Meet Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Grew up in Baldwin Park to working class parents. So being an artist wasn’t conducive to my environment. However, I did have a father that made me believe, I can do anything I put my mind to. I knew from an early age that art was the path I wanted to take. Again, because of where I grew up. What type of artist I wanted to be proved to be difficult to discover? Through a series of fortunate events, I found myself working as a young designer for Disney interactive. Landing such job made it easy to walk away from only one year in school. Fast forward to nineteen years working design on some insane projects I’m proud of. Projects for the likes of Tron, Batman, Disney, NIN, MTV, Nickelodeon etc. I needed something analog in my life before I completely lost way. Twenty years of taking orders took a toll on my happiness as a creative. Painting was exactly what the doctor had ordered.

So, I took a year and meditated on what I wanted to say in my paintings. I knew I wanted to tell stories, ones that were personal. Once I had a clear vision, I picked up a brush and taught myself how to paint. I set goals for myself, like where I wanted to show, how often I wanted to show, or to be on the search for my Mona Lisa. I’m still learning and evolving my art. It’s a process I can’t imagine ever ending, or at least till its time for me to move on. My goals however are shifting less and less, becoming more focused. As the years pass, it’s neat to find myself maturing. A never-ending journey is the one I’m on.

Please tell us about your art.
I’m a painter, I typically paint on wood with acrylic and house paint. Every now and then you’ll find me painting a wall or on a toy. I paint for a few reasons; the primary is to exercise the gift I was blessed with. (Please don’t read into this as me viewing myself as God’s gift to mankind. I’m simply recognizing that I was blessed and beyond grateful for the opportunities it afforded me.) Secondary is to share a message of love. I’m a big fan of narrative art so I knew if I was to paint, I’d better have something to say. I wanted to make my art as personal as possible, so I pulled from losing my father to losing my best friend through divorce. I also have a funny memory or mind. One that loves to remind me of instances where I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth. Love using symbols, religious numerology, along with pop culture references. I stick it all in a blender, and presto.

As of lately I’ve been painting more bombs that have been hollowed and turned into bird houses. It’s in reference to my dad fighting for his country, the understandings I’ve come to through fighting with an X wife, to teaching my kids how important it is to love one another. If a bomb has the power to level a city, I view it as full of hate. The birds in my story are intercepting them mid-air, ripping out the guts of the bomb, and repurposing them for the better.

As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
This for quite some time has been changing and evolving. Its changes as my goals change, as I complete a goal the measure of success changes. With that said, here are what I believe to be the best trails of a successful artist.

Be prolific:
your art will only get better through the last painting or project you worked on

Evolve:
Evolution comes through being prolific. Don’t get stuck or don’t be a Groundhog Day artist.

Make Making art your driver and not money the driver: make art for the sake of making art, I know I’m being redundant. If you work with your heart, trust that the money will follow.

Don’t care:
You are the captain of the ship, there’s only one wheel. Steer it straight into monster waves. Don’t let anyone else convince you to go off course.

Fear:
Fear will destroy you, it will haunt you from day one, so learn to work with it. Never let it keep you from being you.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can find me on the gram at kmndz_, I have some work in the House of Blues artist series store, you can also see my work at KP Projects gallery in Los Angles. Lastly you can find my work traveling around Mexico, for a series of Museum shows featuring artists from the states.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kmndz.com
• Email: johnny@kmndz.com
• Instagram: kmndz_

Image Credit:
Paris Woodward

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