Today we’d like to introduce you to Goethe Silva-cruz
Hi Goethe, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been drawing and making stuff ever since I was a little kid. I grew up surrounded by art, music and tattoos. My parents were a huge influence on my taste and my eye for art/design in a way I didn’t fully realize until I grew up. Mom’s very design oriented, crafty, with a strong sense of visual style. Pops is very meticulous with a strong connection to punk and tattoo. Regardless of all this influence, I was never pushed to make art or tattoos. I was given the luxury of freedom to fuck around and find out what I was good at doing or enjoyed. As I grew up and messed around with many different interests I always kept coming back to music and art. I’ve been regularly attending local backyard shows since I was a teenager and always cared more about drawing on the sides of my paper rather than the assignment I was suppose to turn in. Needless to say I didn’t care much about school nor did I set myself up for success in terms of my grades or attitude towards education. When I got to my last year of high school I made a serious decision to fully dedicate myself to making art and pursuing this dream. After that I got accepted into an AP art class, built my first portfolio from scratch, and even got an opportunity to contribute to a mural at the School that extended over several classrooms. After graduating High school my focus shifted to trying to increase my skills and technical ability as much as possible. This lead me to set my sights on trying to attend ArtCenter College of Design. After a few years of working and attending Chaffey College, I got accepted into ArtCenter. I worked my way through the Illustration fine art painting track trying to build as many skills as I could and spent summers working at my dad’s tattoo studio in Texas. Four years later I graduated from ArtCenter, began my tattoo apprenticeship, and started printmaking from home. My tattoo mentor was my father who’s been tattooing for over 30 years and I have the same name as, Goethe. Fast forward to 2024, after closing down his tattoo studio in Texas, pops and I decided to open up an art studio together. Our goal being to combine all of our artistic disciplines like tattoo, printmaking, painting, and sculpture all into one place. Now we are currently located in Pomona doing just that alongside another artist, Seo Ibarra. I’m currently about to hit my second year tattooing and am screen printing for clients on the side. My goal is to keep improving every day and push it as far as it can go.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are always highs and lows and regardless of your skills trying to make a living from making art Is hard. It takes a lot of hustle and discipline to stay focused and consistent through the hard times. At the end of the day though I’d be doing this even if nothing came of it because I love it. So I can’t complain, I have the best job in the world for me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create artwork using a variety of media such as tattoo, printmaking, drawing, and painting. My work is heavily inspired by punk, music, and horror. Visually my work is creepy, surreal, with high contrast, and an emphasis in line work. I’ve always loved the spirit of punk and DIY so I translate it into my work. I draw everything out by hand with pencil or pen on paper, tattoo stencils included. When I began screen printing I built my own press and I prepare each step of the screen printing process myself. I enjoy working analog and I think it adds a more individual feeling to the work when you allow human error to occur. Currently my main stylistic focus for tattoo is black and grey but I’m open to any any projects of whatever style because I love trying different things. My favorite part of working in a variety of media is combining everything together to create something different and collaborating with others.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Be patient, stay consistent, and don’t give up. If you really want it you gotta be mentally prepared to weather the hard times which will inevitably go on longer than you expect. You’ve gotta be all in, if not then don’t waste your time, do something else.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://goethesilvacruz.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goethe_silva/
- Facebook: Goethe Silva-Cruz
