As an artist, is there a social message you are trying to communicate? If so, what is it and why?

Personally, there are a lot of issues that I care for profoundly, and I hope with time my art will evolve to carry many messages. Right now, however, the main messages I tend to convey are toward other artists. I spend a lot of time creating tutorials, walkthroughs, process breakdowns, as well as other tools (How to draw anything as well as Establishing mood with color) are examples. Also my whole tumblr blog here is advice and process breakdowns! I try to encourage others to do the same whenever possible, to create a great community of support, encouragement, and education through each other. Beyond artists, I spend a lot of time trying to create messages of encouragement, such as in "Unicorn Spit" . Reading through the comments, I believe it has indeed resonated with at least some of the viewers, which makes me endlessly happy.

Is there a symbolic imagery in your artworks?

Definitely, in my personal pieces. For example, I created "controlled burn" after a particularly painful period of time in life, when I left behind a lot all at once. In my comic "Unicorn Spit", which is essentially an illustrated poem, I use a lot of symbolic imagery to (hopefully) evoke the emotions I was attempting to create through words. In "Dying Sun" I use the image of a boy disappearing physically into the sun and the sea to express my desire at the time to stay a part of my beach side hometown (Santa Cruz) right before I left to move away for the first time.

What do you see as the role of the artist in society?

I think the role of artists these days is very broad; artists do so many things! Artists are communicators; from conveying the message of a brand in an advertisement to pushing for social change in political, environmental, or social paintings. Many of us are also storytellers. I think the world of art is exciting because it is so broad. To be an artist is really just to have an insatiable desire to create, and beyond that it is vast with so many outlets to explore! From creating visual development art for the purpose of making a movie, TV show, or video game come to life, to creating a comic book or sequential paintings with the purpose of conveying a personal story, there are so many paths to take.