A.K. Waters shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
A.K., really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
I feel like for as long as i can remember i have had this insatiable hunger to be one of the all time great artists people talk about for hundreds of years after i die. Everything I do is done with the intent to better understand my craft and hone it in. If i ever stopped I think I would genuinely feel lost for the first time in my artistic career.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
im Akwtheartist, I go by A.K. and im sort of an everything-guy when it comes to art and things i find interesting so i do a lot of different mediums but my work is mainly in Illustration as a concept artist. Other mediums i work in include animation, fashion design, graphic design, barbering and tattooing which I often combine with each other to make unique pieces of work.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Growing up I was an athlete and took sports very serious actually. I played basketball for 13 years starting when i was 3 and in between when i wasnt doing that I was running track and playing soccer. I wanted to be a D1 athlete and even try to go pro up until 10th grade of highschool when I started taking my art more seriously
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I think the defining wounds of my life have all come from being in or around sports; when I was younger playing aau basketball I just remember always feeling kind of left out of conversations and jokes and just sticking to myself really. Even on the court I always felt a bit disconnected from my teammates. I believe what helped those wounds heal is going to art school and really finding people i fit in with and have common goals
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I pride myself on always being authentic in public and in private because I actually really enjoy who I am as a person and im proud of everything I do and stand for so for me its a disservice to myself to present as anything else.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I 100% believe I was born to make art and to create. I feel this extremely intense fire within me to just make art in my own style and really build my own world for people to get lost in whenever they look at my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: Akwtheartist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-waters-768169278?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios
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