Featured Artist: Sapere
Sapere’s art — with its bold shapes and bright colors — is the perfect way to make a statement and stand out in a crowd.
Sapere shares the story of when he first knew that he was a “real” artist. He explains that in the 4th grade his teacher noticed him drawing a comic strip in class and she exclaimed, “Are you really drawing that freehand!?” At first, he thought she was angry with him. However, he later learned that she was simply shocked and impressed by his drawing skills. He jokes that he hasn’t “stopped drawing or sweating since” that day in the 4th grade.
Sapere considers home wherever he “can sit undisturbed and create freely.” He is interested in many different styles and admits that his designs will be “abstract one day and surreal the next day.” However, he sees every project as a challenge and loves experimenting with new mediums. He is even excited by the challenge of learning to make shoes; in the future he hopes to buy the tools needed to pursue this goal.
He is currently working on several freelance projects, but his ultimate goal is to create a web series so that he can combine his two greatest passions: illustration and writing. He teases that “next to food and water” his sketchbook is the most essential thing in his life. He believes that all he needs is a “good pencil” and he can be happy.
Sapere is also inspired by nature and the human body and he appreciates the “interesting shapes” he can borrow from these themes to enhance his art. However, he is also encouraged by other famous artists and he wishes that he could go back in time to train with all the greats like the graffiti artist Jean Michel Basquiat or the iconic Salvador Dali.
Still — if he had a time machine — he’d most love to visit his 10-year-old self and give him some much-needed encouragement. He shares, “my inner critic and I have had some long one on one talks and I don't judge my work now as harshly as I used to.” In the future, he would love to continue to create and encourage others by “giving back by teaching what I know.”
