Today we’d like to introduce you to Alfredo Gonzalez.
Hi Alfredo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Oxnard, California. Art is something I always found myself doing, a lot of my earliest influences came through graffiti and skateboarding. I was just drawn to images, lettering and painting. There wasn’t really anything attached to it. I did it because I wanted to.
That curiosity led me to study painting and I earned my BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Over time, the work has taken me into exhibitions, collaborations and projects I never could have planned for when I started.
Alongside my studio practice, I also teach throughout Ventura County. A lot has changed around the work, but the reason I make it really hasn’t.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think there’s really a smooth road with this. A lot of it has been learning how to keep everything moving at the same time.
I grew up around a pretty simple mentality, you show up and do the work. I’ve heard plenty of no’s and had things not work out the way I expected, but neither one really changes what needs to happen next. You make the work, put it out there and do it again.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Painting is at the center of everything I do. Most of my work is figurative, pulling from people, places and things happening around me. Portraiture has naturally become a big part of that, but I try to let each painting become what it needs to be.
Over the years, the work has found its way into exhibitions, public projects, private collections and collaborations with artists I grew up looking at. Some of those paintings have traveled a lot farther than I have. At the same time, I teach and work with students in my own community, so there’s this interesting balance between where the work has gone and where I’m still rooted.
How do you think about happiness?
My wife, my family, painting and the people I get to share life with. I’m ambitious about the work, but pretty simple about everything else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dofreart.com
- Instagram: dofreart
