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So let me give you a little bit of a tour. So right now, this is my studio space, because my garage is getting built into my studio. For the last 10 years, I've been living in my studio, actually.

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So, I find a studio first, and then I'll find a way to like, you know, to live in there. And my last one was in downtown, I've been there for like seven years. And finally, I was able to acquire my own—my own

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spaces. So this is my own home now. And yeah, so right now I'm working in this space till I get my studio built up for actual studio, 'cause I really, really need one,

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'cause I work on big pieces. Here's one currently... just finished. This is like one of my newest ones, me and Marjon’s, of course. So she does a lot of realism.

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And I put patterns on top of them. And actually, this is my first painting that I ever did. Huh? When? Uh, 2006. So I had this—that

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image in my head that was stuck. And I-I needed a-a way to get it out of my head. And I didn't know how to paint. So I just went to the local art store and just picked up paint and brushes, which I

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don't even know what to get, you know. And that's the image that was, I had in my head, I needed to get out. So since then I never stopped painting. So most of my paintings come from my dreams.

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Like images, even like finished products that I'm working on is already finished in my head. And for an artist that look like me, the way to produce is like figure out the steps of

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how to get that image, you know, out into like a physical form, like a painting. So that's how my some of my process works. And also problem solving.

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If I'm having issues like with the steps or techniques, I'll usually just say, sleep on it, and the solutions usually come in my dreams. So I know I'll wake up like, "Oh, yeah, that's how I do it!

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That's how I need to, you know, fix it." So everything comes from my dreams, like how I started thinking. And I think—I talked to a lot of artists and you know, it's pretty-pretty similar stories, like things come from their head

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and their dreams. And the way for us to produce is like trying to get it out, you know, as fast as like the best as we can, get that image in my head—in our head and put in a physical form like this. So yeah, a lot of artists work that way.

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It's kind of crazy. Do you work in multiple drafts or in one go? For me, I'm ver-I’m very OCD. So I can work on one piece at a time from start to finish, unless I had deadlines, but if I don't, then I'll focus on one thing at a time because

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like I guess I can't multitask. So I like focus on one thing at a time. You mentioned that you work with a lot of other-other artists, gallery owner, and collector yourself.

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Yeah. So the way I started 10 years ago, I opened a gallery in downtown. And that's how I met a lot of my friends now still, like artists in the arts community. That's how I got connected.

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I ran that for three years. And then after that, I just went virtually because I was throwing shows, I didn't really need a space anymore, and I would rent different spaces.

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So now is a pop up stuff that I do now with different events. And it's been working out everything. Everything's virtual anyways, you know, and plus like I don't have too much overhead. Actually, gallery is not really a good business because it

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doesn't really make good money. But it's the thing I like about it was networking and meeting people getting to know like artists in the community.

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Hey! Sh sh! So, being an artist, I'm also an art collector. And all these things that I've collected from friends...

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Hey, hey, chill. And we usually, we trade. We trade art because like artists can't afford to buy art, like basically like thousands of dollars like there's no way

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artists can afford these, you know. So we either barter or trade or, you know, layaway or I go to like buyer sales. Sometimes like artists have, you know, like, they do

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like once a year sale to like just get rid of inventory in their studios. And that's kind of the best ways to get—to acquire art. So yeah. These are some of my art collection. Like I said, I mentioned Marjon is my partner.

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Let me show you some of our work. So this is her pieces right here. It's the "Back to the Future". And then this is my take

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on the "Back to the Future," the hoverboard part. Oh cool. So you kind of curated it as a con-conversation between the two. Yeah, exactly. And then here's another piece of hers, which is like one of my favorites. And you can just, you know, see, like, the details.

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And her inspiration on this thing is insane. Mm. Very mythical. Yeah. So she did a lot of paintings with mermaids, and she shot her friends, you know, as models.

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So this, the person you see is like, you know, her friend. And what is the inspiration from? So she's really into like fantasies and dreams. And she— a lot of our paintings, so she comes up with the

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concepts. And then my part of the job with our collaboration is to figure out the technique and the fastest way to do it, you know. So I'm the technique person, and she does like all-all of the ideas, but you know, we collaborate,

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we exchange ideas. But initially, she's the one that like comes up with a lot of the stuff that we're doing. Yeah, I don't know where she gets it from, but I'm glad to be working with her because her ideas are amazing. And of course, as you can see her technique and realism

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is very, very onpoint at the master level. We teach this to our kids, you know, like we don't hold back on our teaching. It's us—it's up to the—to the kids, if they can grasp it, and do the technique, you know.

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But this is the best part, you don't-you don't hold back when you teach, because you never know what the kids are capable of. And majority of time and the capabilities of the kids are way higher than expectations.

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So when we teach, we teach like a high school and college level, even to kindergartens all the way to like junior high. We teach them what we know, you know, we don't hold back. And then it's-it’s up to the kids if they can grasp it, and we will adjust

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from there. And between you and Marjon, you work in more of a kind of geometric abstraction kind of realm, and she is more like realism. How do you guys like kind of inspire each other? So I come up with a lot of colors without palettes.

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Let me get some water. So she’ll come up with ideas, we'll sketch it, and then I'll come up with the color patterns and the palette. And what's unique is I'm

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colorblind. So just—I'm not-I'm not saying I'm guessing, but I kind of know what colors go well together, even though I'm colorblind. So I'll come up with a different like combinations. And it's funny because she’s like, "I

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don't know why you use this color for this?" Because she's like, you know, like taught at like a college level, like, you know, art, and I'm just self taught. It's like, I don't know, it's just gonna look good.

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I know it because like I find-I find balance with-with the color choices that I-that I choose. And usually it comes out right. Because I don't have to think about color theory.

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So that's what helps me choose my colors. It's whatever I feel like, but I know it's gonna look good together because of the balance of the colors that I choose. It's really interesting.

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And I remember you also mentioned something about orange. And then yeah, like how do you like always come up with the shade of-of—like that compat— like that's so compatible with one another in terms of— Yeah, like you said you

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don't look at color theory so closely. but at the same time, like you also see some difference in different shades. Yeah. So I don't know what happened to me but like the

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last two years, color—the color orange has been my favorite and go-to. So I navigate towards anything orange. So every-every painting that I

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have I always put orange in everything that I do now, every painting that I do here, I can show you something here. I think I put some orange in here, I don't know. I can't tell. I think there's some oranges in here.

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So the part, that is the geometrics are by you and the representation, the girl is by... Yeah, by Marjon. And we had a series called, what is that series that we're working on... But it's about all the

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colors of the rainbow. So this is the yellow piece that we did. And I'll show you another one that is the red piece in this room. What is that color? What is that?

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I can't even remember right now. But I'll show you that in a second. So this is my guest room. So this is the red piece.

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Sorry, I didn't even ask if I should remove my shoes. You're fine. I always wear my shoes. So this is the red piece. This is our friend Aubrey.

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So all the models we shoot ourselves, because they had to be like original from the beginning, you can't like take things from the internet anymore, because you'll get in trouble. So from like—from the start, everything is original, like from the photos, from the models, from my—so

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we use everything, we set everything up, we take photos of how we want the painting to be. So it's-it's a lot of steps. It's not just like, you know, putting

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an image on the canvas. So everything has to be original from like, you know, from now on, because this copyright–copyright stuff, you know, you can take things from the internet anymore, or you can get in trouble. And this way everything is yours.

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You know, everything belongs to you, if you know something down the line. If anybody asks, everything's ours. This is our painting. Have you had trouble before?

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Ah, yeah, sometimes we'll just get images from like, Google or Pinterest. And you know, just like just to put something on canvas, and we'll get comments saying, "Oh, I've seen that photo before." Like, you know, like searching through the, you know, internet.

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It's like, "Oh, yeah, you're right. We got this from the internet." Since then, we’re like no, we get—everything has to be, you know, from the start, like original. And more art stuff that I

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collect. These are-these are street artists that I collect, even the dolls are street artists. As you can tell, like, next is EMI. This is KAWS.

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Yeah. Oh, wow. These are original. Yeah, these are original. This one too. We can't really tell. Yeah. So he's a really like fantasy artist.

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And, yeah, man, I just like-I just like art. This is what I live, I love to collect it. I love to be around it. I love to teach it. Can you talk about how like artists

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influence your own work? Yeah. Sometimes, like the—I follow a lot of artists on Instagram. It's like the best way to see what people are doing. And I get inspired by like different ways, or they're using like

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materials and mediums and new ideas. And so those are kind of things like that inspire me, like people are trying out new things, you know. Right now, the NFT is really big with the digital thing.

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So artists are figuring out ways to like get their work out, you know, in different-different places. So I'm really into like new innovations and reaching more audiences. So I'm really inspired about people that are like, you know, breaking new grounds and

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trying different things. And some of these artists, I don’t even know how they do them like, "How do you do these kinds of things?" Because I break down like technical stuff.

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That's what I like to do with different works, trying to figure out how to make things. That's the—that's what makes me excited about like, different artists, like "How did you make this," like, you know, "What was your thing?" And, in the final product is usually—I

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like the behind the scenes, you know, like the working process, you know, the final product, of course, has always been there, but the magic for me is how- how they made the art. And that's why I really am inspired with

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seeing different artists making new things with different mediums. And evolving to like—I like seeing artists evolve. You know, I think that's part of the journey is like just keep learning and trying new things.

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And usually the new stuff they're making is like way incredible, like their old stuff, you know, because they're learning, they're progressing, you know, and that's what I like to see about different artists, the progression and trying new things.

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I just kept everything that I really like. Okay, so this is going to be my Star Wars wall. I should have more but I'm not sure if you know, but I-I host one of the biggest Star Wars festivals in Houston for like 10 years now.

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Wow. That's why the Starbucks— Yeah, so that's like my biggest show of the year, I get like 5000 people on the weekend for like three days. But since the pandemic happened, I-I stopped it because, you know, we have to be safe, you know.

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I didn't do it last year. I didn't–I'm not doing it this year. But Star Wars festival is like one of my biggest like thing every year. And so some of that is like I collected from-from the show. So this is my Star Wars wall.

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I still have themes, okay, I have things with my art-art curation. And then I'm really into Mickey Mouse. So this is my Mickey Mouse wall.

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And then this is actually my first art collection that I ever collected. Right here. Oh, wow. I don't know why, I just fell in love with it. And I had to have it.

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My friend, Hartman, John Hartman is the artist. And it's—I don't know if you can tell, but it’s supposed to be a metal, okay. So it's like for

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someone that's like very poor or, you know, they couldn't afford something, but they had—they give them an award. It's something like that, like in that mean, it's written back, but it's in Spanish like—I don't know Spanish.

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So it's supposed to represent a—like a price for someone, you know, and I just navigated towards it. And then I just had to have it and I was like, "Yo, I need this piece." And I kind of-kind of broke it, but I kind of like the-the

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broken pieces, because it matches the artwork. And I couldn't afford it. So I traded him like two big paintings for this. Because I was like, "Hey, man, what do

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you want for this?" Like, "well, what do you have?" Like, "Well, I have these two paintings that are, you know, like I don't want or don't need." So we'll just trade, so I traded two paintings with him. So that means he still owes me one painting. Yeah.

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And—but I ran out of room. Yeah, so let's see. This is my skull room. I'm really into skulls. You can tell like all the artwork here, all skulls.

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And then these little love toys. Candles. And I don't know what else to show you. Let's see. So this is going to be my garage, my future-my

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future studio which is my garage. Going into the tunnel. Yeah, it's just—so right now I'm working— me and Marjon are working on a soccer ball for World

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Cup. So Houston is about to bid on trying to get the World Cup here in 2026. So they hired all these artists to paint these giant soccer balls.

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So I’ve been working on this. This is just my future studio. So build the wall, clean everything up, put AC in here.

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There's some—I use a lot of spray paint, so that's why I'm here. I can't use spray painting in the house. Yeah, so that's-that’s a sign I made for my-for my gallery.

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And one of the paintings I did for a friend of mine, which I still have. But yeah, this is the World Cup soccer ball. I already started on it. A lot of it is just tape work. And then—so I had to add patterns to these and then I’ll

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spray paint it. It's gonna look like kind of like a galaxy type with different patterns on the hexagons. So I use spray paint a lot. It's a-it's a really good medium for me to make things faster, and cleaner.

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And I'll show you some of my process. I cut my own stencils. Like when I-when I do projects, that's all being cut.

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And I'll put them—this is the painting I just had in here and some Marjon’s. So I cut all my stencils to do my pattern, when I spray paint them. I have stencils everywhere.

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I kind of want to throw an art show with just stencils like what people use, you know, to make the work, not the actual pieces. Because like I said like, I like seeing like people's processes. And I think it would be cool just to see

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these on walls. You know, like “Hey, how'd you make these” and you’re like “Oh, right here, these are my tools.” Yeah, so I cut my own stencils, very OCD, with sharp knives. And then I'll put them on here, you know.

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But this- this is not for that. Yeah, I'll put stencils and just like spray paint them. Because I like everything super clean, no mistakes. So all these are painted by hand, all the circles

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that took me like two weeks. So when I find imperfections and things that's like the kind of the final step for me to like fix everything, because it really, really

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bothers me if there's a mistake in the painting. So when I look at museums, like art-art shows, I look for people's mistakes. Like, “Oh you could have fixed that” like, "Why did you leave that there?" So that I like, like I said, the

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process like it gives me joy to see like different things. This is the sign when I had my gallery. So this is all hand painted.

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Yeah, so this is gonna be my studio soon. Hopefully once lumber price goes down, 'cause apparently everything is like double the price right now. I'm going to put wall right here.

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And then just paint everything white because I want everything clean. White, everything white. So it's gonna look like a museum in here. Like a white cube. Yep, a white space, even the floor. Yeah, even though I spray paint, I’ll probably just put tarp, you know, if I

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like spray paint or anything, I want it super clean. Like I want to live in a museum. That's a— that's the goal. There's an interesting correlation between your plants and your art too.

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Yeah, everything has to be curated. They all have to match. Um, can you talk about your artist's persona? Like you have an artist's name, right? Yeah, so my name, my real name is Dandee, okay, like, that's on my like passport,

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ID. And when social media happened, that was—when I started painting, I was really into pop art, because, you know, this is the kind of thing I liked when I started looking at different artists.

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And when social media happened, I—as a joke, I put my name is Dandee Warhol because it rhymes with Andy Warhol, the pop artist. And from then on, it got-it got stuck. So that's how people knew me. So now I'm the Dandee Warhol.

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And I have a website. I have a business ID and everything with that. And yeah, so now, I live as a pop artist, I don't even have a persona artist, this is full-time

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me. Like when I talk, even when people ask me like, “What's-what's your race?” Like I don't know. I don't have a race, I'm just an artist. But I'm Filipino. Yeah, so Dandee Warhol is my–my persona, my artist's name and

00:22:53.370 - 00:23:12.940

that's how people recognize me in my work, because I'm a pop artist. I like to show current trends in my work, you know. And as part of—as an artist, I think part of their job is to document history, through arts and

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that's what I try to do with current trends in the world. I'm not a very poli-political person, but sometimes it’s needed, you know, I guess, you know, showing more voice of what's going on in the world. But I try to stay away from politics.

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Usually just like, you know, fashion and art for me. I felt like a lot of times, artists are addressed with their kind of like "Filipino-American artist," and the artist's name. So do you think it's okay to like address artists by their race

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or ethnicity? Well, personally, I don't think so. Because I have so many friends that are artists and, you know, different backgrounds. And we all just see each other as artists,

00:24:01.330 - 00:24:16.120

not a race, you know. I think artist is a race to me, you know, as a group. But it is needed to, you know, like showcase like, you know, different backgrounds. Just, you know, highlight what different people are doing in their ideas, you know,

00:24:16.200 - 00:24:27.230

because ideas come from, you know, how you were raised, you know, where you grew up, you know, so it's very important also to showcase that. But as rule for me, I don't see race at all.

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It's just like, you know, your energy. And that's how I navigate like with friends in the, you know, just energy, that’s how I get along with people. And I think my energy like radar is pretty

00:24:39.490 - 00:24:55.250

good. If I—if the energy is bad, I—like a person saying like, you know—I can feel the energy and if it’s bad then I like to be away from them. But yeah, I think it is very important to-to highlight, you know, the backgrounds and ideas where people come

00:24:55.330 - 00:25:13.500

from, for sure, because it affects your work in the way you are. But yeah, for sure. But personally, I don't stick to, you know, one group, ‘cause I think everybody's like—artists is just a race to me.

00:25:13.680 - 00:25:23.860

So that—I get along with a lot of artists because I—when I talk—I don't want to sound bad, but when I talk to normal people, like conversations are so different, you know.

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And when I talk to artists, like it's a lot of like ideas and what they're doing, what they're trying to do, it's not like, “Oh—” like with regular people like, "Oh, yeah, we would, you know, we can, you know, I just went out got drunk..." and stuff like that.

00:25:36.320 - 00:25:49.390

But when I have conversations with artists, it's more meaningful to me. So... How does your conversation with another artist usually go? Like do you kind of have it over, like, the social

00:25:50.100 - 00:26:07.180

like, over beer, or-or is it like more happening in a studio? Um, well, most-most social settings with artists are, you know, out, because everybody wants to be out socially, you know. Like, last night, I finally went to an art show and caught up

00:26:07.180 - 00:26:20.520

with my-with my artist friends. And-and that's how you usually connect with artists, such as social settings, because nobody really goes like studio visits. I think studios are more intimate.

00:26:22.080 - 00:26:35.190

Most artists are alone, because, you know, they're working, you know, hours and hours a week in their space, you know, so most artists don't want to, you know, socialize in our studio, because it's work, you know.

00:26:35.940 - 00:26:48.300

But they all need to release some energy. So, you know, people like gathering in social settings, that's like the best way to have conversations with artists, like, in a more relaxing environment, not you know, at the studio.

00:26:49.400 - 00:27:04.250

And that's, you know, I'd say more relaxed like conversations, like, your ideas come out more—sound like, "Oh, you know, your work..." and talking about work, you know, so. So last night, I went to an art show, finally caught up with some of my friends and man,

00:27:04.950 - 00:27:15.050

these guys have been working! Like, you know, they've been in pandemic like stuck in their studio. So they're producing a lot of good work. And finally, I'm happy that art shows are happening again.

00:27:16.680 - 00:27:56.010

Slowly, you know, people are still being safe, but I had a really good time last night just catching up with, you know, seeing new works and talking to some artists. Yeah, his name is Leandra.

00:27:56.640 - 00:28:12.350

He's really like a-a Houston artist. He's like, he's-he's-he's an old-an old artist like maybe like 60 something, but he's been painting forever in Houston.

00:28:12.590 - 00:28:25.020

And my friend gifted this to me, because he hangs out with this artist, they just hang out right here, like tons of them in his barn. And he was like, "Hey, what's your-what's your sign?" I'm like, "I'm an Aries." They go, "Okay, I have a gift for

00:28:25.020 - 00:28:38.450

you." And he just showed up in my house, and he gave me this painting because it's an Aries painting, made in 2001. So he paints us his dreams. So this is what he sees in his dreams.

00:28:40.750 - 00:28:53.380

And he’s a very prolific artist. Actually like a gallery bought all his work recently to like throw a show for him. So I'm happy to have, you know, a Houstonian in my-in my home.

00:28:54.520 - 00:29:05.680

So it's very personalized to me because of course, Aries. It was just my birthday. And it's still Aries season. Like everybody was just like publishing that show because it was just like something out of the ordinary. So I was

00:29:05.780 - 00:29:18.040

in every magazine in Houston for like that whole week, and the New York Times. I was like, "What is going on here? Something's going on. I don't know what's going on, but I'll take it.” So yeah, my first solo show, man, it

00:29:18.490 - 00:29:29.860

was—that's why I haven't done a second, I was like, I can't beat this, like, this is it! This is the top! We can't beat this one. But yeah, I turned my space into an immersive like Smurf experience. Like all the paintings was Smurfs.

00:29:30.130 - 00:29:40.680

And had this big old mushroom everybody can go into and take-take photos. And like I had balloons like Smurf balloons, like blues and whites everywhere.

00:29:41.110 - 00:29:56.540

I had my friends dressed up as Smurfs and I had like shirts, like it was just like, nobody's done like an immersive, you know, thing before like-like 10 years ago. And then when I transformed my space to an immersive experience for my personal show, like it got–it

00:29:57.010 - 00:30:11.760

got a lot of attention. But yeah so experience sells. This is what I want to do next. Sell experience. In 2010, it's like during that year, like the immersive-ness starts to get really hot right?

00:30:13.510 - 00:30:24.750

Theme shows started to get hot like around that time, but not immersive yet. Because nobody was—nobody had like, you know, technology like, you know, projection mapping back then. You know, everything has to be

00:30:24.750 - 00:30:31.960

like physically made, you know, so it wasn't really that big yet. But the idea was there. But technically nobody was like pulling it off yet.

00:30:32.990 - 00:30:47.490

So I think everything has changed since then. Especially with the projection mapping is like what helped a lot with immersive experiences. Unless you're Kusama, you know, building these crazy rooms.

00:30:47.590 - 00:31:02.510

But that doesn’t matter, she's ahead of her time. No. It's like a really unique relationship with-with me and her. She's like my sister, my mother.

00:31:02.510 - 00:31:10.620

And she's also my boss, okay. So I work for her, she's my partner. And she's like my mother, and she's like my sister.

00:31:11.670 - 00:31:22.590

So we're like super connected. And our ideas are like in the opposite spectrum, okay. Oh, that was our-that was our piece, it’s called “Spectrum.” But it's so much more getting into finishing because

00:31:22.620 - 00:31:35.420

we're gonna be like every color of the spectrum. Anyways, like our ideas, like different-different sides of, you know, polar opposites. But when we have, you know, a piece in mind then we just like meet in the middle,

00:31:36.710 - 00:31:47.140

you know, bring everything together. Yeah. But we have a really unique connection. It's not just a working connection. It's like, she's-she's my partner.

00:31:47.310 - 00:31:59.690

She's like for life, you know, she's family. Yeah. So yeah, now she's texting me about-about the rodeo because some of our kids won.

00:32:01.110 - 00:32:17.910

Like got best of shows and like options, so we're really happy about that. So process wise, we'll sketch something, you know, on paper, and once we have something that we liked, and

00:32:17.910 - 00:32:30.140

we'll transfer it digitally through Photoshop. So that way we can change our colors, you know, whatever you want, placements. Like this is one right here that we did for Downtown Houston. This is a mural right now.

00:32:30.220 - 00:32:38.770

Oh, we get to see three murals. I have one, this one in downtown. Oh, that's the one that still on? Yeah, I forgot about this one.

00:32:38.880 - 00:32:49.170

I didn't tell you about this one. Okay, so this is a digital sketch that we did for Downtown Houston. So they put this in a big window, downtown building.

00:32:50.370 - 00:33:04.510

So this is Photoshop. That's Brandi, she's our coworker. She's a teacher too. But she's also like a model and, you know, social media person. So we

00:33:04.530 - 00:33:18.100

change the colors that we like, you know, and then once we're done, then we start painting them. So our ideas come from, you know, sketch and then visual, that's like, you know, a new way of like processes. Because if you

00:33:18.170 - 00:33:33.080

have jobs, the clients have to see what it's gonna look first before it actually happens, you know. So we may submit like digital sketches. And then I usually go first, because like I said, if you don't know about

00:33:33.100 - 00:33:48.290

materials—she does oil paints, right. And I do acrylics and spray paint. You can't-you can't paint over oil with acrylic or spray paint, or else it’ss not going to stick.

00:33:49.050 - 00:34:02.190

So everything I—everything that we do, I go first because she can paint on top of acrylics. So she can-she can paint on top of mine, but I can't paint on top of hers. Does that make sense?

00:34:02.190 - 00:34:19.740

Or else like they won't-they won’t stick, the paint won’t stick basically. So I usually go first, and then I'll get the painting back. And I'll just like, you know, do touch ups and send it to clients. So this is an actual painting that we're working on, a big piece.

00:34:20.530 - 00:34:33.790

So it's at her studio right now. So she's painting the girl, I already painted all this, like the flowers and the stripes. And so I'm just waiting for her to get back and then do touch ups, then send it to the client.

00:34:35.100 - 00:34:48.600

Do you usually receive commissions, or you usually create for yourself? This year is crazy, like everything that we've been working on are commissions. I guess that's a good thing for artists, you know, it's like, wow, you want my work.

00:34:49.560 - 00:35:02.470

And actually like we've been like overwhelmed with commissions this year for some reason, everything just came all at once. Like that one right there, for the ballcock, we had to finish in like 10 days.

00:35:02.470 - 00:35:13.040

We just finished a painting for UofH, Sugar Land. It's going to be a permanent collection in their library. It's about diversity actually. And then they're gonna turn into a—like a big

00:35:13.360 - 00:35:25.310

mural on their windows too. So the six artists that they commissioned, so me and Marjon are one of them. And then right now we're working on a sketch for University of Columbia, they want a painting from us as well.

00:35:25.360 - 00:35:38.400

And then just private collectors too. This one, like I said, this is at Marjon's studio right now. A private collector, you know, reached out to us and wanted a painting, because they saw

00:35:38.460 - 00:35:50.760

this mural in Downtown, they were like, "I want that painting." I was like, "Well, okay, we still have the digital print if you want a—if you want this printed on a canvas, or if you want an original painting, you know, that's an option too." He

00:35:50.940 - 00:36:04.580

opted for the original painting. And then when we have time, and we just want to create, then we'll-we'll create our own like pieces. And that's my favorite, because you can just like do whatever you want, you know, it's not

00:36:04.580 - 00:36:16.270

really a job. And it's more fun for us. And we can be creative, and nobody's telling us like, "Oh, we don't like this part, and we want this change." But you know, we're happy that we're getting, you know, commissioned work from, you know,

00:36:16.390 - 00:36:28.570

from collectors and stuff like that. But these are—these three right here, it's just like work that we do for fun, because we just want to paint. Sometimes we get into-we get into grooves that we just

00:36:28.570 - 00:36:41.650

like want to create art, art, art, you know, like I'm in that groove right now. Like—but during the pandemic, I wasn't painting for like six weeks, I mean, six months. The stuff I was making, remember what I sent you, during a

00:36:41.700 - 00:36:54.200

pandemic, but other than that, I wasn't really making anything. So now I'm happy to, I'm making art again, I'm happy creating, and I have the inspiration to do it, because I don't force myself to make art.

00:36:54.970 - 00:37:07.240

If I'm not-if I'm not inspired, I'm not going to make art. I just have my creative — I’ll just like focused on something else, like something else creative. So usually for me that's cooking.

00:37:07.410 - 00:37:19.150

So like finding different recipes and trying out things. So if I'm not making art, I'll, you know, my creative ideas will go somewhere else. Just like you know, it's channeling different energy till I

00:37:19.220 - 00:37:32.450

go back to the painting. So I see-I see my art life as a wave like this. So sometimes I'm in the bottom like this, and I won't paint-paint, and once I going up, that's when the inspiration comes, and then

00:37:32.450 - 00:37:39.350

I’ll—that's when I’ll take advantage, I create a lot of art, art, art, art. And then I'll start getting tired and it starts going down again. And then

00:37:39.350 - 00:37:48.580

when I hit this bottom, then I don’t-I don't make art. So I see my-my life as a wave. And I ride the wave, because you have to, it's the only way.

00:37:49.940 - 00:38:01.430

And I see that by myself, which is good. Like I know how my-how my self works. Even physically if I-if I'm making, if I’m making art and my lines are crooked, you know, because that

00:38:01.430 - 00:38:11.290

means my hands are shaky. It's telling me that my body needs food, or sugar. So my-my blood sugar is low. So when I start messing up on my

00:38:11.360 - 00:38:27.770

paintings, I'm getting tired. It's like, “Oh, I need to eat. I need to put that blood sugar in me,” and it fixes it. So I know how my body works physically and mentally. Yeah. I remember you made a piece of art inspired by COVID.

00:38:29.070 - 00:38:43.630

Yeah, so I was making a lot of—ooh, I could show you one or two. I'll get it. It’s in the closet. So can you see? The virus?

00:38:46.620 - 00:38:59.280

So we wanted to make this during the lockdown, because we wanted to turn them into coloring- coloring pages for people that were stuck at home. So that's why it's just black and white.

00:38:59.630 - 00:39:10.850

These are all pen-pen and paper. So these are COVID inspired things that we worked on to help people, you know, being stuck at home,

00:39:10.880 - 00:39:25.540

you know, like, people go crazy, you know, like during lockdown, and they need to like release some energy. And we thought these are some good ideas that can help people and do-do some coloring you know, at home.

00:39:26.980 - 00:39:40.430

And this is COVID inspired. And here's another one. So these are cherry blossoms. But can you see the inside of the cherry blossom?

00:39:41.000 - 00:39:54.760

Oh, they're the viruses. Yeah, it's interesting that so when the virus happened it was when like all the nature resume to-to like breathe again. Yeah, I totally noticed that.

00:39:55.600 - 00:40:11.800

Especially walking my dogs during lockdown, everything was fresh, more green. And you can actually like hear more animals, like birds. And definitely it was brighter to me.

00:40:13.140 - 00:40:25.510

Everything was more vibrant. I definitely started —I felt and noticed the difference when everybody was at home. We made the earth breathe for sure.

00:40:25.810 - 00:40:36.520

And everything was—I kind of miss it, actually. Now like traffic’s back, all the noise is back. Oh, it also—I did notice the noise too. The noise level was really low.

00:40:36.520 - 00:40:49.590

And now I think everything is back to normal. Yeah I definitely like noticing nature. I like nature. I just came from vacation out in the forest. And I just

00:40:49.590 - 00:41:09.630

wanted to like breathe fresh air, you know, get some sun and just re-energize, you know, and eat more veggies. Are you vegetarian? No, I'm not a vegetarian, but I try to put more, you know, more greens in my diet.

00:41:09.650 - 00:41:24.130

I don't eat red meat. I don't know why, it makes me sick. Also, cheese makes me sick. So usually I eat a lot of fish and chicken, mostly

00:41:24.170 - 00:41:34.430

chicken. But my body craves meat too. So I try to eat healthy. You got to take care of your body to produce. This is our-this is our vehicle to create.

00:41:36.470 - 00:41:48.610

I don't-I don't smoke. I drink occasionally just like on weekends. But most of the time I'm sober. ‘Cause a lot of people asked me too, say they think artists are, you know, just like doing drugs

00:41:48.610 - 00:41:58.100

and then creating work, you know. And their persona right? That’s the artist’s way. But no, not me. I, 100% of

00:41:58.100 - 00:42:12.280

time I make my art sober; because you have to be focused, especially my technique. Everything has to be solid, lines perfect. One time I think I was like drinking beer. This is—this was the piece, okay.

00:42:12.490 - 00:42:25.900

There, I have a story for that. You know, I was drinking beer and I was making these lines right here, right? The gradients—so I mix all these colors, every single line. And then the next morning I woke up, right, and

00:42:25.900 - 00:42:39.630

all my lines were crooked like going this way. I was like, "Oh my God, that's why I don't paint when I'm drunk." Because I'll mess it up. So I had to like erase the whole thing and start all over. Because all these lines are here is like—there's like a

00:42:39.630 - 00:42:49.910

centimeter off, I can tell. Like, man, so I measured wrong, basically. So I had to measure every single line again to make it all straight. Yeah, so I paint sober.

00:42:50.860 - 00:43:03.420

I create art sober. So I just channel like whatever's in my head like, you know, like naturally. So you did finance—had a finance career. And then?

00:43:03.870 - 00:43:24.490

I did. Well, I do. Let me get some water, are you good? So, when I was in college, I went to UH—U of H, okay, to the business school.

00:43:24.530 - 00:43:38.630

And I never thought art as a career ever, never. And that's when I started painting when I was in college, I was sitting in Barnes and Nobles.

00:43:38.810 - 00:43:51.510

Just studying, you know, and then I took a break and, you know, went to the art section, and I saw a Van Gogh book. And that kinda inspired me to like, you know, paint. I was like, "Wow, this is really cool.

00:43:51.510 - 00:44:04.180

I want to try this, like, you know, what he was doing." And that's—that image was stuck in my head already, that painting. So yeah. So like that-that weekend, I went to the art store and picked up like art supplies, I

00:44:04.180 - 00:44:11.650

don't even know what to get, like I got like, shitty paint, like stupid paint brushes, like now I know. Yeah. And I just painted it. That's oil actually, I

00:44:11.650 - 00:44:22.110

didn't even know how to work with oil. And I didn’t even know what oil was. That's what Van Gogh was using. So I used oil. And when I discovered acrylic, that's when I switched, like "Oh,

00:44:22.110 - 00:44:38.500

this is so much better for me what I'm doing." So yeah, I graduated with a finance degree at U of H. And right after college, I was at a trading desk. Risk Management, like, you know, people trading, day trading.

00:44:38.500 - 00:44:51.170

And a year into my-my finance career is when I opened a gallery. Because again, you know, like I still wanted to paint, you know, like I never stopped. So there was like something in me that I needed to, you know, get out.

00:44:52.210 - 00:45:04.280

And that's when I opened the gallery, because at first, I thought it was going to be just a studio, but it was like way bigger than I expected. And I didn't know anybody in the Houston art scene, you know.

00:45:05.140 - 00:45:21.500

So I just went on Facebook to look at art shows, and then went to art shows, you know, to meet the artists, and then found the people that I like and wanted to work with. And then that's how I started inviting people to the galleries, "Hey, I really like your work. I'm throwing a show, you know, would you

00:45:21.520 - 00:45:34.110

like to put some of your stuff in there?" And so I did that for like, you know, a couple of months, just like, you know, gallery artists that I like, or to work at—I really like. And I said opening for the gallery, and I was

00:45:34.110 - 00:45:46.600

like, "I don't know who's gonna show up, like I don't know anybody in town." Because like, it was like Montrose, you know, like downtown, like I never lived here before. And man, it started raining during the opening, right as I was doing the show.

00:45:46.600 - 00:45:58.730

And then the rain stop, and then after that, like 600 people showed up to the opening. It was crazy, like packed. Like nobody could find parking.

00:45:58.850 - 00:46:12.170

Everybody was there, like people I don't know, you know, like looking at the art, "Whoa, this is something that the Houston scene has been missing.” And from then on it just like snowballed.

00:46:12.290 - 00:46:24.600

Every weekend, every weekend, people would come to me, "Hey, I want to show here, I want to rent your space." Like so my calendar was full for like three years straight. And that's how I got to meet like, you know, a lot of people, you

00:46:24.600 - 00:46:38.020

know, people in the community. So it was a really good opportunity for me like opening a gallery. Even though like money wise, you know, it wasn't making money, I was sinking money into it. But that-that for me, that was

00:46:38.090 - 00:46:48.300

my investment into my–my career. Because it also helped me personally as a-as an artist, because people saw my work, you know, like nobody would ever saw my works. It was in my apartment, you know?

00:46:49.050 - 00:47:02.850

So it helped me like professionally and personally opening War’Hous. And I transitioned—well actually got fired from my finance job. Because I got tired of it, and I was like, you

00:47:03.000 - 00:47:14.220

know, job searching during work and they caught me, and they let me go. And from then on, I just focused all my energy into my art career. And it's been 10 years since, and I never looked back.

00:47:15.870 - 00:47:29.840

So it's a happy accident I guess. It wasn't a happy accident then, but it is now. And that helps me too like, you know, business wise like, you know, with my–with my finance degree, because most artists can only do one, you know,

00:47:31.500 - 00:47:43.280

either a team or they can manage their business. So it's really helped me out. So War'Hous was founded in 2007, right? 2010.

00:47:44.480 - 00:47:59.320

And it ran—2013 is when they closed the actual building. But-but it's been active every year. Because we just was—I just found a warehouse or gallery to do like polishes. It's easier for me that way.

00:48:00.230 - 00:48:15.980

And I don't worry about like overheads and stuff. And then I grew a Star Wars art show to this massive thing, like a festival to the point that Disney was trying to sue me. Yeah, so I got an email like one year, and they're like, "Hey, are you the

00:48:16.040 - 00:48:29.370

owner of War'Hous?" Like, "Yeah?" "I'm a lawyer from Disney." I got scared. So I was like “Yeah, what do you want?” Basically they said like they saw me doing a Star Wars show, you know, that's our-that's our entity, you're

00:48:29.390 - 00:48:43.620

not allowed to do that, you know? And they were like—basically like shut it down or we'll sue. So we had to be smart, like the show's happening in a month, right? And then we had like 50 vendors, you know, like 100 artists,

00:48:43.660 - 00:48:53.860

like I'm managing like 200 people. There's no way we can shut the show down because people will lose so much money, you know, like people invested into this thing. So we got smart and took everything "Star Wars" related

00:48:53.860 - 00:49:05.460

name out of the flyers, out of the promotions. So we changed it into a—it's called "May the Fourth". So we switch everything like all the graphics, like all the wording, everything, nothing "Star Wars," right.

00:49:06.520 - 00:49:20.480

And then a couple days later, we get the email again. "Hey, so we've noticed that you didn't shut the show down. But you changed everything right?" Like, so they didn't have any like—anything they can sue me. So they gave me a suggestion.

00:49:20.520 - 00:49:36.620

They're like, "Okay, just put on your like, warning, that you're not affiliated with with us or Lucasfilm," whatever. And then after that, they never reached out again. So now like, it’s called "May the Fourth" art show, not the "Star Wars" art festival, cause

00:49:37.460 - 00:49:48.670

Disneygot mad. Yeah, so I've managed like 100 artists. So you'll see like, three-three to 500 pieces of work, about 50 vendors. So it's an

00:49:48.670 - 00:50:00.430

actual big festival. Yeah. 5000 people, like on a weekend. And all my shows are, kids are free, because I want all my students to go in and check it out.

00:50:00.980 - 00:50:10.990

So kid friendly, kid friendly festival. So that's like one of the biggest shows, War’Hous has been hosting. But since the pandemic, it’s been pswh.

00:50:11.780 - 00:50:25.220

So I’ve been focusing on my own work. So I'm also trying to see how your brain work like with the, with risk management, very arithmetics; and at the same time you have this creative flowing...

00:50:26.700 - 00:50:39.340

Yeah, so I'm, I'm left and right brained. I mean, that's how I diagnose myself. Because I was ace-ing all my math classes in college.

00:50:40.330 - 00:50:52.450

And because I'm really into math, most of my artwork has a lot of measurements into it, you know. And then the creative side as well. You know, it's like total opposite.

00:50:52.530 - 00:51:05.250

So I'm really good in both sides. I don’t know. So I combined both of them together, you know, to— to create my work. And the little transition that you're going from your work.

00:51:05.580 - 00:51:15.840

I don't know, does that connect to, like the arithmetic side of your work... Yeah, for sure. Like, like I said, measurement is really important. Remember, when I was drunk, I messed up

00:51:15.890 - 00:51:32.240

all the measurements on this. So and I like to figure out patterns and break them down and recreate them. So the problem solving for me is like really important in putting in all

00:51:32.980 - 00:51:45.930

my work; because it makes your work faster and easier when you problem solve. And, you know, as an artist, you need to create fast in order to like keep up with demand, you know.

00:51:45.930 - 00:51:56.670

You know, a lot of famous artists, they go hire a team to just like, keep up with demand. So I tried to figure out ways to work faster. That's why I do a lot of stencils now and spray paint.

00:51:58.810 - 00:52:10.070

Before I would paint everything by hand, and sometimes each color would take like three layers, you know, it takes so long. Even like you know, like very precise, like works, take so long.

00:52:10.600 - 00:52:25.610

Now if I do with stencil, I can multiply it, and with spray paint, it's just like one coat, you know, instead of like three coats, so it saves a lot of time. So yeah, yeah, being precise, you know.

00:52:25.740 - 00:52:38.510

I use a lot of rulers, you know, stuff like this, because everything has to be perfect for me. Straight lines and perfect circles. Or else, it's gonna bother me, I'll just sit there and fix it.

00:52:39.230 - 00:52:54.390

Is that perfect circle? I'm gonna fix it; it has to be perfect. I don't know. I'm like OCD like that, "Oh, that's not a straight line? Well, I'm gonna have to fix that if that, if it’s not a straight line." So I can actually paint straight lines, like without any

00:52:54.450 - 00:53:09.230

guides and circles without guides, because I've practiced it so much. But like I said, you need to be faster. So I use stencils now to, you know, cut out a lot of time. Tape and stencils. And, you know, rulers, those are my tools.

00:53:09.920 - 00:53:23.940

What do you think of the Houston art scene? What kind of art do you notice ? Has Houston art scene been supportive of young artists?

00:53:24.460 - 00:53:38.150

Houston is very supportive about local arts, especially like corporate jobs and commissions. They want to use people of course, in the local art scene. And man, I've been seeing a lot, a lot of big work lately, I think like

00:53:38.170 - 00:53:50.510

the pandemic has helped really, with people are creating new arts, new ideas. Like last night went to the art show, and you know, people have been like just creating in their studios without showing. And a lot of these artists have

00:53:50.550 - 00:54:02.830

been really, really improving. I was very surprised, like, " Wow, we have some really good artists like coming out right now, like after the pandemic." So I'm really surprised actually. A lot of sculptures, people making sculptures,

00:54:04.340 - 00:54:22.730

abstract, you know, work, like new ideas, like trying out new things. So, that's why I'm really impressed about the Houston art scene. It's very supportive with each other. There's not really, I guess like, contest, you know, with

00:54:22.730 - 00:54:38.080

each other; it's just like, contest with themselves, you know, always improving what they're working on and trying out new ideas. So I was kind of excited to see like new works last night. How about teaching?

00:54:38.680 - 00:54:51.890

That part of your life. Has children like teaching, and seeing them grow, add to your work? Yeah. So before I just, I don't want to say this, that I don't like children, 'cause you

00:54:53.050 - 00:55:04.300

know, they are annoying. And then Marjon was calling me right, because it's after I closed the gallery, and I didn't have any more income for me today. And I didn't have my, my finance job and my gallery any more.

00:55:04.920 - 00:55:14.520

And Marjon called like, "Hey, I know you know a lot of artists. My school is growing, and I need help. Do you know anybody's looking for– for a job?" I was like, "Well, I'm not working

00:55:14.520 - 00:55:24.760

right now. If it’s art related, uh, you know, I might be interested." She was like, "Oh, really? Okay, like, you know, come to the school, see if you like it." And, honestly, at that time, I just needed to pay my bills.

00:55:25.100 - 00:55:41.540

So I took the job, and I didn't have no teaching degree, like, I don't have any teaching background, but she taught me how to teach kids, you know, it's been seven years, and I love teaching. I like, I like, sharing my ideas to kids,

00:55:42.370 - 00:55:55.960

and showing them new things, like, you know, like, things they've never done before. And then when I see them, like, do well, it's very, like fulfilling, you know. And now we've been killing Rodeo, like, scholastics we've been getting like, gold

00:55:55.980 - 00:56:12.300

stars, and like, best of shows, and auctions. Because like I said, we don't, we don't hinder our teaching, you know, like, we adjust to the grade level but, "Hey, if we can, if we can grasp college level, like fast;

00:56:13.110 - 00:56:27.200

good for you, we're not holding back." And that's, that's a key part about teaching. I think it's like, "Don't hold back." Because you never know, kids are more capable than you think. You know, physically, they might not be; but you know, mentally,

00:56:27.560 - 00:56:39.190

you know, it’s there. But, you know, just teach them. This is the sideline, you know, keep practicing the technique parts. But eventually they'll— everything would like connect, they already have the mentality. And then once their technique is there,

00:56:39.590 - 00:56:48.980

it's like, bam, it’s magic. So I like teaching a lot. So it's my career now. Like, I'm a teacher. And this is the first year like I was really

00:56:49.130 - 00:57:01.630

comfortable teaching. Before I felt lost. You know, like, I didn't know what I was doing. You know, just like, trying to follow curriculums. But this year is the actual year that I broke out in my shell and

00:57:02.440 - 00:57:15.050

now teaching comfortably like what I wanted, everything is coming together. So I feel good about teaching. I like it. Like to share my knowledge. Like I don't have any secrets. Like if another artist asked me how I did this, you know, like,

00:57:15.050 - 00:57:26.850

"Oh, this is how I did it." Because some artists like keep secrets so that nobody copies their stuff. No, not me. I like share my knowledge. It's up to you, if you can do it.

00:57:27.200 - 00:57:46.660

But, you know... it’s how I did it. Do you see a correlation between art and mental health? Oh, yeah, for sure. Actually, I have a foundation, War'Hous Foundation for art therapy for kids.

00:57:48.030 - 00:58:03.640

It's, it's inactive right now because man, I have so much like projects going on. But I see the difference with the kids that, you know, they get a lot of art, you know, because it does help them mentally; because it calms them down, gives

00:58:03.640 - 00:58:17.280

them focus, and it really releases energy, you know, like, you know, into your work. And mentally that's what I guess, you need, you know, focus and releasing whatever's, you know, holding you back or making you feel sad

00:58:17.280 - 00:58:29.400

and stuff like that. And transporting that into your work is really helpful for mental health. Some of my best work is when I'm feeling sad, you know, or getting down.

00:58:31.030 - 00:58:42.610

That's, I use that as a fuel. You know, it helps me as a person, and it releases that energy into my work. So, mentally wise, art is very important.

00:58:44.540 - 00:58:58.050

And as an artist who is colorblind, you don't see that as a disability, but you see that as an advantage to your art. How did you make that connection, and how do you think you can help other people who are slightly disadvantaged?

00:58:58.490 - 00:59:16.210

Yeah. So when I tell people, like I have color blindness, I don't see that as disadvantage. Because I don't have to think about like, like, rules, you know. When I, when I choose my colors, I just,

00:59:17.400 - 00:59:26.180

whatever feel, whatever I feel like, it's, it's right, you know. So I go with feelings when I choose my colors. And as a person, like, you know,

00:59:26.290 - 00:59:38.040

you should do what makes you happy. You know, it helps you like mentally, when you do things that you're happy doing, you know. So when I choose my colors, it's like, "Oh, I just think this color is gonna

00:59:39.040 - 00:59:52.070

make me happy." But technique wise, you still has to, like, make it work, because visually, it has to look great. So, balance is key for me, I really acknowledge balance in everything that I do,

00:59:53.010 - 01:00:07.810

like life and work, everything has to be balanced. You know, same with art. So when I find balance, with my work, it's just shades, lights and darks. And that's how I choose my colors, lights and darks; find a balance, you can't have too

01:00:07.860 - 01:00:27.970

much darkness and too much lightness in one thing, everything has to, you know, balance out. So, visually, it'll be easier for the viewers to see. Do you have any point in life that you want to identify an Asian artist, or,

01:00:28.790 - 01:00:40.390

like at any point that you don't want to be identified? I'm always going to be an Asian artist, just because of my physical look, too, you know. But like, like I said,

01:00:40.390 - 01:00:58.830

as a whole, I just see myself as just artist, like, no background. But physically, yes, definitely I'm an Asian artist. The thing is, like, my, my culture doesn't inspire me, like, you know, with my work. It's just what I see every day,

01:00:58.830 - 01:01:16.190

you know, things like I live and see, and the internet... things I see daily. Those are what inspires me. But being an Asian artist is definitely important. You know, because people like to categorize things for some reason,

01:01:16.610 - 01:01:31.280

you know, and people want to belong in groups, you know; and also, like, it's... as an Asian artist is important to show, especially like up-and-coming artists, you know, like, they wanted to, like, you know, be inspired with the same

01:01:32.110 - 01:01:47.340

people that they see, you know. So I try to tell my children— my kids, like, "Hey, you're different. You know, you should focus on things that you know what you're doing—

01:01:47.480 - 01:02:00.190

not what you're doing— but where you grew up." You know, like, you know, inspire— use that as inspiration. Like, everybody's different, you know; so you should not try to stick to something that you don't belong to, you know.

01:02:00.190 - 01:02:19.890

Hold on, I got lost for a second there. But I'm saying it's like, use your differences, you know, as inspiration to play for. Like, lately, like a lot of a lot of

01:02:20.270 - 01:02:38.800

my students are doing, like, BLM work, voting, you know, "Stop Asian Hate". So, as an artist, it's your job to, you know, highlight the things that are going on in the world, you know.

01:02:38.890 - 01:02:53.930

Your, your job is to record history and visually show people what's going on, especially in your own community, you know. So our kids are really doing a good job of highlighting what's going on

01:02:55.070 - 01:03:06.370

in their lives. So we try to focus on that too. What's-what's important in your background, and your family, you should definitely— if you feel like

01:03:06.440 - 01:03:25.140

you need some more light, then you should definitely use that visual tools to highlight those things in your work. And we also saw your KAWS collections. Can you tell us your relationship with KAWS in your artistic

01:03:25.300 - 01:03:41.920

creativity? So KAWS was like, my main inspiration when I started painting, because when I saw him— not saw him, like, I saw his work, I was like, "Whoa, his lines are so clean, like his paint is so perfect." So he's actually like the

01:03:42.110 - 01:03:58.400

top, the first person that made me start doing this type of work that I'm doing now, like clean lines, even paint, paint levels. It was just like, perfect, you know. So he's a main inspiration for me.

01:03:58.930 - 01:04:09.910

And then finally, I got to see his collection in the Dallas Museum up close, because I've never seen his work up close before. And it was an amazing shows, like the whole museum, you know, it has, like so many works done there.

01:04:10.800 - 01:04:24.350

And I was like, seeing his imperfections on there, like, as far as the works I like, "What?! He's not perfect!" That made me really happy, like to see imperfections, like, you know, the person that you know, that I admire.

01:04:25.500 - 01:04:37.660

But the rest of them is like, "Whoa, this is fucking mind blowing," you know? Like, "How does he do this?" Like, so I would watch YouTube videos of his, like, work. Like, he doesn't have too many of them; but sometimes he'll post

01:04:38.520 - 01:04:52.390

them. Like, just like his hands, his hands are like a robot. He will do like straight lines with a brush, and he’ll just like do this. And he's a master. So KAWS is like one of my main inspiration for sure.

01:04:52.640 - 01:05:07.340

And then after that, you know, social media blew up, and then I got exposed to like different artists. And I was like, just like a lot of artists that I would go like, "Whoa!" Like how, how, how, how? I tried to figure out how to do it, and some of them are

01:05:07.340 - 01:05:24.650

very— I don't know how to punch what they put out. You talk about this energy a lot. Can you describe it? Yes. I'm trying to focus on like, what energy though.

01:05:26.180 - 01:05:40.410

Like creative energy? Yes. So physically, the way I hang out with people is like through energy.

01:05:42.790 - 01:05:57.590

Like energies, you know, like, you know, they attract each other. And that's how my friends, my friends are like, because of energy. You know, like, if I, if I do not vibe with someone, and their energy is off, I can usually tell that totally, "Oh yeah, I don't want to

01:05:57.640 - 01:06:10.940

be around this type of energy." So like, physically, I can read energy like that. But with my work, I noticed— like I said, it's a wave— my energy is a wave. I don't know what it is, like, you

01:06:11.630 - 01:06:22.980

know how music is like wave? And I can tell what, what wave I'm on, my energy level. And that's how I usually, how I create work and focus on my art.

01:06:23.700 - 01:06:40.540

So depends on what energy level it is, where I'm at, like right now, I feel my energy levels like this— okay, it was down, 'cause of the pandemic; and now, it's like this, like this, this, in a higher slope. And it's gonna go up, it'll keep going up; and it will just like

01:06:40.660 - 01:06:52.790

crash again. There's no timeline, you know, whatever. It'll last for a couple months, sometimes a year or more. And sometimes if I'm like really low and

01:06:53.970 - 01:07:09.240

it'll last for like, six, seven months and I just won't create 'cause my energy levels like this. But I can see where my energy is, like on this wave, it's weird. So yeah, I use energy a lot, and I trust my gut feelings a lot.

01:07:09.420 - 01:07:21.300

You know, like reading things and people. So I really like to trust my, my energy radar, I guess you can say.

01:07:21.300 - 01:07:30.160

So, can you also talk about assigning values to your work because I know a lot of artists are kind of very scared of being... like labeled a price tag.

01:07:30.770 - 01:07:48.190

Yeah. So there's two ways that I, that we price art. There's a mathematical way. It's usually per square inch; or if you do murals, we'll have a per square foot pricing.

01:07:48.980 - 01:08:03.080

So it depends how big the wall is, you know, or how big the canvas is, you know, that's one way of doing things, because some collectors are like, "Oh, how much, how much is your first per square inch?" You know, depending on the size. And I was actually talking to a friend of

01:08:03.140 - 01:08:18.180

mine last night about like, pricing, too. And also feelings. Like, if you put a lot of feelings into it, and you feel like, you put so much work into it, like, you know, it doesn't really equal to the, you know, per square inch

01:08:18.500 - 01:08:27.540

method, you know, so. There's two ways, and then if you're really attached to the work, you know, that's, that's one way that I can affect, you know, pricing.

01:08:28.320 - 01:08:43.290

But usually, we'll just have like a set price in our head before we do it, you know, the mentality is like, "Okay, well, what's going to take us this much time?" It's like, "Oh, man," that was gonna have so much details, like, "I don't

01:08:43.290 - 01:08:53.670

want to do this for less than blah, blah, blah," you know. So we'll have like, a minimum price for certain pieces, because of how much work it's going to take, and how long it's going to take. So there's just different ways.

01:08:53.970 - 01:09:09.970

So either per square inch, per square foot, or, man, it's gonna take a lot of time. So feelings. So different algorithms. Yeah, exactly. And then lately, we've been like, they're selling our work. That's, I think that's why we're getting so much commission, because we're like, under

01:09:10.020 - 01:09:25.430

pricing. And me and Marjon is like, "Man, we need to raise our prices," because like, we're doing a lot of work; and like, we're just like, charging this much. You know, so I think prices will move up. Because, because there's so much work and like, everything has to be perfect, like,

01:09:25.490 - 01:09:38.960

takes so much time, you know. Like, we'll... like we’ll, average piece for us, like, two to three weeks, just to finish a piece, you know. It's a lot of time, you know, on top of like, you know, your busy lives, you know.

01:09:39.960 - 01:09:56.500

So time affects pricing as well. Like, yeah, just like, you know, majority of things: time, feeling, and per square inch. Those, those three are like, what determines how much a piece costs.

01:09:56.520 - 01:10:09.510

Also, like, another thing too, like if, if a client only has a certain amount of money, you know. And then if you're willing to work with us, like, "Yeah, we can work with that." But we'll just adjust like how much like details or

01:10:09.510 - 01:10:19.390

how much work goes into their, to their budget. So that's kind of two different ways. And the murals are usually by size— By per square foot, yeah.

01:10:19.540 - 01:10:34.830

Per square foot, and then you can determine like, how much like the material costs and that too, because like, the paints are super expensive. And sometimes you need to like rent a lift, you know, the machines that they take you up.

01:10:35.640 - 01:10:51.640

So those have to be like, you know, accounted for, for murals. Murals are a different beast. And also like a— the wall, it's like hard to get to, you know, like, the location's crazy; or if it's like textured, like you can't do like clean lines on them.

01:10:51.720 - 01:11:08.850

You know those things affect pricing as well. Yeah, find the wall, clean it, and then like paint over it just like to start over and a lot of stuff. Like you also wear so many hats like, gallery owner, collector, artist and...

01:11:09.950 - 01:11:23.850

Yeah. So I have a lot of jobs. Now I'm writing for "Visit Houston". So the cultural side of things, so, so my next article is the art car parade, and then interviewing some

01:11:23.940 - 01:11:38.740

LGBT artists next one; and then my last article is Asian cultural sites. So now I'm writing for "Visit Houston," and I teach, and then I throw events; and then I do

01:11:38.760 - 01:11:50.250

commissions. I'm trying to get like five income streams. I think I read somewhere like if, "Hey, if you want to become a millionaire, you need like five income streams." Okay. I need five income streams, because I want to

01:11:51.140 - 01:11:58.750

live somewhere nice. But because I like working. I can't just sit still, or else. I'll just be wasting my time on my

01:11:58.870 - 01:12:14.390

phone, you know, and I want to produce work. And I want to stay relevant, you know, and I want to get better, and I want to get faster. So and I want to try, you know, different careers I guess, until I'm happy with one thing.

01:12:15.620 - 01:12:29.220

I want to be a cook; I like cooking. What do you like to cook? Well, of course, I've been experiencing a lot of Asian sauces. But I like pasta a lot because like you can do a

01:12:29.240 - 01:12:43.680

lot with pasta, you know, different sauces. So sauces, like the thing I've been trying to cook more like, create more. I went to Costa Rica, and they had this like, garlic pesto sauce. Man, it was so good, you can put on

01:12:43.800 - 01:12:57.630

anything. And then when I got home and tried to Google it, like it was not even out on the internet. I was like, what's the recipe? for it Like, I want this, it was so good. Yeah, so like, breaking down ingredients, it's kind of, it's

01:12:57.660 - 01:13:13.520

kind of fun, like tasting something. "Oh, yeah, what's in here?" It's like, you know, figure out the sauce every seasoning. Like, and like, the Asian cuisine has so much sauce, like simple but yet effective.

01:13:13.550 - 01:13:24.540

You know. So I've been cooking a lot of that. Does like the flavor in food inspire you with creativity too? No, I think that's like, separate entities from me.

01:13:25.590 - 01:13:40.760

But like I said, like, if I'm like, pretty creative and one– one side, and I'll transfer my creativity to the other. So it doesn't really inspire me like, paintings. Just lifestyle. So what is art to you?

01:13:42.710 - 01:13:55.750

What's art to me? Art to me is life. Because I live it; I'm surrounded by it 24/7. It's a- it's part of my, my persona, you know, my energy.

01:13:58.490 - 01:14:13.510

If there's no art for me, then I'll probably, I’ll be a sad person. You know, it helps me mentally, physically too, you know, like, you know, trying to get better. So I live and breathe art.

01:14:13.670 - 01:14:30.110

Even, like, in fashion too, fashion’s art, I'm into like clothes sometimes when it's like, you know, not too hot, because we wear this close to the site. So yeah, everything has to be like artistic. Even like with cooking too, like, presentations,

01:14:31.540 - 01:14:47.710

you know, and plating, like, everything has to be created for me. Like, in details that I really like, highly like, its details. Like everything that, that's good in life is like,

01:14:48.120 - 01:15:04.710

you know, super detailed to me, like focused on like, the minor things. Are you open to sharing like how, like sexuality, like, inform you about your art? Sexuality, how does it inform you by art, like

01:15:07.750 - 01:15:20.250

sexual... gender? Mhm. That's a good question. I never really thought about it. Like how I connect my sexuality with art? Well, I like to be surrounded by beautiful things.

01:15:22.270 - 01:15:37.420

So I navigate towards like, I'm attracted to people that have like, unique personalities and unique looks, you know. So those are kind of people I like to be around

01:15:37.690 - 01:15:54.780

with, and they... people with like quirky things, you know, like, the imperfections are beauty to me, you know, like, it's not like a cookie cutter look that I'm looking for, like, that I’m attracted to. It's like, the personality and

01:15:55.700 - 01:16:15.520

like, not normal, you know, things on the person's like, you know, image. So those are the kind of things I'm attracted to. Things out of the norm. Yeah, since I remember, you mentioned that you're writing for the LGBTQ column, I was

01:16:15.630 - 01:16:25.110

just wondering, like, what your sexual orientation is? Oh, I'm straight. Yeah, I like women.

01:16:26.420 - 01:16:38.830

But yeah, like I, they had me like, like my next article, they have me interviewing LGBT artists. Because we try to highlight different cultural things. And you know, with the, with the

01:16:38.870 - 01:16:55.010

website, so I interviewed some of my friends, I have a lot of gay friends and they're a really talented people too. So yeah, I want to use my, my platform to help my friends as well, 'cause it's a really big thing for me. Connecting

01:16:55.010 - 01:17:11.110

people especially like, if I can help them, you know, elevate the works, personality like, you know, work and stuff like that; and just like one thing makes me happy is like helping, helping people. If I had the platform to do it, of

01:17:11.200 - 01:17:29.240

course. Why not? So what are you planning for your next five to ten years? Whoa, that's a good question. I actually want to start a business again. Either hospitality business, something

01:17:29.240 - 01:17:46.630

creative. Something unique, might not be here, maybe another place. Airbnb type maybe, but you know, something artistic, unique. Also with food. So yeah, I want to, I want to get into hospitality business.

01:17:47.350 - 01:18:01.920

But and but use my creativity to, to do that interior design too, I’m into. So yeah, that's weird, right? I want to start a hospitality business. That's like my goal.

01:18:02.000 - 01:18:20.560

I think right now. I'm sure like art is so experiential, that you can connect in a very nice way to help people experience hospitality. Yeah, so I want to sell experiences. It's what I want to do next, curate like, a nice dinner.

01:18:20.560 - 01:18:34.210

So I've been like having dinner parties here, because like, before pandemic, nobody can really go out. Just like, sell like a really good time. So hospitality and experience like, what I want to get

01:18:35.500 - 01:18:45.650

into next. Yeah, 'cause you can be super creative. You know, like, super detailed with that. And, and I like seeing people like, happy when

01:18:46.060 - 01:20:38.400

they experience new stuff, you know, and nice stuff, too, it's like, makes you feel good. This is a piece called "It Feels Like Summer," which is perfect because it does feel like summer.

01:20:38.430 - 01:20:48.400

And we designed this to, to be painted on— you know, those boxes. Those electrical boxes. So we did that design for that, but they

01:20:48.430 - 01:21:02.840

decided to do this as a mural instead. So here it goes, there's Brandy, she's a co-worker. So we decided to paint her because she “feels like summer.” And now, we are painting this in an actual, like,

01:21:02.960 - 01:21:21.480

painting for a client of ours. Isn't that amazing? So we did this for Downtown Houston. This is the project that’s in the works with our art, and

01:21:21.500 - 01:21:34.930

they took artist's work and then put them in these empty spaces, you know, to beautify the space. And I think it's working. All along on this block, there are different artists with different works on

01:21:38.190 - 01:21:58.750

their windows. And as you can tell, alright, I hid it in the artwork, but these are my— these are the COVID, the COVID virus, so they

01:21:58.780 - 01:22:12.220

all have COVID viruses, as it was made during COVID! But it goes well right? It looks like the flowers. "It Feels Like Summer."

01:22:12.320 - 01:22:22.840

And we're really into like plants and flowers. So you'll see a lot of that in our work. Plants, flowers, the galaxy and eye. That's the kind of things that inspires us.

01:22:25.690 - 01:22:45.280

A lot of the universe too, we incorporate in our work, because time stays still, you know. And we want it to be immersive experience, you know, we want to, we want to sell experience. So

01:22:45.280 - 01:22:57.520

now we're actually painting Brandy's son. Well we just finished it for U of H, Sugarland, by the— about the diversity. So we painted her and now we're, we painted her son.

01:22:58.740 - 01:23:10.470

So both of them are gonna be in this giant mural. They're putting this same thing, this giant mural in Sugarland like the way they did this, of her son Grant. So both of them gonna be in a mural.

01:23:10.530 - 01:23:28.470

Isn't that crazy? Kind of fun. And yeah, this is "Feels like Summer." You'll see like, in our next mural, you will see kind of like the same style, we'll see like stripes, like there's different stripes in

01:23:28.900 - 01:23:41.380

circles. And you'll see, one talking about with the time and space, with the universe. So that's the next mural we're going to go see. This is my first time seeing this up close.

01:23:41.400 - 01:23:53.440

It's been here for a year. I’m lagging, lagging. Can you talk about why Houston needs murals? Why Houston need murals?

01:23:55.130 - 01:24:11.900

So when I travel, what I like about different cities is the public arts, you know. It's a, it's a very good attraction, and it invites people to like, you know, come over and, and see, see that, see the

01:24:11.900 - 01:24:22.340

city, you know. I think it's a seed to anything. So when you start seeing murals everywhere, it's like a seed that growing; and that means that the community is growing too.

01:24:22.540 - 01:24:32.140

So that's what I like about public works, because it's free. A lot of people can access it. And it beautifies the city. And also it brings in attraction.

01:24:33.870 - 01:24:42.060

So that's what I love about murals. And it's like the sheer of them too, it's like, so, so much talent and work have, you know, been put

01:24:42.060 - 01:24:53.580

into these things. Like sometimes I don't even know how they do it. I was like, "Wow, this is very, very good art." So I appreciate public art. Well this thing is all digital.

01:24:53.740 - 01:25:04.930

So we're working on it through Photoshop. So about a week because they wanted some things changed. It has to be site-specific, make sure it goes on like perfectly, you know, on this.

01:25:05.700 - 01:25:16.230

It’s mostly like get digital work. But we're actually painting this. So that painting is taking like, a month already, like hand-painted, same image for a client.

01:25:17.250 - 01:25:36.460

Yeah so digitally about a week, and an actual painting about a month. There are three letters of our last name. So "Dandee", and then "Marjon,"

01:25:41.370 - 01:26:02.660

so that's what we're called "Deejon."

01:26:03.110 - 01:26:28.420

I just remembered. I have another art piece to show you. It's here in downtown. I hope it's still there. So we can go there next. Yeah, so like the best part for me like creating public works is like engaging with

01:26:28.420 - 01:26:41.900

the people, with the audience, you know, the combined, talked to me and asked me, you know, what I'm doing, like the progress, like inspiration, and just, them simply just watching, you know. So that's why they hired us for like to

01:26:42.120 - 01:26:50.620

engage with the people that go into the building. I met a lot of people. Okay, let's see, it's here. Hopefully, it's still there. Well, look into the window.

01:26:51.030 - 01:27:01.820

Please, please, please, please, please, please... Oh, it's gone. Okay, so this is the Pennzoil building. What's really unique about this place, is that because it's the shape of a

01:27:01.820 - 01:27:18.170

pyramid, can you see that? Yeah. So um, so our inspiration was to paint pyramids inside the pyramid. And it's actually one of my favorite work because we don't really do sculptures like, you know, like I said.

01:27:21.220 - 01:27:37.400

That was in the lobby. And what's cool about it is there are chairs with wheels. So we want people to to use the art, you know, as a immersive experience. So people could sit on it and like move around and like

01:27:37.400 - 01:27:51.500

have conversation with their friends; but people were so scared to touch it, because they thought it was just like art piece, like nobody would sit on them, you know. So yeah, but nobody uses it. And then we did this, like a puzzle that was in there,

01:27:51.590 - 01:28:03.760

you can switch around at different colors. We did one side, black and white, and the rest, you know, the, the certain colors that people can switch around. So our whole thing was like engaging with the audience, you know, so we wanted people

01:28:03.760 - 01:28:14.800

to play with our art; but they were scared to touch it because they thought it was the art piece. You know, this is what's sucky about it. Can you talk about, like you said, people will come up to you and talk about the

01:28:14.800 - 01:28:24.610

process, what...? Yeah. So. Yes, but these people are like engineers, right, you know, and like architects, so they're really interested in like, design process, and like, how we made everything.

01:28:25.030 - 01:28:38.260

So, yeah, I love talking to them, especially people not in the art scene, like, just, you know, people that are not artists, they're just like, in awe, like what we're doing. So conversation wise is fun, because you get to meet new people,

01:28:38.820 - 01:28:46.360

and share your ideas. And then, you know, ask them what they think, what they love about it, you know, how they make them feel. And I think that's a

01:28:46.360 - 01:29:06.130

big part of, you know, looking at art, just to see, like, you know, people's thoughts and how it makes them feel. Okay, I'm going to, I'm going to start going to the other mural, this whole year project, right with our

01:29:06.130 - 01:29:20.160

magazine, and Neiman Marcus. So we shot the models in like expensive clothes, like like Gucci and stuff like that. So we, we posed them, right, and then after we got the photos that we liked, then we painted them, right.

01:29:20.200 - 01:29:30.190

And that took about eight months to paint because it was like, big paintings, you know, like a collection of them, like I think eight of them.

01:29:30.190 - 01:29:44.640

And then once the paintings were done, we invited this, the models, again to take photos with the painting, with the clothes that we painted them on, and posed them like super, super artistic, you know, in poses.

01:29:45.140 - 01:30:03.770

And then once those photos were done, it ended up, it ended up in a cover of the magazine with like, like a whole, like spread of the actual project. So this whole thing was like, eight months, nine months in the making, just

01:30:03.770 - 01:30:18.510

for this project. And those were some of our best work because we were so inspired to paint and like, be creative, and especially integrating fashion too, with the modern look of— with our style with the paintings.

01:30:18.510 - 01:30:31.230

It went so well together. How did that idea come to you? Um, so this is one of the first time me and Marjon, we're like, like collaborating, like full-time. And her

01:30:31.230 - 01:30:47.680

sister, she's a— Marcy, she's a, she's a stylist, right? So she was like, "Hey, we should work on a project together, and, and paint these girls in these cool clothes," you know. And that's basically what, how it happened, and the

01:30:47.680 - 01:30:57.940

magazine was interested in it. And after that Neiman Marcus threw us an art show at the Neiman Marcus. It was like super bougie. I'm like, "Oh man, I like this shit.

01:30:57.970 - 01:31:13.250

I'm into this." So that was like one of the biggest projects that we did together. All right, we're almost there. And the girl, the image of this mural that we're about to

01:31:13.250 - 01:31:28.910

go, is one of the models that, that we shot for that project. She was such a perfect model, like she knew how to, how to pose, you know, how her, show her looks and everything.

01:31:29.470 - 01:31:44.400

We're like, you want to paint you. So we did multiple paintings of her. And now she has a mural of herself. So once we find like a subject that's really good, and we, we

01:31:44.400 - 01:31:59.080

take advantage of it and use it for multiple projects, you know? Can you talk a little bit about how social media came to be very helpful with your art? Yes, um, social media has introduced me to different

01:31:59.880 - 01:32:13.020

styles and different artists. So I get my inspiration from that. And also it's helped my career as selling paintings too, because like most of my clients, I'd say majority of

01:32:13.020 - 01:32:24.820

my clients are from social media. They'll just send me messages and like, you know, want a piece from me or send me projects and...

01:32:24.950 - 01:32:36.790

We're here. She's still there! Yay! I know, and this, this is what me and Marjon. ... local beer. I'll show you what the building is.

01:32:37.370 - 01:32:45.880

Super nice. I've thrown shows there too. So they let me use space to throw art shows. Because they have a big food hall, right there, St. Arnold's Brewing Company.

01:32:45.880 - 01:32:56.970

It's such a good building. You'll see these giant like— I don't even know what, how to say— these giant like tins or what, what they make the beer, you can do a tour there.

01:32:57.730 - 01:33:15.780

And there's a restaurant they have one of the best patios in town you see, like downtown. So it's like a restaurant, brewery, event space. And this is their— this building's their storage for the beer. So they hired all these artists to, you know, make it look nice.

01:33:16.990 - 01:33:29.410

This is what a mural festival that was here. That's Ana Maria. So all these people you see are friends of mine. Cool. Did you find them for the brewery or...?

01:33:30.680 - 01:33:41.210

Yeah, so I helped curate the show. So I found some of the artists to paint in the festival. And of course I asked my friends. Ana Maria this is... Well, I know him as Brian,

01:33:44.960 - 01:34:04.570

but his name is Shreddie. And then that's, that's Black. Black did that. And the other one is me and Marjons'. You know what's crazy?

01:34:05.550 - 01:34:19.330

It's our first mural together. Yeah. This is the model I told you about, that we shot for Neiman Marcus. So we used her for multiple projects because she was like such a good like, you know, muse.

01:34:19.550 - 01:34:33.100

She looked perfect in like photos and paintings. So we used her a lot. Her name is Tori. Now she's this big model in New York, like she's really blown up.

01:34:34.360 - 01:34:47.510

You see this figure? That's my War'Haus sticker. So um, so I'm happy this thing is still here. You know, then because most murals don't last long.

01:34:47.940 - 01:35:23.990

Hello, old friend. We are doing a mural tour for Rice University with Ann. And yeah, so we're really inspired by you know, the universe, time and patterns and surrealism. And Marjon's like really interested in like feminists,

01:35:24.760 - 01:35:41.580

feminine subjectivity, things like that. That's why she paints a lot of women. And yeah, she's, it’s her first time painting a portrait on the wall. So it's really like, you know, challenging for her.

01:35:41.730 - 01:35:56.460

But she did a good job. So did you work at the same time, or separately? Yeah. We come here on weekends. I chose this space because it was so high that we had shade here on time. So that's why I chose this area.

01:35:57.250 - 01:36:09.440

We come here in the weekends and after work. And we didn't have a lift. So the ladder— that's the highest I could go with a ladder. So that's why I couldn't get high like him, because he had the

01:36:09.520 - 01:36:15.920

machine that goes up in that. But we just had the ladder. And also I'm scared of heights. So I didn't want to go too high.

01:36:19.420 - 01:36:36.570

So that's the highest I can paint with a ladder. It's pretty high. And it was a learning curve for me, because

01:36:36.590 - 01:36:50.040

we don't really do a lot of murals. So this whole building is covered with artists; this is St. Arnold's. Who would know like this place has held so much art?

01:36:50.060 - 01:37:08.290

Yeah, like it goes around too! It was so fun because everybody's just like painting at the same time. The energy was good. Everybody’s having fun.

01:37:08.310 - 01:37:26.920

People that just come and just say hi to us. So look, all over. The whole building is covered. That's Jessica Rice. And

01:37:28.440 - 01:37:37.620

then they brought in artists from different places. I think he's from South America. He was just like dripping paint from the top. It was like so messy. Because he was just like,

01:37:38.320 - 01:37:54.330

throwing buckets of paint on there. So this is the "You" mural festival, which we've been part of. So hopefully they come back, come back to the

01:37:56.980 - 01:38:13.300

town again. I kind of miss painting murals. How does it differ from painting...? It's so much different. Just because of the size and like, everything is like, large, you know?

01:38:13.700 - 01:38:28.260

It's very challenging, but I like challenges, and I like problem solving. So that's, that's why I like doing murals. Uh, Royal. Yes. Where are these artists come from?

01:38:28.260 - 01:38:37.630

Do you — All these local except for her. She's from Miami. So they bring in different artists, you know, from different places. And he was from South America.

01:38:37.810 - 01:38:50.760

But the rest of them are Houston artists. Yeah. What ethnicity are they? Lee, she's Black. Royal's Filipino. I think she's a,

01:38:50.820 - 01:39:09.720

she's White. And South American. And I think she's White too. Jessica Rice, she's awesome. I love her style like her.

01:39:10.140 - 01:39:23.220

It's all just like comes from our head. It has a little bit like, the, do you remember "Spirited Away," the movie. There's like there’s the gigantic monster with multiple feets and hands.

01:39:23.840 - 01:39:48.420

Yeah, I love her work. I kind of miss doing mural festivals. He's an actor... I can't think of his name

01:39:51.950 - 01:40:31.950

right now. But he's a famous actor. We're about to get COVID test.

01:40:32.000 - 01:40:46.580

This is so funny. This is the new normal. Okay. Urgh. I hate this.