Today we’d like to introduce you to Quake Solo.
Quake, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started when I was around 7-8 years old. That was when I fell In love with art. I loved cartoons, so all I wanted to do was draw what I watched. My Mom fed into the inspiration with art supplies & that basically pushed me into what I would be doing as a career. I was always known as that kid who could draw throughout middle & high school, so It was only right that I went to an art college. I got accepted into the Art Institute of Atlanta, where I pretty much flunked out of the Illustration & animation program within a year. Flunking out of school doing the one thing you’re supposed to be good at sorta scared me from picking up a pencil for years. I kinda floated through life without a purpose, until I reached a point where I got desperate for direction. After dealing with countless retail jobs & missed opportunities, I found myself heading back to art. I began to draw in charcoals & pastels, which led me to practice realism, perspective, & blending. After a while, I was introduced to fine artistry & art shows where I ultimately found my lane as a fine artist.
Great, 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?
I can’t count how many setbacks I’ve went thru! Most of the struggle is dealing with the personalities of different people/clients. It’s hard to do business with those who might not share that artistic/creative eye. This affects everything, from money to relationships. Everything else are common problems an artist typically deals with. It’s mostly clients that lack respect for value of services or art. The common nickname for them are “Culture Vultures”.
Please tell us about Con-Artist Creative Development.
I founded my company, ” Con-Artist: Creative Development” back in 2012. It was basically a T-shirt line I created, made from the way I was often stereotyped when I told people I was an artist. They would always assume I was a rapper upon first glance. However, when I showed them my work, it completely opened their minds, starting the necessary dialogue I needed. My business slogan “embrace your stereotype, then destroy it” is a message for anyone who is often negatively stereotyped by their physical appearance, to change the perspective of what people THINK they are, but for the better. All my artwork services are created as a “Con-artist Original”. Years from now, my physical appearance will change the history books of how historic fine artists look to combat the stereotype of what fine artist are SUPPOSE to look like.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I remember finding this loose sketch of a baseball player in my 2nd-grade art class from some older students. I thought it was the coolest thing anyone could do. I got a pencil and tried to draw the sketch & it came out horrible. I was so frustrated, I cried. My mom saw me crying & said you just need to practice. That moment is the reason why I’m even in the position to do this interview. That’s magic to me.
Contact Info:
- Email: conartistco@gmail.com
- Instagram: Quakesolo
- Facebook: Quake the Creator
- Twitter: Quakesolo
Image Credit:
Omar Gattis , George Galbreath
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