Today we’d like to introduce you to Josue Salazar.
Hi Josue, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Art has always been a part of my life ever since I can remember. I instinctively knew that I wanted to be an artist around the time I needed to make decisions about what I should do in my life and I’ve been pursuing an art career ever since. I have taught art and exhibited my work in various locations and have my Bachelor’s in Studio Arts from California State University Sacramento.
I was always fascinated with social media marketing so I learned how to use it so that my work could reach more eyes. I believe that art is a powerful form of communication and I desire to give people’s minds a sense of wonder and awe through my form of visual communication.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been a learning curve that’s for sure. Besides learning and growing in my craft I’ve also needed to learn how to manage a business. I do everything from marketing, packaging, shipping, and taxes to coming up with new ideas and artwork. I also record my process of creating new works and edit the hours of work to short 1 minute videos.
I would sell my work when I had the opportunity to display it in a gallery, but it took me about two years of growing my online presence to sell my first piece of work online and it took me another year to sell constantly and partner with a print shop to carry some of the load. An art career is something you really have to be passionate about. The key to making it all work was consistency, never stopping making art, and don’t disappear online for too long.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work follows the romantic landscape painting tradition but I bring it to our modern time. I was inspired by the modern landscape of Southern California where I grew up. I would find a good vista point and stay there until the sun would set and I noticed how the city would light up and the clouds reflected the city glow.
In those moments I felt I was looking at something much more important than myself. In romantic thinking the artists wanted to bring a sense of awe and wonder to the viewer by depicting the vastness of nature. I want to do the same, by placing someone in front of something that is much bigger than themselves. I learned that my art can sometimes communicate a sense of peace and healing; the same feelings I felt as a kid looking at the city.
In depicting these scenes I gravitate to large sheets of paper. A lot of my work is about 6 feet tall and 4 1/2 feet wide. I use wet and dry mediums, and I usually start with an abstract underpainting of ink and gouache, and once it dries I use pastels and charcoal to create the final details. I layer the dry mediums over and over to create a sense of depth.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I wouldn’t say I’ve had bad luck. I like to think that everything that has happened to me so far in my career path has happened for a reason so even difficulties can turn out to be positive.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.salazarjosue.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josue.with.context/
