Meet Vasco Del Rey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vasco Del Rey.

Vasco, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I come from a small village located in Southern Mexico where I grew up until the age of eight years old. I was raised primarily by my mother and lived in a household of only women, which continues to have a large impact on me. Although I didn’t know it then, in 2005 when I moved to LA to meet my father, it would also be the last time I’d see my mother. The first few years were a bit tough, I picked up English within two years but was made fun of a lot due to my accent. The cultural shock was intense. Art would prove to be the bridge that would allow me to find peace in this new environment.

In my sophomore year of high school, I was shown a documentary of Basquiat by my art teacher that made me realize that I could make something of myself with art. It was a deep spiritual moment. Since then, I have never questioned my purpose in life. I thoroughly believe art has the power to build bridges, through discipline and proper use of one’s thoughts and emotions, art is something that grants us a glimpse of the divine. I also believe that one day my art will reunite me with my mother.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The main struggle has been mostly dealing with the fact that I can’t really travel by plane or have a job. Growing up, I was told to fear deportation and that college would be impossible. I never told anyone that I was an immigrant because I felt ashamed of it. These types of things have taken years to fully come to terms with. It can really mess with your mindset, it makes you feel like a victim (which I don’t see myself as).

It was really hard finding my way around after high school, not being able to get a job really beat me down. I just wanted to make art everyday and every hour but I also had to feed myself you know? There were days I’d wake up thinking about what I could do to manifest some money just to eat while at the same time maintaining this lie that I was just a regular American teenager to people around me.

Eventually, I decided to open up to everyone I knew when I opened a Gofundme for my DACA application and shared it on Facebook. That was really hard to post. I didn’t know what to expect. It brought tears to my eyes when people reached out to me afterwards, the goal was met within a day. This sense of happiness wouldn’t last though, in 2015 and 2016 I lost two of my closest friends. I was totally lost and heartbroken. I dwelled in this pain for many months. Ultimately I came out a lot stronger, their souls live with me and they appear through my work often.

I was also welcomed into an organization called Pieces, which focuses on providing the necessary environment for young artists to grow their skills, it provided amazing opportunities to me in the early stages of my career which was a very crucial time. Although my life at that point had its strong currents, going to Pieces at night and painting with other people my age was incredibly healing both for my art and mentality.

Please tell us more about your art.
Being heavily influenced by the Hero’s Journey, I now see that things I thought of as unfair are actually blessings in disguise. Most of my work comes from my unique perspectives that I’ve gained throughout my stay here in America. Having lived in a village where some didn’t even have electricity to one of the greatest cities aka LA, it’s truly mind-boggling.

I paint very intuitively which means I wait until a flash of enlightenment arises for the next bold stroke. Some paintings can take hours or days, some even months. I view myself as a vessel in which the universe/consciousness/God expresses itself through, I simply allow it to flow through me. I like to use my experiences as a base of inspiration for everything that I do. From being an immigrant to being vegan or dating a pornstar for three years. If something exciting happens, I like to go home and make something with the energy of that experience, the same goes for not-so great experiences as well. It’s a waste if we don’t transmute our energy into something great.

I really took this way of painting to another level once I started a series of 21 paintings (which all measure 6ft by 3.5ft) in 2018, which I just finished in February. I was hoping for a summer show but due to recent global events that had to be put on hold. That will still happen most likely early next year so keep an eye out for that for sure.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I think I’d have sat down and written down the things I really find valuable of my time and would’ve articulated my thoughts properly so that my chances of living a meaningful life are maximized.  I think I’d spend more time reading and not trying to fit in. We’re all unique and deserve to nourish that uniqueness to share it with the world. I’d also would’ve gone vegan way earlier. (haha)

Contact Info:

• Website: vascoartist.com
• Email: vascoartist@gmail.com
• Instagram: @itsallinmind

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