Alex was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City. Alex’s mother an artist herself was his first inspiration. Alex recalls, “She had an amazing photographic memory”. She would sketch us while we were outside playing. Once we got home, she would continue to draw the scene exactly as it was played out, recalls Alex. I would beg her to show me how she did it, and she would let me sketch in the corner of the drawing pad.
In Alex’s first inspirational HS art class with Ms. Marantz he learned foundational techniques such as properly rendering figures and creating portraits. “One of the most important techniques I learned was to turn an image upside down to see if it was balanced and in proportion. It was amazing.” The other positive influence at that time resulted from visiting Records N Stuff during lunch where local graffiti artist Seen worked. Alex began to emulate Seen’s style of graffiti, tagging, and airbrushing tee shirts.
Alex continued to develop his passion and talent for art and enrolled into a college program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in textile design, studied Architectural Drafting at the Manhattan Technical Institute, and worked with 11 other artists at the Unique Boutique in the Village. The storefront had a window where Alex could “perform” for passersby as he engaged in his artwork. He created airbrush designs on clothing for music industry celebrities such as New Kids on the Block, Vanilla Ice, KRS 1, Special Ed, George Lamond, and Joey Kid just to name a few. Alex’s reputation resulted in commissioned works for NYU fraternities, storefronts, portraits, and murals. Alex also learned the projected grid technique used by renowned photorealist artists such as Chuck Close and Ralph Goings. Alex has described this period as the best time of his life.
Some time passed and Alex found himself working odd jobs and only creating artwork in his spare time. He decided that a change was necessary and relocated to Central Florida, to pursue a new direction. Eventually Alex decided he needed more education to advance his artistic and professional goals so he enrolled in the International Academy of Design and Technology. In 2003 he graduated with honors and an Associate’s degree in Computer Graphics and in 2012 he attained his BA in Web Development.
Today, Alex is skilled in graphic design, web design, photography, drawing, painting, and he creates pieces in the photorealism and abstract styles. Utilizing inspiration from loved ones, mentors, and artists such as Dali, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Alberto Vargas and Boris Vallejo, Edson Campos, Alex has developed a style all his own. Alex finds himself on the forefront of the contemporary scene, ready to breakout and make his name known.
