Check out Dan Aponte’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Aponte.

Dan, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I am also known as “Choko” and my journey through art began when I was in second grade back in Puerto Rico, my homeland. Being selected to participate in a regional art competition and resulting in the second-place winner, sparked my interest and love for art.

Discovering that art can be used as a way of communication and language was a life-changing event in my life. With this newly developed skill, I made connections in my brain to think in images and symbolism. Growing up with art as a part of my life, I was approached by several schoolmates for any art projects they were given. To me, this was exciting because of the challenge it proposed me at the time which was to take any subject and make it speak in a visual way.

My passion for the arts was noticed and I was gifted my first set of oil paint and a canvas. The surrealism style was the product of my perspective in art because it allowed me to communicate at a deeper level, namely the subconscious of the human brain. Moved to San Tan Valley, Arizona in search of reach and exposure of my art and found something better, a different style of life which has enriched my view in art. Today, I create art and my main purpose is to share different perceptions of life through surrealism visuals.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My art, whether it’s digitally or traditionally in oil and canvas usually has vivid and bright colors with a touch of darkness to achieve great contrast from subject to subject. I prefer using surrealism as an art style because through it, I can create a world of metaphors that somehow relates to the reality we live in without having to be very literal as the normal eye tends to see.

There is always a message or point of view in my paintings that I desire to communicate to others based on my perception of life, however, it is more intended to be judged using their own criteria that is defined through the viewer’s individual life experiences.

What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
My only advice to other artists is to keep expressing through art and share your world with us in the unique way each artist knows how to. To us artist, staying true to our artist essence is the only true everlasting happiness we can achieve.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My art can be seen currently in the Downtown ASU campus through December. Also, on October 25 -October 26 I will be showing my artwork among great another artist at: UNEXPECTED Gallery, 734 W Polka Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 787-905-0953
• Email: choko4design@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/artistchoko/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mychokoart/

Image Credit:
Dan Aponte

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