ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: June 2023

Pablo Damas is a multidisciplinary artist who was raised in La  Puente. He began exhibiting his artwork in Riverside in the early 2000’s  and has been creating art since he was 8 years old. Pablo currently  works as a graphic designer and artist while continuing to exhibit his  work at various galleries and museums. Pablo has shown his work at  numerous galleries from the Inland Empire to West Los Angeles. He has  shown work in Texas, New York, and England. He has displayed work at the  Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, Riverside Art Museum and  was part of the community gallery exhibit at The Cheech from June 2022  to January 2023. Pablo’s graphic design work has been featured on  apparel worn on various T.V. shows and movies. Some of the most popular  musical artists have worn his designs on stage during concerts. He is  now sustaining himself and his son through art. Between painting  commissions, murals, original art for shows and working on various  graphic design projects he wakes up to a different task every day.

Pablo  has been involved in the Riverside art scene for about 20 years. Now  that his art is his career Pablo feels lucky to have Cosme Cordova of  Division 9 Gallery inviting him to so many different events that the  city and other organizations host such as inviting him to exhibit at The  Cheech in the Altura Community Gallery. He also paints live and was  able to create a live painting at the gala for The Cheech last year for  their festival and has also been a part of different exhibitions at the  Riverside Art Museum. Pablo has been a part of the Riverside Day of the  Dead event for about a decade and has art on display at Division 9 for  various art shows. Pablo has also painted live at the Tamale Festival,  the Amo Frida event and other pop-ups that have happened throughout the  City of Riverside. Pablo believes that he spends too much time creating  artwork but is lucky that all his work involves art because his art does  so much for him. It pays bills, which is important because if it  didn’t, it would have to be a hobby that he would not have time to  prioritize. His artwork also relieves stress but also creates it at the  same time. When commissions and graphic deadlines build up it can cause  stress; although Pablo has noticed that he thrives under pressure.  Pablo’s ultimate goal would be to continue to create and be able to  comfortably support himself and his family through his artwork. He also  hopes that once he has passed away that he has left a story behind that  Netflix or similar entity will make a series about.

For more information visit Pablo at pablodamas.com or @sickdotone on IG