Today we’d like to introduce you to Perry Williams.
Hi Perry, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m an Atlanta based artist byway of the south side of Chicago. I graduated from Chicago Vocational High School and briefly attended Columbus College of Art & Design (Ohio) with hopes of becoming a video/film director just like Hype Williams. Shortly after coming back home to Chicago, I met my beautiful wife and we’ve been married for over 20 years and we have 3 beautiful children. For most of our marriage producing art was very low of my priority list, but my wife has always encouraged me to work on my craft. Now that our children are older, I’ve taken every opportunity to go extremely hard at what I love to do and that’s to CREATE!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was not smooth at all. In fact, it was very challenging mentally. I was feeling defeated because I had to drop out of college because l lacked focus. The worst part of dropping out of college was the look of disappointment on my mother’s face. She has sacrificed so many times to provide art supplies and so much more and I took it for granted. This played a key role in me laying my gift to the side for years. Fast forward to 2020, I was fired from my job due to the pandemic. As a husband and a father, my natural instinct to provide for my family kicked in and I decided to use my gift to help provide for my family and it has been supplementing my income ever since.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My personal work has a particular style that my son likes to call “Thermal”. The colors and their association with one another plays tricks on the eyes at times. I also try to limit the use of contour lines and allow your eyes to complete the piece. I’m a multi-discipline artist that specializes in oil/acrylic painting, hand-painted custom apparel (jackets/sneakers) and customized musical instruments (drums/pianos). One of the pieces that I’m very proud of is a custom denim jacket I did for T.I. It features T.I. himself and several of his businesses. I love customizing apparel because it makes the item exclusive to just that client and they love the fact that it’s a “1 of 1”.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is when my art makes an impact on culture and people’s lives. Their reactions from seeing a piece I’ve worked on for the first time seals the deal for me. Also, I consider it a success when a client sends more clients my way. I believe that’s the ultimate compliment.
Pricing:
- $350+ * Custom Jackets (Artwork only/clients supply the jacket)
- $310+ * Custom Sneakers (Sneakers included)
- $290+ *Paintings
- $65 *Pianos (per hour/on location/supplies not included)
- $250+ *Murals (supplies not included)
Contact Info:
- Email: art@vangoghandcocoa.com
- Website: www.vangoghandcocoa.com
- Instagram: @vangoghandcocoa
- Facebook: @vangogh.cocoa
- Twitter: @vangogh_cocoa
