Check out Nick Vargas’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Vargas.

Nick, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up in Santa Cruz California Mountains. I remember as a young kid running through the woods, building forts, shooting bebe guns and skateboarding. My mom worked in the school system and my dad was an engineer for the tech world. I remember as a young kid my dad would always draw on napkins for my older sister and I when we would go out for dinner. I remember watching how naturally talented he was at sketching, and how I felt when he would write my name on the side of the race car he just drew for me. My sister, is a very naturally gifted artist too. I don’t think we competed in art because I was only interested in drawing in class, as a way for me to focus in class. I never thought it was something that I could make a life doing. I designed a poster my senior year in high school for a county fair that won a few awards, and it was at the time I realized I wanted to do some form of art for a living after I graduated school. After giving college a try for a few years I realized I wasn’t a good student. Feeling overwhelmed about making something of my life, I would go skateboarding or set in coffee shops doodling. It was at that time, I was getting tattoos, and that guy who was tattooing me, and all my friends asked if I wanted a job. mostly just cleaning the shop and answering the phone, but after a short while that would evidently lead me in to tattooing which twenty years later is what I’m doing today. But even as I write this, I’m reminded that I have been doing design and illustration for friends and local business equally as long as tattooing.

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?
For my work I go through a wide range of stuff and in many different mediums. I started off doing watercolor paintings, mostly old tattoo looking stuff because I was told that watercolor is the closest thing to actually tattooing on a person. Now days I use mostly gouache because I love the flatness of the paint, and I use this brand called cartoon color, which is a cell vinyl paint made for animation. The paint is highly pigmented and dry’s super flat. But with all that said, it really depends on the project. I’ll use an illustrator if I’m doing a design for a business, or if I’m doing a beer label or a coffee bag. Then at times, and what I really like, is to do pen sketches. Just a sketchbook and a pen, and cup of coffee to fuel my inspiration.

I feel like when people see my work they think it’s slightly tattoo looking and slightly children book illustration looking, and slightly weird and fun. I really don’t take my art to serious. I like to say I’m a designer who happens to do mostly illustrations. In that cause not get narrowed down in to one style. As for designing and illustration stuff, I hope people see it’s something fun. Maybe they have a feeling of nostalgia. Maybe they think they seen something like this when they were young, or in the long past. Or for kids to see my work, and get a smile and laugh out of it. I have two young sons, and they are my main audience. If they laugh at it or think its cool then I feel my goal of making the art was reached.

How can artists connect with other artists?
To be honest, I love being alone in my studio. Just me and a cup of coffee silently in my thoughts, am I doing good work or should I give up now, and tell everyone I have been faking my way all these years. jokes of course, but I do believe in reaching out to friends for a mid-day coffee and a long walk or even reaching out to peoples work that inspires you. I think going to art shows, buying work or get tattooed is good, that all depends on your interest. But I do think and try to live by, is if you support others then in return others will give support to you.

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?
I have had websites in the past but they tend to get outdated and I never upload new photos, it’s something that I still need to work on and I am in the process of building a new website. But for now, I do most of my work through Instagram. My art and design is @nickvarg and I recently started a tattoo Instagram @nickvarg77 I do art shows all over that states and some in Europe, but nothing is in the works for now. I like for people seeing my work in person more than through the instaweb though. I would much rather build my career slowly through word of mouth or someone, unconsciously finding my work on a wall, at a coffee shop.

Contact Info:

• Email: nickvarg@gmail.com
• Instagram: @nickvarg @nickvarg77

Image Credit:
Nick Vargas

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.