PONO

Growing up working on west Texas and New Mexico cattle ranches, Pono began to shape his themes and characters from the legends and people of the southwest landscape. His work is best described as “Neo-Western”.

Painting with a strong graphic style and bold colors, Pono creates anthropomorphic characters that seem to be in the midst of overcoming struggle or adversity, which leaves the viewer to interpret the message or quest as their very own.

I guess what really inspired me was seeing other people doing it. It resonated with me because I think art is like music—it’s universal. Anywhere in the world, you can hear music, and people can all converge on the idea of, “Yeah, I like this song.” It’s the same thing with visual art. It’s coded, it’s symbolic, and it has different meanings. It can be interpreted in so many ways.
At some point, I figured out that I had something to say, and I grabbed the closest thing to me to figure out how to say it. That’s what I’m doing now.

Art can be a very isolating experience. Any kind of art you create alone can feel that way. It’s rewarding, of course, because the process itself is why you do it, but sometimes you work for days without really talking to anyone. That’s why it’s important to make a habit of being social. Especially now, given where we are as a society, it’s easy for anyone to become isolated, not just artists. People spend all day online or playing video games. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you have to practice getting out of your comfort zone. The comfort zone will comfort you until it kills you. You need to make your heart race a little, get some adrenaline, and find a healthy way to release it. For me, the biggest thing has been realizing that you need time with others. You need to build solid relationships and real friendships. It’s rewarding for everyone involved, being there for others and letting them be there for you. That matters.

Stick with what you start.