Rafael Garrigos has been creating art since around the time that Disney released “The Lion King” movie in 1994. “My expressiveness goes back and forth between the visual arts and creative writing,” he says. “The feeling of accomplishing something and looking back on my progress inspired me to get back into what I love to do (writing and drawing).”
Rafael describes his art as an ongoing journey to discover the main subjects that interest him to draw with consistency. In recent months, he’s been drawing people and animals that he finds interesting. Rafael draws both real and fictional subjects, the same for fan arts, mainly working in pen, ink, colored pencils, markers, and digital. When he does abstraction, ink and acrylics are his choice of art mediums.
“I find inspiration in my personal experiences, stories from other sources (books, people, articles, etc.), music, and films,” he says. “Even when I don’t feel the inspiration coming, I doodle in my sketchbook with the thought that something will come. Doodling is a good ice breaker and warm-up exercise.”
Rafael lists Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Dali, and van Goh as his favorite artists, observing that Da Vinci was more than an artist. He was a mathematician, scientist, inventor, and writer. “That encourages me to still pursue my love for creative writing as a bilingual writer,” Rafael notes.
“I have CHARGE, but it is not the end of the story because I march to the beat of my own drum,” Rafael says. “In a world full of possibilities, your imagination is your own limit. Be bold, and experiment with everything else until you find your own verse. In the movie “Dead Poets Society,” Robin Williams said, ‘The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute to a verse. What will your verse be?’”
Rafael’s long-term goal is to become a freelance illustrator and comic artist. You can see more of Rafael’s art on his blog at https://rafaartstudio.wordpress.com/.
You can also follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
