewed as a viable career choice. Artistic pursuits were difficult, unstable, and not a feasible way to support yourself or make a real living. But I’ve always been the type to relentlessly pursue my passions and become completely tunnel-visioned when I’m interested in something, so when the obsession with film music and film scoring took over in my early teens it became my plan A career choice without any thought given to a plan B. I would move to LA and become a film composer because that’s what I was meant to do. It was never (and still isn’t!) an easy career path, but it is certainly the most rewarding path! Read more>>

Megan Mitchell | Director of Photography / Drone Operator

My father is a self-employed contractor who worked 100+ hours a week when I was a kid. He is passionate about his craft and enjoys working. I believe that had a big influence over my idea of what a career could look like. In elementary school I entered photography contests. Then in high school I took video production for years. When it was time for college I decided to study journalism and focus on camera work. I thought it would be a great way to earn a living and have some adventures. After 17 years in the industry, I realise how special it is that I truly enjoy what I do for a living. Read more>>

Mak Shealy | Writer & Performer

I wanted to find a community. Plain and simple, I knew if I found a way to get onstage, to write and tell stories, that I’d inevitably find myself in community with the kind of people I’d been longing to be around my entire life. And I was right. I’ve been nourished and fed by the people I’ve met through my pursuit of a career as a writer and performer and I continue to be renewed by my peers each and every time I’m close to despair — which is easy to sink into in this business, even if you know making art is the only thing that really makes you happy. It sounds dramatic to write it out like that, but it’s true. Writing and performing in the theatre has given me a strong sense of collaboration, which I let guide all of my relationships — there is always a give and take, and there should always be space for many different voices in the room to weigh in. Read more>>

Brandon Lin | MFA Cinematography Student at Chapman University

I chose to pursue a creative and artistic career in film because, from a young age, one of my family’s favorite leisure activities was always watching movies or going to the movie theater. From there, I became intrigued by the work behind the scenes and how everything was pieced perfectly together. This led me to study media studies and film in high school. I was able to learn the film history and basic fundamentals of filmmaking. As I progressed forward, I started to develop an interest in creating visuals and storytelling. As a result, I decided to major in film production for college at Ringling College of Art and Design. During my time at Ringling, I fell in love with creating visuals and cinematography as I found a passion for creating meaning and subtext in images through different framing, lighting, and other techniques. Read more>>

Nick Hill | Songwriter, Composer, Keyboardist and Vocalist

I picked a creative career for a lot of reasons, all of which come to the fore at different times. In the early days of my band Phourist & the Photons, songwriting was definitely therapy – a way to try and make sense of life, which inherently made no sense to me at the time. It still serves that role, but I think I’ve lightened up since then. I now also see it as a beautiful thing that’s a lot of fun. It’s something to look forward to every day. A puzzle – sometimes very challenging – that keeps my brain active and engaged. I feel like when people are thinking creatively the world is just so full of potential. Long story short; right now I’m making art because it feels both essential – to my understanding of the universe, my mental health and other stuff I probably don’t comprehend – and enjoyable – it’s just a lot of fun. Read more>>

Pat Shafer | Director & Composer

I started making music for film because I was unsatisfied with the music libraries available to me as a filmmaker. I could not afford to hire my own composer, so rather than waiting for the right music, I decided to make it instead. Shortly after, I started making music for other filmmakers who faced the same dilemma but couldn’t solve it themselves. I discovered that my natural ability to pick up almost any instrument translated into telling stories with music, and decided to pursue it in tandem with my career as a filmmaker. Read more>>

Devan Markiewicz | Creativeprenuer

I decided to pursue a creative career because although I tried many times, I just never felt comfortable fitting into the typical box of most other jobs. I found that by creating my own path I could work within parameters that helped me find balance and live up to my potential. Read more>>

Victoria Spul | Writer, actress, motivational speaker

Sometimes I feel like I wasn’t the one who pursued an artistic career, but the artistic career pursued me! I was 2 years old when my mom first took me to her theatre. I was bewitched by the stage and the atmosphere of creating the performance. At the age of 5, I got my first part and performed myself. By the age of 9, I started to write. Poems, short stories, fairytales. I used to go to my teachers at school and ask them: “Can I skip today’s homework? Would you mind if I wrote my own story instead?” Usually they agreed, so I wrote a lot.
At 10, I was acting on a professional stage. At 18, I sold my first novel to a publisher. I chose this journey because I can hardly imagine my life without it! Art is my passion, my therapy, my wings to fly. Read more>>

Zengyi Zhao | Photographer & Artists

Currently, as a graduate art student still in school, I am exploring a suitable artistic or creative career path for myself. So, I don’t have a clear answer to this question yet. However, continuously creating art is an indispensable part of my life; it’s a method through which I realize my self-worth and gain immense satisfaction. I’ve previously told a friend that an artist’s interests and cognition constantly change with their environment and knowledge. Therefore, after finishing one creation, one should immerse themselves in the next project to keep the inspiration flowing. In other words, each creation by an artist is a process of personal growth and represents a phase, much like a snake shedding its skin during growth. That shed skin is akin to an artist’s work. Read more>>

Janis Commentz | Painter and Instructor

As a third generation LA artist – seeing beauty and expressing the beautiful has always been important to me. Beauty is not just a pretty image – but the essence of truth and life. Kindness, grace in a real setting. As a young child, art materials were put into my hands early, and I often visited museums and galleries. I began to discern at an early age how the visual image speaks to me. The poet, John Keats said, “’Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” Early on, I loved drawing people and developed my skill. Moving from the coast to the desert had a profound effect on how I view landscape, but I still feel the need to express the essence and truth of the vista. Read more>>

TJ Ali Bowden | Writer, Producer & Content Manager

The 90’s/00’s was such a sweet spot for TV. We were blessed with 106&Park and TRL for our music junkie needs. HBO and Showtime arrived with cinematic episodic & serialized content. We had a plethora of sitcoms to lose ourselves in with comedic relatability. But also, this was a time of the big boom of action figures to extend the film and TV IP that we enjoyed. I would give my action figures story lines and relationships that I created! I was always very imaginative and a little storyteller. For me, pursuing a creative career in film/television was a no-brainer! The challenge was finding the way in. I’m from the Southside of Chicago and from an era where “practicality” was the goal for setting careers. I just knew I was different at a very young age and the types of movies and TV I was watching was not that of a young kid’s regularly scheduled programming! LOL. Sorry mom. Read more>>

David Kearse | Screenwriter & Producer

After performing in G&S’ “HMS Pinafore ,” at age 4, I wanted more — applause, music, role playing. And all that led to the Annapolis Children’s Theater, U.S. Naval Academy Navy Relief shows and the Ring Theater at the University of Miami. There I majored in drama, with a minor in radio-TV-film. Now with David Kearse Productions in Hollywood, I write screenplays and books— a memoir and two novels. I have also acted in TV series and films. Read more>>

Caue Chagas | Graphic & Motion Designer

Pursuing an artistic or creative career has been an exciting and rewarding journey for me. Art is a form of expression that has allowed me to connect with the world in unique and meaningful ways. Some people are naturally talented in a specific area, while others discover their passion through life experiences. Others may be inspired by artists they admire or significant historical events. Regardless of the reason, pursuing an artistic or creative career can be an exciting and rewarding journey. In my case, my passion for animated films and the entertainment sector began at a very early age, due to the film The Incredibles, as this was a film that my mother put on TV when I was just a toddler to make me stay quiet, willing her to do her tasks in peace. Read more>>

Dean Cee | Musician & Actor

Why did I pursue an artistic career?, A question I never really thought about. It’s just something that’s always been. It’s like breathing or blinking, second nature to the point that I can not differentiate between anything else in life. I do not here save the best multitasking ability so I live my life very simply by asking myself one question. How do I survive right now in this moment? For me, it feels like I’m suffocating when I cannot get the ideas of my head into this plane of reality. So naturally I do whatever I have to in order to see my visions come to fruition and they typically do I work really hard. The fact a career or any financial gain comes is just bonus. Read more>>

Spencer Morgan | Actor

My “why” is always changing. When I first started out, it was because I loved the rush I got from performing live in front of an audience. I loved to make other people laugh and make a fool of myself. My “why” now is because I am fascinated, and curious, about the human experience. I also just have a big imagination. There is this part of me that loves to just dress up, do a different voice, and walk differently.. Just because I find it exciting to tap into different parts of myself or be someone completely different. I don’t know any other career where you can be a serial killer, a love interest, a police officer, or a spy. We get to be all these professions we wanted to be as kids and that is pretty fantastic. Read more>>

Kseniia Riasnianskaia | Interior Designer & Artist

My passion for creativity and art was always something that defined me. The way I see this world is through creative thinking process, assessing its’ expressions through feelings and meaningful interactions. It’s like a movie, I am a very visual and sensual person. For me the atmosphere is one of the main aspects in perceiving reality. That’s why creating this atmosphere and environment became my research and exploration project for life. I feel excited seeing how life environment influences the life scenarios. I believe there is a power to change the situation, the way you live, the way you feel through environmental transformation. And I like to observe how these changes are happening. Read more>>

TIAN GAN | Concept Artist

Since I was a child, I have loved to draw and paint. I have tons of imaginary ideas I want to express, and art is the best way for me to communicate my thoughts with the world. I love observing and absorbing inspiration from daily life that encourages me to create and express my ideas. I also love video games, and I think that is one of the coolest ways to use your creativity to bring joy to the world. I am lucky that I am be able to combine art and video games together in my career. I currently work as a Concept Artist for Bad Robot Games, a game franchise belonging to JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Production. I am responsible for developing concept art for environments and characters for the organization’s highly anticipated new IP. Read more>>