Blake Rod
Artist

Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
Born and raised in New York, I moved to California 3 years ago with my husband to pursue our careers further with mine being art. Since moving out here I’ve had my first art show and now I’m selling original pieces and prints on my website while working on creating new pieces every week. At the moment I’m working on jackets that I recreate and add artwork on them. With my interest in clothing and art I thought, why not wear my art?! So I’ve been taking jackets and mix and matching sleeves and adding patches along with painting characters on them. I’ve been inspired by pop culture and ‘grunge streetwear’ in NYC so I’m excited to see where this takes me! Painting on canvas has been my go to but I’ve been teaching myself how to create digital art and now clothing. I’m just a crafty visual person who loves creating art.

How did you first become interested in art?
Ever since I was young, and for as long as I can remember, I would always draw freehand on paper and even on my walls, for which I would get in a lot of trouble. All throughout grade school I would find myself drawing in the back pages of my notebooks and coming home to draw on larger sheets of construction paper. It wasn’t until high school that I started taking art more seriously and started trying out different media and fell in love with paint. I would say my style is pop art. My inspiration comes from childhood favorite cartoon characters, queer and pop culture and nude art. Growing up my mom would always have pinup art and Renaissance paintings of nude women all over the walls which allowed me to appreciate and admire the female form. Artists such as David LaChapelle, George Condo, Michelangelo and even the creations of Walt Disney influenced the artist I am today.

How does art enrich a community, and what are some ways people can engage with art in Burbank?
Art encourages expression and it allows a community to use its imagination and be creative. People use art to identify with and for many to see themselves or the way they express themselves in an art piece is super important.

If you could share with our community one thing about art, what would it be?
I want to share with the community the power of self-expression and being your true authentic self. And I would like to think that my art does that.

To find out more about Blake’s work, visit his website www.blakerodriguez.com or follow him on Instagram www.instagram.com/blakerodart.