1 00:00:05,290 --> 00:00:08,894 Welcome to Working Towards Our Purpose, a podcast that 2 00:00:08,932 --> 00:00:12,590 offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone 3 00:00:12,660 --> 00:00:16,462 out there that's heard that voice in the back of their head asking for something 4 00:00:16,516 --> 00:00:20,106 more, it's time to listen to it. I'm your host, Gino, 5 00:00:20,218 --> 00:00:23,886 and join me as I interview people who have decided to work in their 6 00:00:23,908 --> 00:00:27,698 own purpose. Together, we will learn, become inspired, 7 00:00:27,794 --> 00:00:31,510 and hopefully find our own path towards working in our purpose. 8 00:00:34,570 --> 00:00:38,406 Raheem Nelson is an artist based in New Haven, Connecticut. He went 9 00:00:38,428 --> 00:00:42,134 to school for Visual Arts and completed his education with a BFA 10 00:00:42,182 --> 00:00:45,734 in cartooning. His background is in traditional cartooning 11 00:00:45,782 --> 00:00:49,446 and oil painting. He currently creates his personal and professional 12 00:00:49,478 --> 00:00:53,306 work on an iPad using the Procreate app. He specializes 13 00:00:53,338 --> 00:00:57,054 in graphic design, portraits and pop art. Raheem's work 14 00:00:57,092 --> 00:01:00,526 has currently been featured in NFT New York City arts and 15 00:01:00,548 --> 00:01:04,146 Ideas, the shops at Yale, New Haven cultural the 16 00:01:04,168 --> 00:01:07,662 Arts Council, the Thai Bar and Power to the patients. 17 00:01:07,726 --> 00:01:11,506 Raheem. Welcome to working towards our purpose. Thanks for having 18 00:01:11,528 --> 00:01:15,186 me, Gino. So thank you for being here. Why don't 19 00:01:15,208 --> 00:01:18,306 we start by you just kind of in your own words, telling us a little 20 00:01:18,328 --> 00:01:21,862 bit about yourself and what you do and that sort of thing. Sure. Sounds 21 00:01:21,916 --> 00:01:25,458 good. So a little bit about me is my name is Raheem 22 00:01:25,474 --> 00:01:29,038 Nelson. I'm a New Haven born and raised artist. 23 00:01:29,234 --> 00:01:32,780 I went to ECA, which was amazing. 24 00:01:34,030 --> 00:01:37,770 I didn't quite start my art education at ECA, but I think I 25 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,294 started to come into my own at Aces ECA, which is right on 26 00:01:41,332 --> 00:01:44,990 Audubon Street. I come from a background that is, 27 00:01:45,060 --> 00:01:48,506 like, in cartooning. I grew up on comic 28 00:01:48,538 --> 00:01:52,238 books sonic the Hedgehog, Spider Man, all the 29 00:01:52,244 --> 00:01:56,094 good stuff. And I would basically create my own comics 30 00:01:56,142 --> 00:01:59,806 for grade school. And when I got to ECA, I started to branch 31 00:01:59,838 --> 00:02:03,634 out into oils and life 32 00:02:03,672 --> 00:02:07,486 drawing, which was a big one. A little bit of sculpture, photography, just 33 00:02:07,528 --> 00:02:11,270 like, pretty much trying all the arts. And I kind of took 34 00:02:11,340 --> 00:02:15,046 that influence with me to college. I went 35 00:02:15,068 --> 00:02:18,886 to New York City for college. The School of Visual Arts is where 36 00:02:18,908 --> 00:02:22,742 I went to continue my education, and I went for cartooning. 37 00:02:22,886 --> 00:02:26,554 But I think for me, it was actually oil painting that was, like 38 00:02:26,592 --> 00:02:30,380 the most impactful on me. The way they set it up was 39 00:02:30,750 --> 00:02:34,430 for our foundation year, our freshman year, we would basically 40 00:02:34,500 --> 00:02:38,254 get to try all the arts. So it was like ECA part two pretty 41 00:02:38,292 --> 00:02:42,042 much. And we had a course for oil painting 42 00:02:42,106 --> 00:02:45,602 was like a few hours in a given day where we would just 43 00:02:45,736 --> 00:02:49,246 either paint a live model or we would paint 44 00:02:49,358 --> 00:02:53,042 different bound objects. And it just really helped me a lot in terms 45 00:02:53,096 --> 00:02:56,706 of just getting used to the paint and creating 46 00:02:56,738 --> 00:03:00,534 something on a canvas. And now I do that stuff digitally. So it's just 47 00:03:00,572 --> 00:03:04,166 interesting how I was able to go to 48 00:03:04,188 --> 00:03:07,318 ECA, get all this learning 49 00:03:07,484 --> 00:03:11,334 really early in my art know, still being 50 00:03:11,372 --> 00:03:15,114 a student and then being able to continue that to New York. So 51 00:03:15,152 --> 00:03:18,698 I love being an artist, born and raised in New Haven. I bring 52 00:03:18,864 --> 00:03:22,474 that energy, the culture, the community, and I put that into my 53 00:03:22,512 --> 00:03:26,334 work. So that's what I pride myself on. Awesome. Thanks 54 00:03:26,372 --> 00:03:30,062 for sharing that. So what kind of led you 55 00:03:30,116 --> 00:03:33,374 to the wanting to go to college for art school? Was it ECA and being 56 00:03:33,412 --> 00:03:36,690 involved in arts at an early like, did you ever 57 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,606 have some thoughts of going to college for different majors, 58 00:03:40,638 --> 00:03:44,066 or did you decide early on that you wanted to be an artist? Yeah, it 59 00:03:44,088 --> 00:03:47,926 was definitely early on. Probably like age seven or eight, to be 60 00:03:47,948 --> 00:03:51,766 honest. Really? I've been just interested in being 61 00:03:51,788 --> 00:03:55,478 an artist for a long time and then also doing it professionally. I 62 00:03:55,484 --> 00:03:58,840 think that was something that I've always been curious about. 63 00:03:59,210 --> 00:04:02,922 So I think I always knew it was going to be like going 64 00:04:02,976 --> 00:04:06,730 to an art college because I just loved the idea of being 65 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,314 trained and developed by different instructors in the arts. 66 00:04:10,362 --> 00:04:13,360 And I think SVA came about 67 00:04:13,890 --> 00:04:17,726 because my mom actually, when she was in high school, she 68 00:04:17,748 --> 00:04:21,562 had a poster of SVA, 69 00:04:21,706 --> 00:04:25,246 and it was like one of their vintage posters and stuff. So she'd tell me 70 00:04:25,268 --> 00:04:28,514 about it, and she'd like, oh, have you thought about this school? And so we 71 00:04:28,552 --> 00:04:32,274 started looking at it, and then they were actually one of the few 72 00:04:32,312 --> 00:04:36,014 schools that we found at the time that took cartooning 73 00:04:36,062 --> 00:04:39,670 as a major, and it was accredited. And then it was also in New York. 74 00:04:39,740 --> 00:04:43,334 And I have a love for New York City, and I love the idea of 75 00:04:43,532 --> 00:04:47,286 being from New Haven but going to New York for college. So I think 76 00:04:47,308 --> 00:04:51,082 it was ingrained in me for a while where art college 77 00:04:51,136 --> 00:04:53,834 was just going to be the move, and that was going to be the next 78 00:04:53,872 --> 00:04:57,610 step of my creative journey. Very cool. 79 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,354 So what made you come back to New Haven after going 80 00:05:01,392 --> 00:05:05,178 to college in New York? I know you're from here and you grew 81 00:05:05,194 --> 00:05:08,954 up here, but what draws an artist, 82 00:05:09,002 --> 00:05:12,014 I guess, back to New Haven? That's a good question. 83 00:05:12,212 --> 00:05:15,300 So the caveat to 84 00:05:15,670 --> 00:05:19,490 going to school in New York, as amazing an experience as it was, as 85 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,290 fun as it was, it was very expensive. 86 00:05:22,870 --> 00:05:26,580 And I never had that chance to actually 87 00:05:27,110 --> 00:05:30,898 dorm on campus. My mom, and know, because she 88 00:05:30,904 --> 00:05:34,406 was helping me greatly, know, pay through college. 89 00:05:34,508 --> 00:05:37,766 And I had grants and loans and stuff like that. 90 00:05:37,948 --> 00:05:41,594 But the room and board was just like, too much. And it was 91 00:05:41,632 --> 00:05:45,418 like, well, if you want to go, you're going to have to consider 92 00:05:45,504 --> 00:05:49,098 commuting. So pretty much for those four years, 93 00:05:49,184 --> 00:05:52,586 I was hopping on the Metro North and then going to class, 94 00:05:52,688 --> 00:05:56,494 like, waking up super early most days because I had to be there for 95 00:05:56,532 --> 00:06:00,186 like, 09:00. So, like, getting the early, early trains 96 00:06:00,378 --> 00:06:04,000 had been taking trains for a long time at that point, and 97 00:06:04,470 --> 00:06:08,162 it was like, a huge undertaking. But I knew it's what 98 00:06:08,216 --> 00:06:11,314 had to be done at the time. So I think making that 99 00:06:11,352 --> 00:06:14,878 transition, deciding to stay in New Haven 100 00:06:15,064 --> 00:06:18,598 and work out here, wasn't that difficult 101 00:06:18,684 --> 00:06:22,342 because I was already commuting between two places and I was like, okay, 102 00:06:22,396 --> 00:06:25,320 it's actually cost effective to 103 00:06:26,250 --> 00:06:29,686 be in New haven, work in New Haven. And if I get 104 00:06:29,788 --> 00:06:33,546 work in New York, which I still know, I can hop on the 105 00:06:33,568 --> 00:06:37,018 train, go meet a client or have it be a zoom meeting or something. 106 00:06:37,184 --> 00:06:40,970 So I think I started developing this way of working, 107 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,574 like, even as a student, where it's like, okay, I live in New Haven, but 108 00:06:44,612 --> 00:06:48,286 I work in New York. I have my classes in New York. So I think 109 00:06:48,308 --> 00:06:52,094 for me, the switch was pretty easy. After I didn't have 110 00:06:52,132 --> 00:06:55,566 to commute necessarily to get to class, it was like, okay, I'm going to go 111 00:06:55,588 --> 00:06:59,074 back to New Haven because I'm still living here, and then just make it work 112 00:06:59,112 --> 00:07:02,450 that way because I think it's just a lot more cost effective. 113 00:07:02,870 --> 00:07:06,706 Interesting point of view. Yeah. Never thought about it like that. It definitely is 114 00:07:06,888 --> 00:07:10,726 easy access to the city from here. That's definitely a plus, for 115 00:07:10,748 --> 00:07:14,086 sure. So what did it look like after you graduated college 116 00:07:14,188 --> 00:07:17,974 and trying to get work in being an artist? And I 117 00:07:18,012 --> 00:07:21,430 imagine a lot of times artists struggle with finding 118 00:07:21,930 --> 00:07:25,354 a job that can pay, and you also have the creative freedom that you want. 119 00:07:25,392 --> 00:07:28,762 What did that look like for you? Yeah, what that looked like for me 120 00:07:28,816 --> 00:07:32,574 was I think it was a lot of self discovery because 121 00:07:32,612 --> 00:07:36,126 I think after graduation, I was kind of 122 00:07:36,148 --> 00:07:39,934 torn between do I want to purely be a 123 00:07:39,972 --> 00:07:43,706 cartoonist or purely be like, an illustrator. And I wasn't 124 00:07:43,738 --> 00:07:47,498 really thinking, like, how I am now, where I've got all these 125 00:07:47,524 --> 00:07:51,310 skills. Like, okay, I can get work in cartooning here. I can get illustration 126 00:07:51,390 --> 00:07:54,898 work over here. For me, it was like black and white at the time. It's 127 00:07:54,904 --> 00:07:58,498 like, okay, if I'm going to commit to cartooning, then this is the work I'm 128 00:07:58,514 --> 00:08:01,926 going to kind of look at, thinking like, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, kind 129 00:08:01,948 --> 00:08:05,254 of. I think right after 130 00:08:05,292 --> 00:08:08,870 graduation, I kind of wanted to be on more of the illustration 131 00:08:08,950 --> 00:08:12,502 path. And I think at first, finding 132 00:08:12,566 --> 00:08:16,250 work was actually pretty difficult. I was 133 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,106 able to curate a show with Arts Council right out of college, which was 134 00:08:20,128 --> 00:08:23,630 great. So that helped with visibility. But in terms of just 135 00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:26,846 having sustainable income, that didn't come until much later. 136 00:08:26,948 --> 00:08:30,110 And I think that was one 137 00:08:30,180 --> 00:08:33,714 area I would have liked more support on in 138 00:08:33,752 --> 00:08:37,582 college. Just like the art business side of it. I think SBA 139 00:08:37,646 --> 00:08:41,460 was great for art education, 140 00:08:41,910 --> 00:08:45,714 learning the techniques. But in terms of the business part of it, 141 00:08:45,752 --> 00:08:49,414 and most art colleges do this too. It's not just SBA. I think 142 00:08:49,452 --> 00:08:53,026 they can support students more efficiently where that's 143 00:08:53,058 --> 00:08:56,902 concerned. So it's like a lot of trial by know, 144 00:08:56,956 --> 00:09:00,714 I learned a lot at the, you know, shout out to my 145 00:09:00,752 --> 00:09:04,074 friend Jose and Winter and everybody over 146 00:09:04,112 --> 00:09:07,898 there. They helped me kind of develop a 147 00:09:07,904 --> 00:09:11,600 business acumen as an artist. And so 148 00:09:12,130 --> 00:09:15,440 I would notice that, hey, I can maybe 149 00:09:15,970 --> 00:09:19,214 do some cartooning for a newspaper, make some 150 00:09:19,252 --> 00:09:23,006 income and do other things like that where 151 00:09:23,028 --> 00:09:26,286 I'm submitting to art shows. So it's like a lot of just finding 152 00:09:26,318 --> 00:09:29,986 myself and making sure I 153 00:09:30,008 --> 00:09:33,714 had a day job. I had a day job as an 154 00:09:33,752 --> 00:09:37,526 assistant teacher for different middle schools and 155 00:09:37,548 --> 00:09:41,174 high schools and everything to support my art. Because I considered like, 156 00:09:41,212 --> 00:09:44,854 hey, I don't necessarily have a 157 00:09:44,892 --> 00:09:48,582 backup plan. It's going to be difficult to want to create 158 00:09:48,636 --> 00:09:51,866 art anyway if the bills aren't paid. So I tried to think of those things 159 00:09:51,968 --> 00:09:55,594 just right out of the gate. Yeah, that's a really 160 00:09:55,632 --> 00:09:59,274 good perspective. I think as far as my own path, I came 161 00:09:59,312 --> 00:10:02,986 from a corporate job and then I thought to myself, once I get to a 162 00:10:03,008 --> 00:10:06,494 place where I can quit, then I'll just be able to do my business or 163 00:10:06,612 --> 00:10:10,318 whatever I'm doing full time. And then I went through like a patch where 164 00:10:10,404 --> 00:10:13,102 I was doing that, but then it got to the point where it became super 165 00:10:13,156 --> 00:10:16,714 overwhelming and burnt out because the money wasn't there. So I think that's 166 00:10:16,762 --> 00:10:19,826 good foresight on your part to be able to be like, well, let me take 167 00:10:19,848 --> 00:10:23,282 the pressure of bill paying off with this thing and then continue 168 00:10:23,416 --> 00:10:26,726 to I kind of learned that the hard way. I 169 00:10:26,748 --> 00:10:30,566 understand. How did 170 00:10:30,588 --> 00:10:34,274 that look for you as far as being able to give yourself creativity? 171 00:10:34,322 --> 00:10:36,520 Did you have jobs that gave you 172 00:10:38,090 --> 00:10:41,814 weekdays or nights and weekends to work on your art? How did you balance 173 00:10:41,862 --> 00:10:45,206 both of those things while still pursuing creative 174 00:10:45,238 --> 00:10:49,066 endeavors? Yeah, quick question. I always find a way 175 00:10:49,168 --> 00:10:52,574 to make it work where I can have time for 176 00:10:52,612 --> 00:10:56,366 my creative endeavors. For a long time, pretty 177 00:10:56,388 --> 00:11:00,234 much right out of college, until most recently, 178 00:11:00,362 --> 00:11:04,046 I had been working as a paraprofessional in the 179 00:11:04,068 --> 00:11:07,598 school system. So summers off 180 00:11:07,764 --> 00:11:11,394 hours be like, I think around seven to 181 00:11:11,432 --> 00:11:15,090 02:00. So 02:00 on 182 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:18,902 if I wanted to go to Co working spaces and 183 00:11:19,036 --> 00:11:22,866 I could do that. If I wanted to take other assignments, 184 00:11:22,898 --> 00:11:26,326 I could do that, have meetings and things like that. So there were 185 00:11:26,428 --> 00:11:29,878 pockets of time where I could do that. Like in Buffett, I wanted to go 186 00:11:29,884 --> 00:11:33,274 to New York City after getting out of work, having like 187 00:11:33,312 --> 00:11:36,826 02:00 until the evening, like pretty much a lot of 188 00:11:36,848 --> 00:11:40,542 time. So I was able to use that to just get a ton of things 189 00:11:40,596 --> 00:11:44,078 done with clients, developing different 190 00:11:44,244 --> 00:11:47,930 relationships and business, having that window 191 00:11:48,010 --> 00:11:51,040 was really essential. And sometimes, 192 00:11:52,130 --> 00:11:55,586 well, for instance, this example comes to mind. I was working 193 00:11:55,688 --> 00:11:58,898 for troop school, and then I was also 194 00:11:58,984 --> 00:12:02,738 doing art classes for arts for learning. 195 00:12:02,904 --> 00:12:06,626 And sometimes there would be, like, a conflict because as 196 00:12:06,648 --> 00:12:10,390 a paraprofessional, they want you to go and cover a class 197 00:12:10,460 --> 00:12:14,054 if somebody is out or if somebody has, like, 198 00:12:14,092 --> 00:12:17,846 a staff meeting or something. So there was a lot of that. So sometimes 199 00:12:18,028 --> 00:12:21,842 if I would have a class to teach off site at arts for learning, 200 00:12:21,996 --> 00:12:25,386 I would have to make a request of my school to say, like, hey, I 201 00:12:25,408 --> 00:12:29,034 need to leave for this point in the day, and 202 00:12:29,072 --> 00:12:32,742 I'll be back at this time, and getting just the clearance 203 00:12:32,806 --> 00:12:36,494 to have that happen. It was great that I was working with people that 204 00:12:36,532 --> 00:12:40,334 were gracious enough to help empower me to do that. 205 00:12:40,532 --> 00:12:44,286 And then sometimes I would have classes on the weekends and stuff 206 00:12:44,308 --> 00:12:47,794 that I would teach, too, and it wouldn't be a conflict, but just 207 00:12:47,992 --> 00:12:51,630 making time for art and also making time to pay the bills. 208 00:12:51,790 --> 00:12:55,526 And, like, fast forward to the job that I have now at 209 00:12:55,548 --> 00:12:59,160 the milford arts council, which is absolutely 210 00:12:59,530 --> 00:13:03,366 aligned with me being an artist, because I'm helping the 211 00:13:03,388 --> 00:13:07,206 milford arts council have a voice with their communications and their 212 00:13:07,228 --> 00:13:10,842 marketing. I've done a lot of things on social 213 00:13:10,896 --> 00:13:14,442 media for my own brand that I'm able to now take 214 00:13:14,576 --> 00:13:18,166 and put into this nonprofit, and I'm 215 00:13:18,198 --> 00:13:21,994 just having a blast. Like, the board is happy with the work 216 00:13:22,032 --> 00:13:25,806 I'm doing. My boss is happy with the work I'm doing. And we're able to 217 00:13:25,828 --> 00:13:29,486 just have this dialogue and this conversation where it's like, 218 00:13:29,508 --> 00:13:33,114 okay, if you want to take a meeting off site, go take some photos 219 00:13:33,162 --> 00:13:36,926 for an event that has to do with the Milford arts Council, come back, edit 220 00:13:36,958 --> 00:13:40,626 that, and then get it on social media. That could be 221 00:13:40,648 --> 00:13:44,066 considered one of my work days, or I can be remote and I can send 222 00:13:44,088 --> 00:13:47,926 out press releases and I can send out briefs to people. And 223 00:13:47,948 --> 00:13:50,902 it's just kind of like I'm still making that 224 00:13:50,956 --> 00:13:54,806 adjustment to having a job like this because it 225 00:13:54,828 --> 00:13:58,514 has structure, but it's more fluid 226 00:13:58,642 --> 00:14:02,442 than my job at New Haven Public Schools. Like, new haven 227 00:14:02,496 --> 00:14:06,090 public schools, I have to be there by, know, leaving that to 228 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,766 being in one classroom for the most part during the day, whereas 229 00:14:09,798 --> 00:14:13,020 Milford arts council, it's like, okay, you're in the office sometimes 230 00:14:13,390 --> 00:14:16,814 you can also be remote. They encourage me to take on 231 00:14:16,852 --> 00:14:20,686 entrepreneurial stuff as long as it doesn't conflict with the job. So it's like just 232 00:14:20,708 --> 00:14:24,266 being in this space where I'm working in an arts 233 00:14:24,298 --> 00:14:27,874 council as an artist, doing the communication, it's like 234 00:14:27,912 --> 00:14:31,474 everything is aligned with what I 235 00:14:31,512 --> 00:14:34,994 want, where it's like, I'm able to 236 00:14:35,112 --> 00:14:38,866 work on my creative endeavors and have even more flexibility 237 00:14:38,978 --> 00:14:42,710 than if I was still in the school system. Yeah, that's awesome. 238 00:14:42,780 --> 00:14:46,434 I'm happy that you got that job, and congratulations. 239 00:14:46,562 --> 00:14:50,154 Thank you. I kind of also feel like I'm in a similar space. 240 00:14:50,272 --> 00:14:53,610 I've done various side jobs while pursuing my 241 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,526 entrepreneur endeavors, and this year I got a new job at Omo 242 00:14:57,558 --> 00:15:01,066 Bagels in town and kind of just started doing, like 243 00:15:01,248 --> 00:15:05,070 I think I applied to be a barista because I wanted to learn that trade. 244 00:15:05,650 --> 00:15:09,486 But ever since working there, it's a very small, tight knit company, and the 245 00:15:09,508 --> 00:15:13,358 owners are really great and give me the flexibility to kind 246 00:15:13,364 --> 00:15:17,118 of do whatever interests me. And since I started, I've done farmers 247 00:15:17,134 --> 00:15:20,786 markets, and now I'm kind of grown into a social media kind of 248 00:15:20,808 --> 00:15:24,594 content role, which kind of also aligns with my 249 00:15:24,632 --> 00:15:28,418 business stuff. So it's nice to have a different job 250 00:15:28,504 --> 00:15:32,326 that pays bills that you can kind of, like you 251 00:15:32,348 --> 00:15:35,046 said, kind of go back and forth and be like, oh, I learned this over 252 00:15:35,068 --> 00:15:38,006 here, and I can bring it to your business. And I learned this at your 253 00:15:38,028 --> 00:15:41,146 business, and I can bring it to my business. So I think that's kind of, 254 00:15:41,168 --> 00:15:44,842 like, for me, an important point to highlight, because I think 255 00:15:44,896 --> 00:15:48,140 sometimes when you think of being an entrepreneur, you think 256 00:15:48,670 --> 00:15:52,474 you can only have your own business, like I alluded to before 257 00:15:52,592 --> 00:15:55,486 my first year quitting. It's like, I only can do this. I can't do anything 258 00:15:55,508 --> 00:15:58,958 else, or otherwise I'm a failure. But it's like, sometimes that's nice 259 00:15:59,044 --> 00:16:02,126 to interact with other people at a job, and then you get 260 00:16:02,148 --> 00:16:05,454 inspiration from taking time off of your own 261 00:16:05,492 --> 00:16:09,314 thing. So I think that that's really cool. So 262 00:16:09,432 --> 00:16:13,266 shifting a little bit, I do want to talk about your specific art. And 263 00:16:13,288 --> 00:16:16,834 one thing that really interests me that you do is this thing that you call 264 00:16:16,872 --> 00:16:20,686 graphic recordings, and I've never seen it anywhere else. 265 00:16:20,808 --> 00:16:24,214 Maybe it's a thing you could give us more information about what they are, but 266 00:16:24,332 --> 00:16:27,506 I just think that they're a really cool idea, and I think you do them 267 00:16:27,548 --> 00:16:30,954 really nicely. So if you want to explain what. They are thank 268 00:16:30,992 --> 00:16:34,614 you. Yeah. So put simply, graphic 269 00:16:34,662 --> 00:16:38,330 recording is like the art of me, 270 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,630 an artist. I would go into a meeting 271 00:16:41,970 --> 00:16:45,470 or a conference, event, whatever, where 272 00:16:45,540 --> 00:16:49,310 somebody is speaking and wanting to engage an audience. 273 00:16:49,810 --> 00:16:53,590 I, the artist, would be creating visual notes 274 00:16:53,690 --> 00:16:57,538 for what's being said. And I think I'm still always trying to 275 00:16:57,544 --> 00:17:00,818 find a way to explain this so that it's like, in layman's terms, 276 00:17:00,984 --> 00:17:04,158 basically creating a visual 277 00:17:04,254 --> 00:17:07,746 summary of a meeting or a 278 00:17:07,768 --> 00:17:11,202 conference. So by the end of it, you can look at the illustration 279 00:17:11,346 --> 00:17:15,174 with some of the words, some of the bullet points, basically, of what people 280 00:17:15,212 --> 00:17:19,050 are talking about, and then say, like, okay, 281 00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:22,650 this meeting was about social justice reform. This 282 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,458 meeting was about clean energy. This meeting was about 283 00:17:26,544 --> 00:17:29,914 being empowered in the arts in New Haven. 284 00:17:30,112 --> 00:17:33,822 And I love graphic recording because 285 00:17:33,876 --> 00:17:37,434 I'm able to provide a service where people have a voice, 286 00:17:37,562 --> 00:17:40,874 and it's like, you don't have to have just a PowerPoint 287 00:17:40,922 --> 00:17:44,690 presentation or the standard things that you would have for a meeting. 288 00:17:45,030 --> 00:17:48,642 And I'm happy to say I won 289 00:17:48,776 --> 00:17:52,606 a grant from the city New Haven Department of Arts, Cultural 290 00:17:52,638 --> 00:17:56,354 and Tourism in collaboration with the Arts Council to do 291 00:17:56,392 --> 00:18:00,182 graphic recording for New Haven. That's awesome. And my own experience 292 00:18:00,316 --> 00:18:04,038 thank you. My own experience with graphic recording comes from New York. 293 00:18:04,124 --> 00:18:07,686 I had a brief time working in Brooklyn for a company, and 294 00:18:07,708 --> 00:18:11,210 they showed me the ropes of doing graphic recording. Go on site 295 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:15,098 in Brooklyn to do it, different parts of Manhattan, and then 296 00:18:15,184 --> 00:18:18,842 sometimes traveling. So I got that experience to go to 297 00:18:18,896 --> 00:18:22,702 Texas and go to where else to go, like 298 00:18:22,756 --> 00:18:26,494 Chicago, and create these illustrations. And it 299 00:18:26,532 --> 00:18:30,334 can be done traditionally. If it's done 300 00:18:30,372 --> 00:18:34,218 traditionally, it's usually done like a foam core board and markers. 301 00:18:34,314 --> 00:18:38,098 And you either pack it up, take it with you, or you ship it 302 00:18:38,104 --> 00:18:41,858 to the client, and then you're putting it on easel so you're kind of 303 00:18:41,944 --> 00:18:45,778 drawing and writing things out using these big markers. So I know 304 00:18:45,784 --> 00:18:49,074 how to do it that way. But being a mobile digital 305 00:18:49,122 --> 00:18:52,806 artist and wanting to just make things super simple for 306 00:18:52,828 --> 00:18:56,326 myself and the client, I create all the artwork on an 307 00:18:56,348 --> 00:19:00,114 iPad. So I'll go into a meeting if it's like an in person 308 00:19:00,172 --> 00:19:03,706 meeting. If not, I'll just do zoom. I'll sit down in the meeting, the 309 00:19:03,728 --> 00:19:07,546 person's talking, and usually clients will hire me to 310 00:19:07,568 --> 00:19:10,850 do, like, a keynote presentation or maybe like a keynote 311 00:19:10,870 --> 00:19:14,586 presentation, and then maybe some fireside chats 312 00:19:14,618 --> 00:19:18,062 or something. It just depends on the nature of the job. And so 313 00:19:18,116 --> 00:19:21,966 after all that work is finished and maybe I 314 00:19:21,988 --> 00:19:25,586 have like three, four illustrations to go with 315 00:19:25,688 --> 00:19:29,154 these hour long meetings, then the client is 316 00:19:29,192 --> 00:19:32,514 receiving the illustration that they can turn into a 317 00:19:32,552 --> 00:19:36,366 PDF and submit to their attendees, or they can print 318 00:19:36,398 --> 00:19:39,974 it out. So there are those two things. And then I also like to provide 319 00:19:40,092 --> 00:19:43,654 a time lapse video because Procreate does that 320 00:19:43,692 --> 00:19:47,190 automatically in the background so you can actually see the words coming 321 00:19:47,260 --> 00:19:50,942 out, like where if somebody's talking about marketing and branding, 322 00:19:51,026 --> 00:19:54,518 those words might pop up. And then I'm creating illustrations 323 00:19:54,694 --> 00:19:58,378 that have to do with that, which is why I love having at 324 00:19:58,384 --> 00:20:01,420 least a meeting or two with the client before 325 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:05,514 actually get on site or the zoom call starts. So 326 00:20:05,552 --> 00:20:09,326 I'm having things like color palettes, maybe like a run 327 00:20:09,348 --> 00:20:12,746 of show, like an agenda. Having an agenda is really helpful for graphic 328 00:20:12,778 --> 00:20:16,218 recording because I want to know what's the talk going to be 329 00:20:16,244 --> 00:20:20,066 about. Is there going to be a title for the talk that 330 00:20:20,088 --> 00:20:23,874 I can kind of include in the illustration and then maybe other 331 00:20:23,912 --> 00:20:27,474 things as well to go with it. I recently did a graphic 332 00:20:27,522 --> 00:20:31,206 recording for Arts and Ideas, their Rise Gala that they 333 00:20:31,228 --> 00:20:35,046 had most recently. And what I enjoyed about it is 334 00:20:35,068 --> 00:20:38,614 it's like another form of graphic recording where it's even 335 00:20:38,652 --> 00:20:42,006 more interactive. It's called a social listening 336 00:20:42,038 --> 00:20:45,786 mural. So I sit in one place and it was in 337 00:20:45,808 --> 00:20:49,610 Lost in New Haven, which is the new museum that's going to be opening soon. 338 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:53,530 And people would come over and there was a prompt 339 00:20:53,690 --> 00:20:57,054 that says, what's New Haven mean to you? In one 340 00:20:57,092 --> 00:21:00,410 word? And so people would come over and they were excited 341 00:21:00,490 --> 00:21:04,174 because they, for the most part got a little flustered, like, oh, 342 00:21:04,212 --> 00:21:06,786 well, like New Haven, one word. Like, I have to come back to you on 343 00:21:06,808 --> 00:21:10,626 that. So they would circle the room and then they would come back 344 00:21:10,728 --> 00:21:14,082 and say, oh, I have my word. And so some people 345 00:21:14,136 --> 00:21:17,550 would come back and check in to see where the illustration 346 00:21:17,630 --> 00:21:21,366 was. And so I'd have these words, and I 347 00:21:21,388 --> 00:21:24,566 think part of it I had like a hand extended and then there's like a 348 00:21:24,588 --> 00:21:28,406 bind coming out of the person's hand and then different words that sum up 349 00:21:28,428 --> 00:21:31,994 their New Haven experience. And by the end of the night, it 350 00:21:32,032 --> 00:21:35,478 was projected for everybody to see that was having dinner. 351 00:21:35,574 --> 00:21:39,274 So everybody there was able to contribute to this 352 00:21:39,312 --> 00:21:42,982 illustration. So as excited as I am about the standard 353 00:21:43,056 --> 00:21:46,686 graphic recording where I'm going to meetings and I'm taking visual notes and stuff, 354 00:21:46,788 --> 00:21:50,606 the social listening mural part of it is the most exciting for me 355 00:21:50,628 --> 00:21:54,434 because it's like truly interactive art where people get to 356 00:21:54,472 --> 00:21:57,842 contribute to how it looks by the end of the night. Wow, that's super 357 00:21:57,896 --> 00:22:01,602 cool. That's really an interesting way to 358 00:22:01,736 --> 00:22:05,346 make live art and have people contribute to it and 359 00:22:05,368 --> 00:22:09,126 be such a collaborative thing. That's really cool. Do you have any 360 00:22:09,148 --> 00:22:12,694 more of those kind of like lined up? Or do you want to do more 361 00:22:12,732 --> 00:22:16,166 of those sorts of yeah, yeah. To be 362 00:22:16,188 --> 00:22:19,434 honest, graphic recording is going to 363 00:22:19,472 --> 00:22:22,298 be at the forefront of my business. 364 00:22:22,464 --> 00:22:25,702 I'm also doing traditional 365 00:22:25,766 --> 00:22:29,546 murals for Yale, which has been amazing. I've done a 366 00:22:29,568 --> 00:22:33,118 few illustration jobs for Yale as well, editorial stuff. 367 00:22:33,284 --> 00:22:36,974 But yeah, graphic recording is like number one for me. It's not 368 00:22:37,012 --> 00:22:40,734 only lucrative, but I'm able to help people. I'm able 369 00:22:40,772 --> 00:22:44,606 to help educate people. And then I myself, like being an 370 00:22:44,628 --> 00:22:48,242 artist, going into a meeting or whatever, I'm able to learn something 371 00:22:48,296 --> 00:22:51,790 too. So I think it's just like so much synergy 372 00:22:51,950 --> 00:22:55,442 with the skill and just what comes out of it, just what can be used 373 00:22:55,496 --> 00:22:59,190 for different meetings. So I have something 374 00:22:59,260 --> 00:23:03,030 lined up for Hartford that I'm going to be doing in a few weeks. And 375 00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:06,866 I just got an email this morning from a long term 376 00:23:06,978 --> 00:23:10,314 client of mine. They're more like an art agency, so they connect me with their 377 00:23:10,352 --> 00:23:13,946 clients about an opportunity in New Orleans, like 378 00:23:14,048 --> 00:23:17,878 going in person and doing graphic recording. And that's 379 00:23:17,894 --> 00:23:21,706 kind of been like a dream to go back to New Orleans. I say 380 00:23:21,728 --> 00:23:25,454 go back to New Orleans because I've done murals out there, and I only went 381 00:23:25,492 --> 00:23:28,766 once and I haven't been back. So I was like, how do I go back 382 00:23:28,868 --> 00:23:31,600 on business and have that be covered? So 383 00:23:32,530 --> 00:23:36,154 make that happen. But yeah, I think it's a skill 384 00:23:36,282 --> 00:23:40,066 where I can use to travel to different states. I 385 00:23:40,088 --> 00:23:43,634 want to go to different countries and do it. To be honest, I just want 386 00:23:43,672 --> 00:23:46,626 to catch on. And I wanted to start in New Haven. For me, it was 387 00:23:46,648 --> 00:23:49,854 important to start in New Haven and say, like, hey, this is the 388 00:23:49,912 --> 00:23:53,734 skill that I'm doing. I was born and raised here. 389 00:23:53,772 --> 00:23:57,446 I want to bring this skill to New Haven before I really bring it to 390 00:23:57,468 --> 00:24:01,098 other places. And thankfully, I've been able to do that. Like the graphic recordings I've 391 00:24:01,104 --> 00:24:04,906 done for the city and arts and ideas. I think it's really 392 00:24:04,928 --> 00:24:08,682 starting to catch on. So it's not just for me, 393 00:24:08,736 --> 00:24:12,314 like, being a self sustained, sustainable 394 00:24:12,362 --> 00:24:15,934 artist. It's like, how can I do good somewhere? Whether it's for 395 00:24:16,052 --> 00:24:19,886 a nonprofit or different organizations, how can my 396 00:24:19,908 --> 00:24:23,586 graphic recording be used to uplift people? And I think that's like my 397 00:24:23,608 --> 00:24:26,994 mission statement. Yeah, I love that. That's awesome. 398 00:24:27,192 --> 00:24:30,818 So not only the graphic design stuff, you also 399 00:24:30,904 --> 00:24:34,686 do NFTs and you're into passion. 400 00:24:34,718 --> 00:24:38,260 You have so many interests, it seems, but 401 00:24:38,870 --> 00:24:42,578 you were able to go to New York as part of an NFT 402 00:24:42,674 --> 00:24:46,306 that you made. Can you explain to us a little bit more about NFTs 403 00:24:46,338 --> 00:24:50,026 and how NFTs could be helpful for artists and used as 404 00:24:50,048 --> 00:24:53,866 artists and that sort of thing? Sure. So NFTs mean 405 00:24:53,968 --> 00:24:57,738 non fungible token. It's basically something you can buy 406 00:24:57,824 --> 00:25:01,566 on a digital marketplace. Doesn't have to be a piece of art. It can 407 00:25:01,588 --> 00:25:05,086 be like a song or tickets to a show, for 408 00:25:05,108 --> 00:25:07,840 example. I use it for my art. 409 00:25:08,610 --> 00:25:12,174 And I think what's been great about NFTs is that 410 00:25:12,212 --> 00:25:15,842 I've always looked for a way to sell my digital fine 411 00:25:15,896 --> 00:25:19,298 art, and usually it's been like, in 412 00:25:19,464 --> 00:25:23,234 exhibitions or galleries, and I 413 00:25:23,272 --> 00:25:26,518 love doing that. And at the same time, it's like, how 414 00:25:26,604 --> 00:25:30,262 can I maximize my profits and take 415 00:25:30,316 --> 00:25:33,910 something that starts out as a digital file and sell 416 00:25:33,980 --> 00:25:37,574 that where whoever gets it, they can put it up in their 417 00:25:37,612 --> 00:25:41,434 gallery and put it on a monitor or a digital canvas or something like 418 00:25:41,472 --> 00:25:45,306 that. So I think that's where NFTs came in for me, where it's 419 00:25:45,328 --> 00:25:48,854 like this really cool digital marketplace 420 00:25:48,982 --> 00:25:52,558 to sell art and then teaching myself the ins and outs of it. 421 00:25:52,724 --> 00:25:56,254 And I think what I love most about NFTs is the 422 00:25:56,292 --> 00:26:00,110 artist community. I made a lot of friends on social 423 00:26:00,180 --> 00:26:03,762 media just because we were all kind of out 424 00:26:03,816 --> 00:26:07,326 to support each other with the art. And it's 425 00:26:07,358 --> 00:26:11,042 still kind of new. People are still figuring it out, 426 00:26:11,096 --> 00:26:14,878 and the market's kind of tanking right now, but 427 00:26:15,064 --> 00:26:18,914 I'm still able to use that to further my career 428 00:26:18,962 --> 00:26:22,790 and then also help other artists out too. Whether 429 00:26:22,860 --> 00:26:26,566 it's just like a retweet or like a re posting or 430 00:26:26,588 --> 00:26:30,394 something, but where NFT NYC is concerned. And 431 00:26:30,432 --> 00:26:33,660 I actually just applied for this. Again, they 432 00:26:34,510 --> 00:26:38,266 had this exhibition that was going to be in New York and this was 433 00:26:38,288 --> 00:26:42,106 like their second year doing it. I applied the first year, didn't get 434 00:26:42,128 --> 00:26:45,966 in. And I applied for a second year with a piece that 435 00:26:45,988 --> 00:26:49,806 was like near and dear to my heart. And I'm going to switch subjects and 436 00:26:49,828 --> 00:26:53,540 then kind of go back. But it's all part of the same story. This 437 00:26:53,990 --> 00:26:57,794 piece was of Solange, and 438 00:26:57,992 --> 00:27:01,746 I went to Paris in 2017, like this 439 00:27:01,768 --> 00:27:05,618 big trip to Europe and stuff. And I went to the Louvre. And I absolutely 440 00:27:05,704 --> 00:27:09,414 love what I saw in terms of all the paintings and the 441 00:27:09,452 --> 00:27:12,742 Impressionism and just soaking up all these 442 00:27:12,796 --> 00:27:16,566 artistic ideas, looking at the old masters and stuff. So I 443 00:27:16,588 --> 00:27:20,134 kind of brought that energy back to New Haven. Fast forward to 444 00:27:20,252 --> 00:27:24,026 that. I want to say, like September, I guess. I 445 00:27:24,048 --> 00:27:27,706 ran to a friend of mine at Rudy's and he was like, hey, I 446 00:27:27,728 --> 00:27:31,414 want you to contribute artwork for the show. And I hadn't 447 00:27:31,462 --> 00:27:35,306 really listened to no, I was into Solange's 448 00:27:35,338 --> 00:27:38,974 music at the time, but I didn't realize this 449 00:27:39,012 --> 00:27:42,259 friend of mine was like organizing the whole show on her music. So I was 450 00:27:42,259 --> 00:27:45,506 like, oh, that's cool. So I just kind of thought, like, what can I 451 00:27:45,528 --> 00:27:49,218 contribute to this art show? And I thought of the Lube and I 452 00:27:49,224 --> 00:27:51,220 thought about all these figures with 453 00:27:53,030 --> 00:27:56,866 these iconic halos. And when I think 454 00:27:56,888 --> 00:28:00,406 of the Renaissance, I think of like the halos that were flat in the 455 00:28:00,428 --> 00:28:04,086 back because they did not know perspective at that point. 456 00:28:04,188 --> 00:28:06,886 So I always thought that was kind of cool, especially how that's kind of made 457 00:28:06,908 --> 00:28:09,594 a resurgence in art. So I kind of took that 458 00:28:09,632 --> 00:28:13,274 iconography and made it like modern day. 459 00:28:13,312 --> 00:28:16,426 So I created this painting of 460 00:28:16,448 --> 00:28:20,154 Solange with her Afro and everything. And then I 461 00:28:20,192 --> 00:28:23,686 put like a red hood over her, like a cloak kind of covering 462 00:28:23,718 --> 00:28:27,486 her. I guess I was thinking like the Knights Templar or something like that or 463 00:28:27,508 --> 00:28:31,146 like Lord of the Rings. And then I had like a halo, a flat 464 00:28:31,178 --> 00:28:35,026 halo behind her that had song lyrics from one 465 00:28:35,048 --> 00:28:38,626 of her most iconic songs. And then the background was 466 00:28:38,648 --> 00:28:42,382 like kind of brushstrokes, impressionism 467 00:28:42,446 --> 00:28:45,826 kind of thing. And then it was to be printed on 468 00:28:45,848 --> 00:28:49,574 canvas. And I thought like, okay, I need to go big with this. 469 00:28:49,612 --> 00:28:53,190 I need to make an impression. So I went like 36 470 00:28:53,260 --> 00:28:57,094 by 42 inch canvas, which is like just about as big 471 00:28:57,132 --> 00:29:00,906 as I am and ended up being the centerpiece of the 472 00:29:00,928 --> 00:29:03,946 art show. And I submitted this piece to 473 00:29:03,968 --> 00:29:07,706 Nftnyc because this piece that 474 00:29:07,728 --> 00:29:11,502 I exhibited at Artspace when it was open is the 475 00:29:11,556 --> 00:29:15,326 place where I met my now wife because she was the 476 00:29:15,348 --> 00:29:18,480 host of the event. And 477 00:29:18,850 --> 00:29:22,174 it's just wild to me. The more I. Think of this 478 00:29:22,212 --> 00:29:25,778 piece, it had to be in New York City. Like, it had to be on 479 00:29:25,784 --> 00:29:28,994 this billboard because this piece is, like, what helped me get 480 00:29:29,032 --> 00:29:32,500 married, bring this woman into my life. 481 00:29:32,950 --> 00:29:36,674 So they had this opportunity to get 482 00:29:36,712 --> 00:29:40,534 artwork on a billboard in Times Square. So that was, like, one of the main 483 00:29:40,572 --> 00:29:44,306 draws for me. I submit it, they tell me that I'm 484 00:29:44,338 --> 00:29:48,102 in I guess the message goes to spam or something. 485 00:29:48,156 --> 00:29:50,346 So I discover it in my junk folder. I was like, oh, I need to 486 00:29:50,368 --> 00:29:53,798 respond to this, right? Yes, I'm 487 00:29:53,814 --> 00:29:57,514 interested. And not only is 488 00:29:57,552 --> 00:30:00,942 it it's basically, like, where the ball drops. Like, that's where my art was seen. 489 00:30:00,996 --> 00:30:04,606 And then, like, two billboards, like, one to the 490 00:30:04,628 --> 00:30:08,474 left, one to the right, and my wife 491 00:30:08,522 --> 00:30:11,840 was there. My friend Frank Brady was there as well, 492 00:30:12,470 --> 00:30:15,810 and a few other people just to support 493 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,522 this monumentous occasion for my art 494 00:30:19,576 --> 00:30:23,074 happening. It's like, words don't really do it 495 00:30:23,112 --> 00:30:26,086 justice. That feeling like, oh, my artwork is on, like, a 496 00:30:26,108 --> 00:30:29,894 billboard. And I was able to make 497 00:30:29,932 --> 00:30:33,670 that happen with all of this hard work and this dedication 498 00:30:34,010 --> 00:30:37,286 and really, like, taking an 499 00:30:37,308 --> 00:30:40,762 international trip, because getting inspiration in a different place is 500 00:30:40,816 --> 00:30:44,506 amazing, and then coming back and putting that into my art. 501 00:30:44,688 --> 00:30:48,394 So just having my artwork seen in a place 502 00:30:48,432 --> 00:30:52,118 that's considered, like, the center of the world is just 503 00:30:52,304 --> 00:30:55,726 hugely amazing. I don't really have the 504 00:30:55,748 --> 00:30:59,342 words, just sum up what it was like. And then the next 505 00:30:59,396 --> 00:31:02,734 day was great too, because it was like, a two, three day 506 00:31:02,772 --> 00:31:06,034 conference. This painting was used in their 507 00:31:06,072 --> 00:31:09,922 branding, so they had these digital tickets that you could get, 508 00:31:09,976 --> 00:31:13,714 like, NFT tickets you could get. And this painting was featured on 509 00:31:13,752 --> 00:31:17,198 that, and it was featured at the Javits Center where the 510 00:31:17,224 --> 00:31:21,046 presentations were. So, like, on this big canvas board as 511 00:31:21,068 --> 00:31:24,758 you go in my piece, was there, like, one of 512 00:31:24,764 --> 00:31:28,566 the artist tickets you could get and then another canvas that 513 00:31:28,588 --> 00:31:32,106 was like I don't remember how big it was, but it was huge. Like, pretty 514 00:31:32,128 --> 00:31:35,974 much any artist that contributed artwork 515 00:31:36,022 --> 00:31:39,626 and said, yes, you can turn my artwork into a ticket, those were 516 00:31:39,648 --> 00:31:43,210 featured too. So it was just, like, a huge marketing 517 00:31:43,290 --> 00:31:47,054 and branding opportunity for my work. And then 518 00:31:47,092 --> 00:31:50,766 I would go on social media, I think, maybe a 519 00:31:50,788 --> 00:31:54,350 day or two before the conference. And then people 520 00:31:54,500 --> 00:31:58,238 because people would randomly get a ticket, like, if you got a ticket 521 00:31:58,254 --> 00:32:01,890 to the show, you might get my work or somebody else's. People 522 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,350 kept tweeting me. It's like, hey, I got your ticket. I really love this piece. 523 00:32:05,420 --> 00:32:09,254 And it was just, like, such a great 524 00:32:09,452 --> 00:32:13,302 moment as a creative person where people are getting 525 00:32:13,356 --> 00:32:17,158 to discover a piece of art that's so 526 00:32:17,324 --> 00:32:21,114 impactful and so important to me, where it helped me get 527 00:32:21,152 --> 00:32:24,778 married, it helped me meet this person, and now people are getting to experience 528 00:32:24,864 --> 00:32:28,060 it on their own, too. So it was just like, something else. 529 00:32:28,750 --> 00:32:32,474 Wow, that's crazy. I remember seeing you post about it and 530 00:32:32,592 --> 00:32:35,646 being super happy for you and being like, wow, you're in Times Square where the 531 00:32:35,668 --> 00:32:39,454 ball drops. That's insane because I also was fortunate enough to see the 532 00:32:39,492 --> 00:32:42,800 actual canvas that you had. It was up at Known for a little bit, 533 00:32:43,170 --> 00:32:46,686 and it is an amazing piece. So that's really cool that it's got such meaning 534 00:32:46,718 --> 00:32:50,434 to you and that was the one that propelled you to that 535 00:32:50,472 --> 00:32:53,650 sort of, I guess, validation, right? Yeah, 536 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:57,406 exactly. That's really cool. Thanks for sharing 537 00:32:57,438 --> 00:33:00,790 that story. No problem. So, yeah, as you're 538 00:33:01,290 --> 00:33:04,966 talking about all the different things that you do, I think something that kind 539 00:33:04,988 --> 00:33:08,838 of I noticed or came up for me is that it seems as if you 540 00:33:08,844 --> 00:33:12,042 were never really afraid to try a bunch of things, to 541 00:33:12,096 --> 00:33:15,482 just go and try different mediums of art or trying 542 00:33:15,536 --> 00:33:19,322 different things with art. I think that's kind of an important 543 00:33:19,456 --> 00:33:22,954 thing. And more so important for me as of 544 00:33:22,992 --> 00:33:26,286 recent, is just, like, trying a bunch of things. And even if you can't see 545 00:33:26,308 --> 00:33:30,046 the outcome of it, just see what happens because it'll lead to 546 00:33:30,068 --> 00:33:33,854 things that you never really know without doing it. You would never know 547 00:33:33,892 --> 00:33:37,614 that that could happen. Where do you think that maybe that 548 00:33:37,652 --> 00:33:40,862 came from for you? The openness to maybe try 549 00:33:40,916 --> 00:33:44,560 everything? Yeah, that's a really good point. 550 00:33:45,370 --> 00:33:48,610 I think it comes from my entrepreneurial 551 00:33:48,690 --> 00:33:51,480 spirit, and I think I've been 552 00:33:52,250 --> 00:33:55,590 an entrepreneur for, like, a very young 553 00:33:55,660 --> 00:33:59,418 age when I was doing a lot of 554 00:33:59,504 --> 00:34:03,322 comic books. And I would pretty 555 00:34:03,376 --> 00:34:07,082 much do a comic book a month for myself, 556 00:34:07,136 --> 00:34:10,970 like, whatever story I was developing or, like, from being 557 00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:14,814 a kid. And I remember my mom and I went 558 00:34:14,852 --> 00:34:18,286 to New York for, like, I think it was like the Big Apple Con or 559 00:34:18,308 --> 00:34:21,982 something, and they were publishing this comic book 560 00:34:22,116 --> 00:34:25,818 series called Disney Adventures, and they were interviewing one of the 561 00:34:25,844 --> 00:34:29,586 ladies from the book. And so my mom raised her hand, asked like, 562 00:34:29,608 --> 00:34:33,426 oh, what would it take for my son to be an entrepreneur? Like, 563 00:34:33,448 --> 00:34:37,102 he's doing these comics. He sells them to his friends 564 00:34:37,176 --> 00:34:40,786 sometimes, and he does this whenever he can in his spare 565 00:34:40,818 --> 00:34:44,278 time. So I was, like, drawing it, writing it, 566 00:34:44,364 --> 00:34:48,214 coloring it. I was doing everything. And so the woman answers the question. 567 00:34:48,252 --> 00:34:51,674 It's like, oh, your son is already an entrepreneur. Like, he's already doing it. 568 00:34:51,792 --> 00:34:55,610 And that was just extremely validating for 569 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:59,274 both me and my mom to know that I was already on this 570 00:34:59,312 --> 00:35:03,038 path to entrepreneurship. And I think it just kind of 571 00:35:03,044 --> 00:35:06,570 comes down to, like, let me see what works. And if it doesn't work, I'm 572 00:35:06,570 --> 00:35:10,270 going to go back to the drawing board. Professionally, I've tried, 573 00:35:10,340 --> 00:35:14,178 like, okay, maybe I'll just be a 574 00:35:14,184 --> 00:35:17,906 portrait artist and do families and businesses and 575 00:35:17,928 --> 00:35:20,820 stuff like that. Or maybe I'll do 576 00:35:21,270 --> 00:35:24,850 urban landscapes and make a go at that. So 577 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:28,280 some of these things that may not have taken off, 578 00:35:29,130 --> 00:35:32,822 I'll still keep them in my toolkit, but it's like, 579 00:35:32,876 --> 00:35:36,294 okay, maybe this won't propel me where I need to go. Like, 580 00:35:36,332 --> 00:35:40,138 NFTs was an experiment and that has propelled me to a 581 00:35:40,144 --> 00:35:43,174 certain point with Times Square and graphic 582 00:35:43,222 --> 00:35:46,586 recording. I think that's going to continue to 583 00:35:46,688 --> 00:35:50,470 propel me as well because it's just sustainable. 584 00:35:50,550 --> 00:35:54,110 And there are just a lot of businesses, I think, that can use 585 00:35:54,180 --> 00:35:57,374 visual notes for their meetings, where visual notes will 586 00:35:57,492 --> 00:36:01,246 enhance what's being talked about so that people remember it, 587 00:36:01,268 --> 00:36:04,080 so they remember the presentator. So that 588 00:36:04,530 --> 00:36:08,274 whoever's presenting feels supported in what they're doing because 589 00:36:08,312 --> 00:36:11,714 it's like they're kind of being able to play off of the art. It's like 590 00:36:11,752 --> 00:36:14,962 if I'm doing graphic recording and I'm projecting it live, 591 00:36:15,096 --> 00:36:18,886 whoever's speaking can see it come together behind them or beside them. 592 00:36:18,988 --> 00:36:22,614 So that kind of just enhances everything. So 593 00:36:22,812 --> 00:36:26,614 I guess I kind of look like, where is there a need for 594 00:36:26,652 --> 00:36:30,274 the art professionally? And if there's 595 00:36:30,322 --> 00:36:33,786 not, or not as much as I would like, then I can kind of go 596 00:36:33,808 --> 00:36:37,546 back to the drawing board. I think photography has 597 00:36:37,568 --> 00:36:41,134 also taken off for me, too. It's something I'm doing a lot of. 598 00:36:41,252 --> 00:36:45,006 At my current job at Milford Arts Council, we had an 599 00:36:45,028 --> 00:36:48,138 exhibit recently called Tattoo Tribe. 600 00:36:48,314 --> 00:36:52,142 And one way I was able to support them was by 601 00:36:52,276 --> 00:36:56,066 going a little bit early, taking pictures of people coming in and 602 00:36:56,088 --> 00:36:59,474 then taking pictures throughout the night. So I've got 603 00:36:59,672 --> 00:37:03,426 the Canon revel that my wife and I use. And then 604 00:37:03,448 --> 00:37:06,862 I've got a tripod set up on stage to capture 605 00:37:06,926 --> 00:37:10,706 video. So I'm capturing video in one place. I'm 606 00:37:10,738 --> 00:37:14,406 doing still photography. And then there was one 607 00:37:14,428 --> 00:37:17,766 point in the night where I kind of went up the stairs to the office, 608 00:37:17,948 --> 00:37:21,370 and then I was able to kind of open 609 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:25,082 up. It's almost like a little staging area, like you can see 610 00:37:25,136 --> 00:37:28,614 over to where the crowd would be. So I got some nice aerial 611 00:37:28,662 --> 00:37:31,520 shots too. So I think 612 00:37:32,850 --> 00:37:36,446 for one thing, my photography is informed by 613 00:37:36,548 --> 00:37:40,142 my background as a cartoonist. Or like one thing I can appreciate about 614 00:37:40,196 --> 00:37:43,886 cartoonists and kind of movies and TV is that 615 00:37:43,908 --> 00:37:47,486 it's kind of like a similar language. So if I'm taking a 616 00:37:47,508 --> 00:37:50,594 photo, I'm thinking, how can I tell this story? How can I tell this story 617 00:37:50,632 --> 00:37:54,130 in a cinematic way? So I was able to take all that footage and 618 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,538 photos and stuff, and I turned it into a reel 619 00:37:57,634 --> 00:38:01,270 for the local Arts Council Instagram account. 620 00:38:01,420 --> 00:38:05,062 And I kind of composed it like a movie where the 621 00:38:05,196 --> 00:38:08,922 curator spoke at one part of the night just about 622 00:38:08,976 --> 00:38:12,762 his experience. So I isolated that and then 623 00:38:12,816 --> 00:38:16,566 I kind of put that as, like, the narration 624 00:38:16,678 --> 00:38:20,382 behind this movie scene because that's how I treat it. Like 625 00:38:20,436 --> 00:38:23,598 at the beginning opening credits, like it says, 626 00:38:23,764 --> 00:38:27,386 Tattoo Tribe opening exhibition. The camera 627 00:38:27,578 --> 00:38:31,246 follows you in. So you're seeing where the 628 00:38:31,268 --> 00:38:35,098 crowd is and it's like panning to see the audience, like 629 00:38:35,204 --> 00:38:38,958 kind of things slow down, they speed up, and then the whole time it's 630 00:38:38,974 --> 00:38:42,222 like this person's voiceover guiding you through the exhibit. 631 00:38:42,366 --> 00:38:46,018 And I ended it where it fades to black. And then 632 00:38:46,104 --> 00:38:49,734 I think the line he says something like, without my 633 00:38:49,772 --> 00:38:52,982 clients, I would be nothing, and then it fades to black. I was like, oh, 634 00:38:53,036 --> 00:38:56,726 that's it. That's getting posted and just kind of 635 00:38:56,748 --> 00:39:00,522 storyboarding it in my head and then composing it and then putting 636 00:39:00,576 --> 00:39:04,086 it out there in the world. So even though I'm not necessarily 637 00:39:04,198 --> 00:39:07,610 creating comic books as often as I used to, 638 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,590 I'm kind of looking at videography and photography in a 639 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:15,306 similar way. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. It's 640 00:39:15,338 --> 00:39:19,146 interesting to kind of see how your early influence of comic books 641 00:39:19,178 --> 00:39:22,846 has kind of led to all of everything that you're doing now. And I think 642 00:39:22,868 --> 00:39:26,194 that's important to think about too, is like 643 00:39:26,232 --> 00:39:29,906 transferable skills in the old things that you used to do. And 644 00:39:29,928 --> 00:39:33,634 even so, for me, when I was in a corporate engineering job, 645 00:39:33,672 --> 00:39:37,106 there's still transferable skills that I learned even going through 646 00:39:37,128 --> 00:39:40,806 engineering school that I can then apply to what I'm doing now. 647 00:39:40,988 --> 00:39:44,774 So none of it is really wasted time. It's more so 648 00:39:44,892 --> 00:39:48,374 just propelling you to get to wherever you're supposed to be. 649 00:39:48,572 --> 00:39:51,994 So I think your story has done a good job of showing that, for 650 00:39:52,032 --> 00:39:55,642 sure. So, yeah, we are kind of getting to the end of our time here. 651 00:39:55,696 --> 00:39:59,546 So I have a couple more questions for you. Sure. One, if 652 00:39:59,568 --> 00:40:03,126 you can define what purpose means to you 653 00:40:03,248 --> 00:40:06,974 and how you find purpose in your work, because it has a different 654 00:40:07,012 --> 00:40:10,270 definition for everybody, but I'd. Like to get your thoughts on it. Cool. 655 00:40:10,340 --> 00:40:13,380 Yeah. I like to think that 656 00:40:13,990 --> 00:40:17,794 purpose and happiness go hand in 657 00:40:17,832 --> 00:40:21,122 hand and that you can't have 658 00:40:21,176 --> 00:40:25,026 one without the other. I look at the job I have 659 00:40:25,048 --> 00:40:28,806 now. I look at the kind of commissions and freelance work that I 660 00:40:28,828 --> 00:40:32,360 have and some of the classes that I teach and it all 661 00:40:32,810 --> 00:40:36,566 causes me a lot of happiness. And that makes me 662 00:40:36,588 --> 00:40:40,394 think of alignment. Like, this is aligned with my 663 00:40:40,432 --> 00:40:44,266 values. This is aligned with what I feel like I was put 664 00:40:44,288 --> 00:40:47,946 on this earth to do, connect with people, uplift people 665 00:40:48,048 --> 00:40:51,866 through art. So if this is causing 666 00:40:51,898 --> 00:40:55,610 me to be happy and other people aren't 667 00:40:55,690 --> 00:40:59,374 negatively impacted by it, I think I see that as 668 00:40:59,412 --> 00:41:03,138 being my purpose. And in terms of 669 00:41:03,304 --> 00:41:07,154 the art part of it, I think, again, it goes back 670 00:41:07,192 --> 00:41:10,754 to alignment. Like, what is this painting going to 671 00:41:10,792 --> 00:41:14,034 serve either to me or to my 672 00:41:14,072 --> 00:41:17,686 audience? And I usually think of my audience when I'm working 673 00:41:17,788 --> 00:41:21,030 on something like, how is this going to be received? And I'll let that 674 00:41:21,180 --> 00:41:24,470 confine me or anything, but I think there's like a certain 675 00:41:24,620 --> 00:41:28,454 responsibility as an artist where if I'm creating something 676 00:41:28,492 --> 00:41:32,186 I'm putting out in the world, I do want it to be positive or I 677 00:41:32,208 --> 00:41:35,658 want it to kind of spark a dialogue in a 678 00:41:35,664 --> 00:41:39,174 conversation. And sometimes I'll go back to it like doing political 679 00:41:39,222 --> 00:41:42,726 art. So it'll be whimsical and it'll be humorous, but 680 00:41:42,848 --> 00:41:46,654 it's also like, okay, do you really want this person as president? Like, 681 00:41:46,692 --> 00:41:50,010 this is what I'm trying to showcase to you in this artwork. 682 00:41:50,170 --> 00:41:53,838 So I always think of intent and 683 00:41:54,004 --> 00:41:57,586 what does this piece stand for? What do I stand for as an artist? And 684 00:41:57,608 --> 00:42:01,378 I want to convey that clearly every time I put something out in the 685 00:42:01,384 --> 00:42:05,140 world. Yeah, no, I really like that. 686 00:42:05,670 --> 00:42:09,458 The happiness and the purpose kind of being interrelated. I'm not 687 00:42:09,464 --> 00:42:12,438 sure I've ever thought about it like that before, but it makes total sense to 688 00:42:12,444 --> 00:42:16,246 me when you said it. So the last question that I 689 00:42:16,268 --> 00:42:19,962 have for you is what's next for you and how can people support you 690 00:42:20,096 --> 00:42:23,418 and follow the work that you do? Oh, 691 00:42:23,504 --> 00:42:27,002 great. So what's next for me, I think, 692 00:42:27,056 --> 00:42:30,630 is more graphic recording jobs. 693 00:42:30,710 --> 00:42:34,554 I'd love to attend more events and get 694 00:42:34,592 --> 00:42:38,382 into some conferences where I can kind of be doing this for a few days 695 00:42:38,436 --> 00:42:41,678 at a time and provide like, a ton of work to a client. That would 696 00:42:41,684 --> 00:42:45,506 be great. I definitely want to travel 697 00:42:45,608 --> 00:42:48,690 more. My wife and I are organizing 698 00:42:49,350 --> 00:42:53,106 networking events with the elements of 699 00:42:53,128 --> 00:42:56,966 Abundance, so it would be a tour in Ghana. So we're working on 700 00:42:56,988 --> 00:43:00,678 that. You can actually get your tickets for that now for it. It's going to 701 00:43:00,684 --> 00:43:03,640 be amazing. Yeah. And 702 00:43:04,410 --> 00:43:08,010 in terms of finding me and supporting me, my website 703 00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:11,594 is Raheemnelson.com. You can 704 00:43:11,712 --> 00:43:15,546 follow me on Instagram at Raheem Nelson Arts or at 705 00:43:15,568 --> 00:43:19,002 Raheem Nelson Style as well because I'm definitely into 706 00:43:19,136 --> 00:43:22,566 fashion and suits and all that stuff and 707 00:43:22,688 --> 00:43:26,302 definitely give the Milford Arts Council a follow as well too. 708 00:43:26,356 --> 00:43:30,126 Like, I am doing their communications and their marketing. We have 709 00:43:30,148 --> 00:43:33,886 a lot of amazing productions going on, including the tattoo exhibit that I 710 00:43:33,908 --> 00:43:37,646 mentioned. We're also going to be having a short film be shown at the Milford 711 00:43:37,678 --> 00:43:41,106 Arts Center and then a closing exhibition from our 712 00:43:41,128 --> 00:43:44,878 curator, who is also I forget what instrument he plays, but I know he's 713 00:43:44,894 --> 00:43:48,726 in a band and he's talented. But yeah, it's going to be a 714 00:43:48,748 --> 00:43:52,566 great year, and I'm really happy to be on 715 00:43:52,588 --> 00:43:56,006 here too, Gino. Like, it's been a lot of fun. Yeah. Well, thanks so much 716 00:43:56,108 --> 00:43:59,718 for coming on and sharing your story and your wisdom. And I'll be sure to 717 00:43:59,724 --> 00:44:03,190 get all the links in the show notes so people can find that stuff easily. 718 00:44:03,530 --> 00:44:06,246 But yeah. Thank you so much for your time, Raheem. I appreciate you being on 719 00:44:06,268 --> 00:44:09,080 here. No problem. This is great gino. Thanks. 720 00:44:10,050 --> 00:44:13,834 Thanks for tuning in and listening to Working towards our purpose. 721 00:44:13,962 --> 00:44:17,786 If you like this episode, please share it with a friend and don't forget 722 00:44:17,818 --> 00:44:20,110 to subscribe for more episodes. 723 00:44:24,050 --> 00:44:24,800 You.