We sat down with Los Angeles-based artist Daniel Antelo in preparation for his upcoming debut solo exhibition at Good Mother Gallery in Los Angeles. Check out the full interview below:
Good Mother -
Who are the people you're painting? And what makes you want to paint them?
Daniel Antelo-
I’m painting my close friends' kids because it brings me back to when I was their age. I put them in situations or scenarios where I was doing the same thing. When I was young, maybe around 12 years old, I would jump my Mom's back fence and ride my bike downtown, sometimes all the way to Broadway from my parents house. I thought I was older than I really was, but looking back I looked like I was a little kid on a big wheel because I clearly remember thinking why so many people were staring at me. I was riding my bike down a busy street living in the moment, taking everything in, and I was just a child. That's what my paintings are about, that's why I’m painting my friends' kids. They're the new generation of that place in time where you're free and focused on what you're passionate about. Truly living in the moment.
Good Mother -
How did you start to paint in this photorealistic style?
Daniel Antelo-
Let's see. Starting in 2010 I was freelancing as a sign painter where I worked a lot painting local dive bars in downtown LA. While I was working sometimes I would see people painting the side of the Hotel Fig. I would walk by their job site to see the supplies they would use and it was the same label of paint that I had for sign painting. So in my head, I was like, Oh, I could do this, because they were using oil enamel. I figured it was easy, but that wasn't the case.
Billboard painting is way harder than it looks. People would always make it sound really easy, and since I was already doing letter work I wanted to try it out. It wasn't easy at all. I eventually asked one of my friends who was working there if he ever needed help with anything. I told him I'll do whatever to help, buff the wall out for free, just give me the opportunity. Eventually he brought me onto a job,I think the first job was at the Hotel Figueroa in Downtown LA. And they just put me up there on the side of a high rise building with this old school billboard painter from Mexico city, Steve Sanchez. I was only supposed to be up there for a day or two, but that became three or four years. This dude was a maniac. A wild man painting these ginormous walls with broomsticks, and anything he could use as a tool to get the job done. It blew my mind, and I couldn't figure it out. He didn't let me paint anything for years. But at the end of every job I would get their sketches and I would take it to the shop after work. I practiced painting random things, random objects like a pineapple or whatever. Just trying to see how to do it and explore painting with the techniques that they were using.
I figured this dude isn't gonna teach me anything, he's already ready to retire. He's just making money doing his thing and isn't really interested in showing me much. But, he did end up showing me “stage etiquette”. Meaning how to keep the rig clean and organized since the job in front of you is so difficult already. So I just stuck to practicing on my own after work. I would practice painting on my days off knowing that at some point one of these 65 year old men would see me in the shop and have to give me an opportunity. They eventually started critiquing and giving me little pointers here and there. And finally the main guy Riley was like “oh man, like you're here every night and I've been seeing you getting better and better”. He's said "I think I'll let that fly for a job, from a far distance what you’re painting we'll probably read." So he gave me an opportunity and I started painting with them for a few years. I started moving up and doing bigger and bigger walls and the high-rise buildings.
It's funny because I feel like I learned how to paint backwards. From 10-20 story walls to street level walls. Painting street level stuff is a whole different game. When you're painting using oils and painting pictorial stuff that people can just walk up to and see right in their face. You got to paint way tighter and controlled. And from ground level walls I went even smaller and made my way into the studio painting canvases. That's how I really got into painting photorealistic and taking it to the next level. Still to this day I treat every canvas like a mini billboard and use the same technique and the same approach that I would use to paint a large scale building.
Good Mother -
What kind of source material do you use? Do you take photos of your subjects before the portraits?
Daniel Antelo-
I already have the idea in my head, mostly stories of youth. For example; me sneaking around downtown when I was young. My family worked downtown and had a bootleg jewelry spot. I tie that into the crazy stories and the time I've spent downtown.
Before I start painting, I'll lock in that idea. And then I'll just take off, drive and scout locations to set the scene for my painting. Eventually I'll find the right location. I almost treat it like you're filming a movie. I'll do a rough sketch of the scene that I want to portray and what I want to see. I’ll think about the setup and how to create the perfect mood lighting. Eventually I photograph the shoot before I paint. I'll bring my lighting crew including a cinematic photographer. My role is to direct exactly what I've planned out in my head, making sure every single prop has to be perfect and In the right place. There's a lot that goes into it, and sometimes nothing goes right and I have to start over again.
Especially when photographing outdoors with a model. Since all my models are my close friend's kids, that makes things especially difficult. I like to capture the mood of the city after traffic, so we’ll find ourselves on Broadway photographing on the street around 11pm. Since the models are usually around 5 years old, it makes things really tricky that time of the night. Hopefully it all works out, but there's a lot of times we've done shoots where the photo just doesn't come out as I expected.
Good Mother -
What are some of the best reactions to your work from the homies you're painting?
Daniel Antelo-
It's amazing. I recently painted my buddy George's daughter. And if you're from LA you know about the iconic paintings on the 101 freeway of these kids that are probably 15 or 20 feet tall. One of the kids is playing basketball, the other one's doing a somersault. And when I was young, my mom would tell me the little kid with the bowl haircut was a painting of me. And then I'd go to school and tell my friends there's a painting of me right there on the freeway. You just believe everything your mom and your parents say. I think at some point every kid in my school thought they were painted on the freeway because all our parents were telling us the same thing. My friend George is proud. I'm proud of my friends too. They work hard to be the parents that they are and have all these obstacles. They feel like they're doing something right when their kids are getting painted. And the kids are happy to be painted. They get the same feeling I got when I thought those paintings on the freeway were of me. It's just a good feeling to see that.
Good Mother -
Tell me about the concept of your new show.
Daniel Antelo-
My new show is focused on trying to capture the essence of childhood innocence while exploring the complexities of adult life. The whole idea is to remind people of their own childhood and how they used to see the world with excitement and simplicity. It's like a trip down memory lane, but I'm also pushing adults to rediscover their inner child and maybe see things from a fresh perspective. It also explores the serious side of growing up, like how kids handle emotions and tough concepts. My art focuses on setting the scene and capturing the raw emotions of children. It’s a rare look into early childhood development and how vulnerable humans can be.
Good Mother -
What do you hope the audience thinks about when they see the work in the new show?
Daniel Antelo-
Even though I don't have a kid yet, or I'm not a father yet, It's great to see that fire in your child. When you see a kid that is really into something, whether it's drawing on the wall, drawing on their car, playing with their toys or something you should support that. You should embrace that youthful spark and nurture that passion as a kid. Whatever your kid is into you should run with that. I was always the kid on the opposite side of the field looking for bugs on the ground and exploring. If you see that your kids are interested in something, no matter what it is, you should nurture it. Let them be human and explore whatever they are into.
Good Mother -
What are some early life experiences that maybe stuck with you and shaped you as an artist?
Daniel Antelo-
I was a mischievous kid. That's why I try to get my mom her flowers every time I see her and take her out to eat. I really owe my mom a lot.
I remember this one time at my grandpa's farm in San Bernardino, my cousins and I found this empty RV. And you know kids, we saw some paint and just went crazy. We thought we'd made some kind of masterpiece, but it turns out we'd painted an RV that one of my grandpa's friends had just moved into. A few months later I got into a fight with my older sister. It got so out of control that the cops got called, and I panicked. I ended up hiding out at my grandma's house, scared out of my mind. After two weeks, my mom came by to tell me everything was cool, and my parents took me on a trip with them. I thought we were just going to do taxes, so I took a nap. When I woke up, we were in Tijuana, Mexico. It turned out my parents were leaving me with some cousins I had never met in Mexico until things cooled down. I went from being a mischievous 13 year old kid enjoying middle school to working construction 4am to 6pm for 7$ a day. And going to church every Sunday. The irony was that I ended up living in an RV just like the one I'd destroyed back at my grandpa's farm. It almost came full circle. And eventually I met this cool family from San Diego that ended up in San Quintin where I was. The dad named Cali had this boat and let me work with him, but the only way I would make money was by actually catching Yellowtail. He thought I was his good luck charm and we were catching mad fish. I was able to save up some money and I asked him to help me get across the border. I finally ended up paying someone to drive me back to LA after living in Mexico for over 6 months when I was just a kid. That whole experience made me realize I wanted to pursue my passion for painting and art. So, in a weird way, my crazy adventures led me to where I am now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Good Mother -
Do you think that your art now helps you communicate the things that you can't express in words?
Daniel Antelo-
Oh, yeah, for sure. Even the way I'm telling you this story, my mind is all over the place. I have so much to express and let out. I'm not the best speaker or the best at expressing myself sometimes, so painting is my way of communicating the things I can't with words. I had the experience of working with at-risk youth for a few years and they don't take people seriously for what they say. They make opinions based on what they see rather than hear. When I was teaching art at continuation school, I got all the respect in the world because of painting. They listened with their eyes and that allowed them to focus and express things they couldn’t with words.
Good Mother -
Where do you want your work to end up?
Daniel Antelo-
Day by day things are different. I want my work to end up exactly on the path where it's going right now. Working with close friends, galleries and other artists is my main goal. I want work to be a part of something where the people around me are also coming up and getting inspired. Right now I'm fully focused on my upcoming show that I'm working on with Good Mother Gallery. All I know is I'm just gonna keep working harder and putting in the hours because I love this. And I know the work will end up in the right place no matter what.
