Meet Blindfish

We were lucky to catch up with Blindfish recently and have shared our conversation below.

Blindfish, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

i think gaining confidence comes from knowing your craft—constantly re-working a piece, making mistakes and learning to overcome the mistakes until you are satisfied with a drawing or a painting. it’s like a sport—practicing free throws or a golf swing. repetition helps you iron out weaknesses in your game. but be careful of becoming over-confidence.

i believe self-esteem comes from producing work to make yourself happy and not being too concerned about what others think of your work. you never know what others are going to think and it can throw you off-balance trying to please others. be your own critic. work for yourself.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

i am a los angeles-based artist working both traditionally and digitally.

i have done editorial and op/ed work for publications like time magazine, reason, the los angeles and new york times, the orange count register, and the cleveland plain dealer.

i have created storyboards for a couple of un-produced movies and for advertising commercials.

i spent some time creating background art for ‘the triplets of belleville’ director, sylvain chomet. which was very educational and kept me on my toes.

i recently self-published a graphic novel (called ‘the cormorant’) and am concentrating my effort in this genre. this is a very personally rewarding endeavor for me.

i continue to create personal art/paintings for gallery shows and make album art for musicians.

i hope to soon have tutorial and process videos to share on WeLearn.com.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

ask questions. i have always benefited from being a naturally observant person—examining mechanical parts to see how they work; watching how animals move and which muscles they employ when running or jumping; the construction of people’s faces and body shapes. it has really helped me create out of my head without the use of reference which i think helps make my work mine.

absorb everything. i think about other forms of art such as literature, photography, and music and try to incorporate them into my art. to grab a mood or tone from ruth thorne-thomsen or to absorb the ideas of non-plastic arts into a painting helps open up ways of seeing.

be open-minded. i try to be open to/accepting of things i might naturally reject. there are types of art or genres of movies (or apps) that i inherently dislike. i try to fight the reflex to dismiss things (and ideas) before i’ve had the chance to experience them fully and understand the artist/creators intention. i will often make sure to solicit another viewers opinion of a creation i do not understand or do not immediately enjoy. our apprehensions to objects/art are sometimes rooted in feelings that have nothing to do with the art and perhaps should be explored.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

there is a method of parenting gaining traction these days called ‘elephant parenting’ which is (loosely defined as i see it as) when parents provide a secure, nurturing, and flexible environment for children to explore, learn and even (most importantly) fail in. i think this is the environment my parents provided. they did not hover or criticize too much. i made a lot of mistakes growing up but there was always (well, usually) a safety net buffering hard falls. it allowed me to learn to take care of myself and taught me to look after family (and friends) while providing the necessary room for them to grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blindfish-art.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blindfish1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563124476689

Image Credits

all images © 2025 blindfish