Today we’d like to introduce you to Jimmi Toro.
Hi Jimmi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in California, eventually got married, moved around a few times, and landed in Utah about ten years ago. I’ve always been drawn to art, even as a child, and I have been fortunate to have a professional career as a fine artist as well.
As an artist, I am always encountering the unknown when creating and contending with this unknown when putting my work out there, trying all the while to make sense of it. When someone purchases or even views a piece of art, they can invite beauty into their lives and, in effect, open their eyes to something transcendent, making a lasting connection to and establishing a relationship with this beauty. This relationship can then expand out into the world and other elements of their life as they progress on their path toward a better life.
I’m currently working on art related to child abuse, trauma, and healing, as this is also part of my story. I just released my first book titled HEAL and recently founded a non-profit called Rescue11, which focuses on educating communities about the preditor’s tactics and just why they wake up every day plotting to destroy our children. We also have a 3-step program to help trauma victims go from survivors to healed warriors.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Suffering is part of any successful career, as anyone who has succeeded knows. Art is particularly difficult if you want to leverage it to make a living.
Many artists thrive in a chaotic environment when it comes to creating their art, and they do not thrive in an orderly/careful environment, which is needed to manage financial resources. The term “starving artist” really does apply to many artists in that we find it difficult to obey all the rules associated with making and growing money. This naturally causes a fair amount of suffering, though I’ve been fortunate to have enough determination to push through this.
Another challenge artists face is carving out enough time to be a prolific artist. If you can be prolific over years and decades, you will eventually find your artistic voice, which will show up in your art. Vincent van Gogh’s story is one of extremely prolific output, which produced some of the best art ever, but it came at a cost to his finances, relationships, and even his mental sanity. It’s been a challenge for sure to balance my obsession with art and keep the rest of my life healthy.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a self-trained artist who started drawing at a very young age. When you are young and love to draw, you are naturally interested in learning how to take your early child-like scribbles and turn them into more realistic drawings.
The rules of proportion, perspective, shading, composition, color, texture, pattern, etc., are all presented before you everywhere you look. I became obsessed with drawing realism. Then my attention turned to all of the mediums one can use, such as watercolors, acrylics, oil paints, charcoal & graphite, pen & ink, pastels, and encaustics, and the list never ends. I painted a human figure using molasses to get beautiful shades of brown.
Then you have different forms of art to explore, such as painting and sculpting with an endless variety of substrates from wood to metals, clays, etc., to digital art, fiber art, glass art, stained glass, large art like murals, and that list never ends with an obsessed mind.
Considering all of the artistic options and the progress of prolific output, I’ve arrived at a point in my career years ago where my voice has emerged and presented itself. Now serious art collectors will take notice of your work, and the value of it goes up as well. Your work gets recognized and stands out amongst the endless parade of art out there in the world.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I do believe that luck has a role in any career, though I don’t spend any time dwelling on it other than I am grateful for anything that happens. Good luck or bad luck. It’s all part of this amazing life and each has its lessons to learn from. I have been very fortunate to do what I love and turn it into a successful career.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jimmitoro.com
- Instagram: @jimmitoro
Image Credits
Jimmi Toro and Duston Todd
