lucho • Artist Spotlight
Who is Lucho and how did you get started in digital art?
I was born in Costa Rica in 1990 in a small, but fast-paced city called Alajuela. My family’s business was making clothing to order, so I grew up surrounded by fabrics and fashion magazines, and between busy stores, busses and customer appointments.
Although art has always been present in my life since I was gifted my first chalkboard, it wasn’t until 2019 when I decided to dedicate myself to it fully. For the last 10 years I worked in advertising, and during that time I hated feeling like I could be doing more interesting things with my days than sitting in an office. So I finally stopped accepting advertising projects and allowed myself to be a full-time artist.
Around that time I met Christian and he introduced me to the world of NFTs through his digital gallery BlockEureka and partnership with KnownOrigin.
At the beginning of 2021, with more than 1000 paintings complete, I spent the last of my savings producing my first solo exhibition, after which I saw a spike in NFT sales on KnownOrigin allowing me to continue creating my physical and digital art.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I think my inspiration comes from everywhere: from the book I am reading, from the news I see on television, from the conversation I hear on a bus, from the people I meet when I ride my motorcycle.
In 2019, when I resigned from my job, I traveled to South America, where my first great inspiration came from the wonderful people I met, traditions, foods, legends, social issues and stories I heard. From that point on, there is not a day that I didn’t paint - and I am still portraying the inspiration from South America in each of my works.
How did you start as an artist?
I think that the true origin of Lucho as an artist was when I was at University - although I did not know it at the time or imagine I would ever make a living from my art. I used to skip meals to save money for art supplies so I could go out and make street art. I feel this is the most sincere and rewarding way of creating for me, sharing such a personal expression with all those who pass by the street later and see what you have left there.
What do you think of digital art?
Digital art is a blow to the status quo. The traditional “bourgeois” filters that aim to tell us that certain art has worth or not are disappearing - no longer is art judged on the criteria of a small group of people. Digital art is a wonderful opportunity to meet those who really appreciate what we do and the opportunities are endless when you consider that borders and location are no longer a limitation. This is without a doubt the future of the artistic economy, and a door to the empowerment of the artist.
However, I believe that crypto artists must have a very strong social conscience, understanding the world in which we live from our privileged position, behind a screen. That is why I always try to give back a part of what I earn with my digital art to the local community that surrounds me. NFTs not only saved my art, but also gave me the possibility to help people in need in my small country of Costa Rica, where there is so little support for the arts.
What's next for you as an artist?
Right now I am working on a big NFT project (announcement coming soon!) with the BlockEureka team and other great people who have been interested in my work. In addition, I am also launching another small collection of paintings dedicated to the major arcana of the Tarot in October on KnownOrigin. Apart from these two digital collections, I also have some more personal audiovisual projects that I am experimenting with in my workshop in Costa Rica.
I don't know if I will always be able to make a living from my art, but I am sure that I will never stop creating.
We would like to thank lucho for giving up their time to collaborate on this with us.