Interview Wednesdays: Dustin Ortiz

I couldn't be more pleased that my first artist interview is none other than Dustin Ortiz, a very talented artist from SoCal. I found out about him accidentally when I was researching Int'l Surfing Day. I was on the Surfing Mag website and saw his name connected to The Art Mosh.

I then went to Dustin's website and was totally excited by what I saw - the whole style of his site, his prints, his posters for my new favorite band, and his offer for a free pencil. After I e-mailed him for the free pencil, I asked him if he'd be willing to be interviewed, and he was totally gracious about it. Something cool you should know, he sent me his answers in orange.


It looks like you do art for a living and for yourself. Can you explain what kind of art you do?
I do all sorts of things to keep myself living, Paint, Draw, Apparel Design, Graphic Design, Product Design, and all sorts of various projects. I would love to be able to just paint full time but you gotta do what you gotta do.

What are your current influences? Other artists, musicians, where you live...?
I'm really influenced by people around me, I get excited when other people are excited about things. It keeps me going. The Mattson 2, Peter McBride, Mikey LeBlanc, Cody Hudson, Eric Abel, Cut Copy, Seu Jorge, just to name a few people off the top of my head.

Your artwork has been featured in Surfing magazine and in posters for talented musicians such as Mattson 2. Does this kind of work bring you satisfaction the way your personal work does?
For sure, I kinda get stressed out over projects like that, I don't really like the fact that a bunch of people are looking at them.

What would your perfect day be like?
I would be happy if my dog would let me sleep in once in a while. Being able to camp at the beach with my crazy family and friends, I could really go for just hanging out with them all day.

What town do you live in and what is your favorite place to eat there?
I currently live in Carlsbad, but I will always view Leucadia as my home, and I would have to say Juanita's is the best mexican food joint ever.

Your pencil project is really fun. What made you decide to do it?
Not really sure why. I'm a big fan of Fluorescent Orange and I love making random little promo items and I found a company that was having a huge discount on Orange pencils so bing bang boom, I got em made.

You also have a blog. Is that like another creative outlet for you? I enjoyed learning on your blog that you can rip a phone book in half.
It turned out to be that way. I was living on the road with a friend of mine all winter. We started a blog to keep everyone back home updated in all our adventures. It was just easier than telling the same story over and over, this way they can just check up on us when ever they felt like it. When I moved back to Leucadia after about a year on the road, I decided to start my own blog. Its a good way for me to reflect the good things that happen day to day.

Any upcoming shows?
Yeah, I have one on June 20th in Washington DC, and another one in September in New York, and a couple in the San Diego Area this winter.

Dustin, thank you so much for your time.

update: No matter how much I try, I just can't deny including this video. It's only 12 seconds long, and it's irresistible.