We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Randy Robledo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Randy, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
The foundation of where empathy lies in me begins with my grandparents. They are the focal point and matriarches of the characteristics that breathe in me. I’m a first generation Mexican-American and learning the history of my parents, grandparents, and their parents humbles me to appreciate all the sacrifices they made in order for me to have the privileges I have today. My grandparents instilled a lot of empathy, togetherness, and love that carried onto our family and my parents who then imprinted that in me. For my family, it’s also very cultural the way we lead with heart. We grew up with humble beginnings. I watched my parents work very hard to make ends meet and even then provided a full life where my siblings and I didn’t feel we were missing out. Also growing up a queer person of color in a generation when it wasn’t accepted brought an immense amount of challenges. I learned about racism and homophobia first hand at a very young age and had to grow a tough skin quicker than most. I learned about pain, rejection, and humiliation at a young age that also developed a defensiveness but also an awareness that words and actions matter. Everyone has their vices and challenges and mine are no different than others. You grow up and learn everyone deals with love, a loss, heartbreak, a trauma, a longing, joy, and pain. We’re all on this earth for a short amount of time and we all just want to make the best of it. Having that understanding helps me connect to people. I’m a sensitive guy with a defensiveness to stand up against injustices. My protest against inequity takes shape in some of my art.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am from Santa Barbara, California that currently resides in Los Angeles. I grew up in an artistic household. My father had a passion for music and Make-Up FX. My siblings were also very artistic. I was fortunate to have supportive parents that really nurtured and believed in our interests and passions.
I began drawing at a very young age.. I would spend hours aimlessly daydreaming and drawing. At 12 years old I was introduced to Disney’s Production Designer Peter Ellenshaw, who was famous for painting large realistic backgrounds for films such as ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘Old Yeller’. He gave me a private tour of his home and studio which inspired me at an early age to hone in on my craft and see all the possibilities as an artist. I would take art classes outside of school and create from home. Then at age 16, I met and drew a portrait for Oprah Winfrey which then catapulted me as an artist further. I showcased my work at a gallery for the first time that year and began to sell original work.
After High School, I decided to pursue my other passion in music. I had played saxophone for 13 years and would sing and write songs. I went on to Musician Institute where I studied Vocal Performance and Recording. In those years, I did vocal studio work and backgrounds. It leads me to share the stage with artists I admired such as Stevie Wonder, John Legend, John Mayer, and Justin Bieber. Ultimately, I decided to dive back into my love for art and I have been pursuing it ever since. Los Angeles is a great city to explore your artistic creativity. I’ve showcased at Monsterpalooza, Selena Fan-Gathering, clubs, bars. I also created Art Shows that tethered my love for art and music called Sounds & Sketches.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Practice, practice, practice. You can never practice or learn enough about a skill. You have to do the work and let yourself be awful and suck and learn from any mistakes. It’s all trial and error and learning from others is key. Now days you have so many platforms to learn from which is great. I’m constantly inspired by other artists scrolling through instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. It is very tedious in the beginning but once you lock in a skill it becomes second nature and then you can really cut loose and have fun.
Embrace your own style. Originality is what will set your work aside from the rest. Copying other work is great for practicing but eventually you got to let the training wheels go. No one can be a better you than you and that’s where I’ve learned is the true secret in all of it. Some people will love your work and some people may hate your work. I’ve learned that by being original you end up finding a tribe of people who are tailored just for you who ride the same wavelength in the things you love.
Ultimately, you have to have a true passion for what you do. My love for making art and being a creative is simply something that is part of me. That passion for it I know will be the constant thread in my life no matter what twist and turns this life has in store for me. I know you have to have a true love for what you do. It is what will carry you through when you have doubt, or hit a block. It is my safe spot, my safety net, my therapy no matter how often or not I do it.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is someone who is decisive or will allow me the creative freedom to deliver something for them. I like to know what kind of mood the piece would represent. Whether they’d like something vibrant, moody, sexy, heartfelt, sweet. A lot of my pieces are large impactful realism/pop portrait pieces of other great photographs. For commission work, I like to get a feel from the client, what their home decor style is like, what they want the piece to represent, what it means to them. I can then apply a vision best suited for them. Art is supposed to make you feel good so I would hope to be trusted to provide that to my clients
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @randyrobledo
- Other: TikTok: randyrobledo1
