Richy S. Ayala

BEING FROM AN ISLAND Being born in a tiny island in the Caribbean can be very overwhelming. The world feels so immense when you truly think about it; and I had the fortune of seeing some of it at an early age. Because of this I learned two things: To appreciate my beloved slice of paradise, but also to seek new horizons in order to improve. I moved to the states to pursue art in New York, and then I moved to San Francisco to focus on the art of animation. I am very eager to continue to hone my craft and eventually contribute to the cartoons I love so dearly. Art is always and extension of oneself. No matter how hard the artist tries, there is always a little piece of their souls that bleeds into the work. My art is no exception, be it visual development for animation or traditional fine art, there is always a piece of me in there. To be more specific, the child in me always manages to sneak into my work. I embrace this. I like to keep that part of me alive and everybody who is close to me knows that I cannot let go of that goofy kid. That is what art should be. Art should be a world where we can embrace the true essence of ourselves without any rules or judgements. When people look at any piece I create, I want them to have a peak into who I am, I want them to look inside themselves and get in touch with that inner child we all tend to hide, I want them to say "I remember feeling this way when I was a kid eating cereal on a Saturday morning"...If I accomplish this with at least one person, then I'll know I finally made a successful piece of art.