An Inspired Chat with Zuri Aragon of Tucson

Zuri Aragon shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Zuri, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how much they love their pets. It’s motivating when they share their pets’ stories because I see how amazing these people and their pets are, and just as I work on their portraits it kind of feels as if I was there witnessing their stories. They show me that their love goes past the portraits because there’s unseen tears caused runaways, unfortunate medical conditions, the loss of loved ones, the stress of comforting rescues or training the young, countless sleepless nights watching over the sick or senior pets because all they ever did was dedicate their life to their owner with unconditional love. But there’s also so many joyful moments such as pets being part of special occasions like marriage vows, the growth of their families, and family field trips. And that even goes to my non pet customers, there’s just so many stories behind the portrait and I really feel honored for making something so special for them.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Zuri Aragon and I’m 27 years old, I specialize on custom hand painted pet portraits but I also love working on different projects such as murals, family/wedding portraits, even apparel like jackets and sneakers. I also like participating at in person events once in a while.

I fell in love with creating unique art for others because I’m able to customize it and accommodate to what my customers need or are looking for at that moment. Plenty of times I’ve been asked to make a portrait in a short period of time because either a pet is being put down and it’s a gift for the owner, or it’s simply a gift for a special occasion. Sometimes they want some extra details like the pets’ favorite toys or something that is unique to them. I’ve also been asked quite a few times to recreate fading/low quality pictures if they’re the only pictures they have, or they want to combine multiple pictures in a painting, which is the case of one of my very first commissions. The customer had asked me to paint him with his deceased father because he didn’t have many pictures with him, so he sent me one of the few pictures he had of his father and one of himself. When he saw the finished painting, he cried and immediately asked for 2 more family portraits, one of his family with his parents and the second one of his brother’s family with their parents as well.

I’ve met wonderful people in this journey and I’m truly grateful I’ve been very busy working on commissions, that makes me want to organize myself better so I can participate more at in person events and offer my art at local businesses. I’m also working on expanding my services like doing more murals and transfer my art on things like keychains, apparel, greeting cards, stickers, etc. But I would also love to become more involved with the animal/pet community like volunteering at shelters or get to the point where I’m able to donate a percentage of my earnings to rescues/ shelters. I’m working hard so I can accomplish all those things, but I have to tell myself “one step at a time”.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who taught you the most about work?
Definitely my parents. They’re the most hardworking people I’ve ever met and they have taught me that giving up is not a choice, it’s a matter of looking, if one door closes, you have to keep looking because for sure another door will be open.

They both have very good work ethics, specially my dad who does hardscaping, with every single one of his projects he aims for perfection, and I’m not exaggerating! If my dad sees a worker do something he doesn’t like such as placing a small piece wrong, as simple as it may seem, he will redo it. There’s days he’ll get home late because he’ll leave work until he’s satisfied with the progress he’s made. He also says that the presentation is everything, so when he’s done with a project, he’ll make sure the work area is clean and presentable because like he says, let your work speak for itself.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I know this is something many artists struggle with, but I would say comparison and the fear of people not liking what I make. It may sound silly, but I think it comes from a place of me wanting perfection because I feel like that’s what my customers deserve, so sometimes I do worry they might not like what I made, but honestly their feedback is always super comforting.

I’ve been working on changing that kind of mindset and it’s okay for my style to not look like other artists’s style, in the end that’s what makes the art industry fun.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no, I’m an introvert, so the majority of time I’m in public I’m reserved, and it’s something I’ve learned to like because that has made me a good listener and people open up to me easily, which I appreciate. But besides that, the rest of my personality and values are the same.

My goal to be nice to everyone and I try to put myself in their shoes because you never know what’s really hiding behind their smile. We all have struggles and we focus so much on our own, that we forget others might be in a worse situation, so an act of kindness goes a long way.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Oh definitely! And I’m very grateful because that has only been possible thanks to the support I receive from my family, friends, and my customers.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved creating art. I have vague memories of me around kindergarten time carrying small notebooks everywhere I went and trying to draw everything I saw. I especially remember drawing my mom when she was pregnant with my brother, he is 3 years younger than me, and of course they were like any other little kids’ drawings, but I remember drawing a baby inside my mom’s belly. Not too long ago those memories came back, and when I asked my mom about that drawing, she said she actually still remembered it and was surprised I did too!

Growing up I’d draw here and there and make paper crafts to decorate my room. I won a ceramics contest in high school, and during covid I sold polymer clay jewelry shaped as flowers. So yeah, I have always been inclined to art, but I know that me being able to continue with this journey has been possible thanks to the support I have received, specially from my husband, family and friends. Now a days it’s easier to make a living out of art, but 10 years ago, when I was 17, I was surrounded with comments like “you can’t make a living out of art” and yet my parents supported me. Even a family friend who I truly appreciate bought me my first acrylic set and asked for my very first commission, of course I gifted it to her because anywhere she went, she would look for art supplies to gift me.

Also when I met my husband, I was already planning to work somewhere else since I rarely had commissions, I had already deactivated my instagram art account, but when I told him, to my surprise, he told me to reactivate it and to continue because he liked what I did. Now that we’re married, he continues to be my biggest supporter, he’s gone with me the the few in person events I’ve participated in, he even helps me drop off some packages at the post office or deliver them in person if they’re local.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aragonstudio.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: aragon_artsudio
• Facebook: Aragon Art Atudio
• Other: Tik tok: Aragon.z