Today we’d like to introduce you to Alec DeJesus.
Hi Alec, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As many do, I started drawing at a young age. It formed as a hobby but also as a coping mechanism. I didn’t have it easy growing up and being able to go into my own little worlds was how I could escape. I didn’t have to go very far to be wherever I wanted. My home was broken but my head was in the clouds. I kept drawing. I would draw all the time. An unconscious obsession. It was more than my escape; it turned into my purpose. I would draw, sculpt, and eventually paint my way through high school. I would barter art goods with my teachers to get passes to go back into my art class and use it like a studio before I really understood what having an “art studio” was. I did everything I could to get back in to create, even for just a single hour longer. The funny part is I never considered pursuing art until my high school professor gave me no choice. “You’ll waste your life away if you don’t at least give this gift a shot.” After a few long and stubborn talks, I gave in and started my first apprenticeship with a local art guild. There I began to learn how to navigate the professional art world and picked up vital techniques along the way. This teacher would continue to mentor me for years after and even gave me my first real art studio.
Once the apprenticeship ended, I took up art classes at my local college and got to a point where I was running all the art labs and filling in for the teachers when they had to miss a class. It got to the point where I was working four jobs to pay for the classes that I was starting to sub for. I had no financial aid and was paying for everything out of pocket on my own. Eventually, I hit this fork in the road where I had two choices: continue towards a degree that wouldn’t get me far or go out and chase this dream on my own. After realizing what I had to do, I took the road less travelled. I left school and left “home.” I rented out shoddy old rooms in a dilapidated warehouse building and lived in them like I was camping in the city. This building was full of other artists but not many were brave enough to live in the studios. There was a bathroom down the hall and no kitchen. I didn’t have a choice but to dive in fully. I had nowhere else to go and everything to gain. I would hone my abilities and grind away at day jobs until my street dog business sense and natural gift got it’s shot. I would do local shows and live art at dive bars during concerts, but that was in Peoria, IL, where the last big talent to rise from that dreary town was Richard Pryor. I knew I had to get out of that town but didn’t know how I could.
In 2018 I got the call. I was at the end of my rope and riddled with demons. I had lost hope that I could find my way to a better life until a dear friend and former studio mate offered me a shot a large-scale mural in Florida. This was one of those moments in life where I really had to decide how bad I wanted it. The mural was 40ft and I had no experience working even close to that size, but if I didn’t take the job, I would be on a fast track to living on the street. This was my shot and I took it. I had to learn extremely fast how to make large-scale murals and all the logistics of pulling one-off. I flew down to Florida and started painting my 40’x 30’ gamble at Broward College. While painting I was given the chance to share my experience with student volunteers and lectured for all the visiting classes. After four long days, my job was done and I had found out that not only was I able to paint at such a large scale, but I was good at it. The next week I painted another one almost as big on another campus for the college. With these under my belt, I finally had the means to leave Illinois. Since my move to Texas, I have done my best to infect my community with my dream. Once I hit the Texas soil, I started showing as much as I could and creating murals within the community alongside other local artists. Since growing my roots here, a big part of my practice has been to work with community-based organizations and businesses that strive to give back and build the community. Having come from a rough path, it is now my purpose to use my art to help those who need support.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. I turned to art to escape hell. I grew up surrounded by drug abuse and anger. This rough road is essentially what turned me to art in the first place. I had to claw my way out of the hole I was born into. That aside, I didn’t really have much guidance growing up and by the time I hit the college level, I was borderline homeless. I’ve slept in a lot of strange places just to be able to stand on my own two feet; and I did a lot of it with nobody being the wiser to my struggles. Any education past high school, I earned with my own money. I didn’t have any help financially and tried for years to fight the system to get financial aid that I would never receive. I grew up without access to so much that people normally have within arms reach, be it: computers, cellphones, a vehicle, you name it. Imagine trying to learn at the college level without having a smartphone and a laptop nowadays. Even without these things, I would always find a way to get to the next step; and I’ve been climbing ever since the starting point. My struggles are what made me strong.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work tends to lean towards figures both human and animal. I like to have a strong subject as the focal point. Maybe because a lot of my life has been experienced as an individual, but I really just like to focus on one character’s narrative. All my subjects tend to provide a feel of somber strength, while the colors are bright and vibrant. It’s kind of like sugar-coating a strong message. I want the heroes in my stories to provide a real experience, not just a bedtime story. You look at them and feel as if they’ve overcome something. Another key point to my work is my “mark”. I didn’t realize I really had one until I kept hearing it referenced to me. When I paint, I like to have an idea of what I’m trying to accomplish, but I don’t fret about how I’m going to get there. In a sense, I like to just go for it and lose myself while I work. Just like when I was a kid: the world around me would turn blank and I would just flow onto the surface I was creating on. Nothing mattered but whatever was coming from my hands, and the marks were always a little wild and free.
What are your plans for the future?
I’ve been through plenty of changes, but they way the world has been turning, I’m sure it’ll keep on changing. As things continue to adapt and change with the current times, I’m sure the way I approach my art career will too, a key skill is the ability to adapt and thankfully, that’s a strong suit of mine. I started in Dallas mostly doing studio work and gallery shows, but as things continue to shift to more spaced out events, so will I. My current focus has been on more public art and murals. They have their own power beyond the scale and it’s more accessible to the public. I don’t really want to be lauded as a fine artist so much as I want to inspire people to reach greater heights. My plan is to keep on telling dreamers to chase their dreams.
Contact Info:
- Email: adejesus708@gmail.com
- Website: www.alecdejesus.com
- Instagram: @youcancallmealec
- Facebook: Alec DeJesus
- Other: TikTok: @youcancallmealec
