Samuel rodriguez artist biography

He has since built his career as an illustrator, developing a style that blends facial features, lettering, and abstract shapes to formulate distinct visual narratives.
Sam Rodriguez is based out of San José, California and as seen his work shown in public art spaces, museums, companies, galleries and in.
I was born in San Jose, California and that is where I live now.

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Get To Know: Sam Rodriguez

In anticipation this week's print release, we sat down with the artist - Sam Rodriguez - to learn a bit more about him in an interview. Take a look below:

Where were you born and where do you live now?

I was born in San Jose, California and that is where I live now.

What are your earliest artistic memories?

My earliest artistic memories were attempts at drawing my favorite cartoon characters at my Grandparents house.

How has your style evolved from graffiti over the years?

I think Graffiti served two purposes for me in life, my first real obsession with an art form, and a way to rage as a young kid. I think anything we experience as youths affects what we do today, whether we are embracing those past actions or regretting them. One of the key takeaways from then, related to my art now, is a pressure to be original. Still trying to do this today!

Could you tell us a bit about your release with us, "Crazy Eyes?"

Yes! This piece was made when I was trying to learn how to use the Procreate App. It is based on a photo of my wife. Sh

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Sam Rodriguez explores cultural hybridity and identity through a plurality of mediums

San Jose artist Sam Rodriguez doesn’t fit neatly into any one particular category. You can’t look at his body of work and say, “Oh, he’s a graffiti muralist,” or “Oh, he makes mixed-media pop art,” or even, “Oh, he’s an editorial illustrator.” Because he does all of those things (and more).

For Rodriguez, the variety of his art reflects the hybridity of his identity; and, by extension, the hybridity of the American cultural identity.

Rodriguez is Mexican-American. Growing up, in all of the neighborhoods he lived in and schools he went to, all of the other kids were also Latino. In American culture, all Latinos tend to get clumped into one category, yet within Latino communities there are incredible variations, with so many similarities yet also, he emphasizes, so many differences between them. Rodriguez also experienced an ethno-cultural identity crisis: visiting Mexico as a child he wasn’t considered “Mexican” eno

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ABOUT

Sam Rodriguez (born March 16, 1981) is an Illustrator based out of San José California. His work spans across music, public art, advertising, tech, commerce and media publications. As a youth, he dedicated his time painting Graffiti until later pursuing a BFA in Illustration at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. He has since built his career as an illustrator, developing a style that blends facial features, lettering, and abstract shapes to formulate distinct visual narratives.

COLOR & EXPRESSIVE DETAILS

Color plays a big role in how we feel, and I try to capture a sense of warmth through my palette. In addition, I try to show the essence of a person through facial expression, features, and body language.

PEOPLE & SECONDARY ELEMENTS

I blend faces, figures, lettering, and abstract shapes to formulate distinct visual narratives. There are endless possibilities with this approach and it always surprises me to see the results.

I group my work into three categories, Nouns, Verbs, and Typography.

NOUNS

Nouns are w