The Art of Evolution Featuring Sen2 Figueroa | The Open Palette Podcast | Episode 11

What does it take to evolve as an artist without losing the foundation that made you who you are?

In this episode of The Open Palette Podcast, host Brian Camacho sits down with legendary artist Sen2 (Sentu Figueroa) for a powerful conversation about artistic growth, cultural identity, style, and longevity. From his roots in Puerto Rico and the Bronx graffiti movement to exhibiting work in galleries and museums around the world, Sen2 has built a career that spans decades while remaining true to the culture that shaped him.

Together, they explore the importance of developing a unique visual language, preserving authenticity in an ever-changing art world, and the discipline required to sustain a creative career over time. Sen2 shares insights on how artists can continue to evolve, embrace new opportunities, and expand their practice without abandoning the values and experiences that define their work.

This episode is a masterclass on growth, consistency, identity, and the lifelong journey of becoming an artist.

Topics Covered:
• The evolution of style and artistic identity
• Growing from graffiti to galleries and museums
• Staying connected to your roots while expanding your career
• The importance of consistency and discipline
• Cultural representation through art
• Building a lasting legacy as an artist
• Developing a visual language that stands the test of time
• The future of graffiti and contemporary art

About Sen2:
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Bronx, Sen2 is an internationally recognized artist whose career began in the New York City graffiti movement. His signature style, vibrant color palettes, and dynamic compositions have earned him recognition across the globe through murals, exhibitions, public art projects, and fine art installations. Throughout his career, Sen2 has remained committed to honoring the culture, community, and artistic traditions that continue to influence his work today.

🎨 About The Open Palette Podcast

The Open Palette Podcast is where art, culture, and community come together through real conversations. Hosted by Brian Camacho, each episode features artists, creatives, cultural leaders, and changemakers sharing their stories, experiences, and perspectives on the role art plays in shaping our world.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Life is the canvas we paint. Yeah. Opening the dialogue, removing the barriers and restraint. Uh-huh. It's the open palette, insight, access, and the human story. Mode. The palette is open. Open now.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Welcome back to the Open Palette Podcast, where art, culture, and community come together through real conversations. I'm your host, Brian Camacho, and this episode here is brought to you in partnership with the Museum of Graffiti's Artist Studios. For those tuned in, please make sure to like, comment, share, and subscribe. Do appreciate all the love and support here at the Open Palette Podcast. So let's get right to it. Now, throughout this season, we've explored the many dimensions of graffiti culture from style, identity, and artistic evolution to conversations and preservation, legacy and the beauty of impermanence. Each artist we've sat down with has offered a unique perspective on what it means to create, contribute, and leave a mark. Today's guest brings many of those conversations full circle. From his roots in Puerto Rico and the Bronx, New York, to galleries, murals, and exhibitions around the world, he has built a career defined not by trend, but by consistency. His work has evolved, his canvases have expanded, and his audience has grown. Yet his artistic voice remains the same, and Cultural Foundation has stayed the line and the course to remain the artist that he is today. In a world that consistently encourages artists to reinvent themselves, his journey reminds us of the power of staying true to who you are. Please join me in welcoming artists, muralists and graffiti legend sent to the Open Pilot Podcast.

SPEAKER_05 1:54

I feel like hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

That's beautiful, that's great to hear.

SPEAKER_05 2:24

My name is Sandra Luis Figueira Garcia, I'm in Centro Medico, Río Piedra, but I'm a barrio que se llama bonito, se llama Cantera Santuce, Puerto Rico. And I'm a niña super incredible in Puerto Rico. Everything's beautiful. And let me tell you something. Sempre agradezco a mi tierra, pero siempre me gustaba vacaciones in New York City. And Lois I was at the Bronx. And I've seen the culture of graffiti, but not because at that time I don't speak in English. So everybody was funny with me. I said, one day, you know, one day I want to speak in English, you want to see the Puerto Rican, you want to like stand up, you know what I mean? And gracious, but it's not so fascinating. It's a battery that today continues.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

That's what's up. That's great to hear. And for sure, it's definitely continuing as you've been putting out amazing works year after year. Consistency has been the key to your success. Let's speak to that and give the people the understanding because it's like, yeah, they they see the work that you've been putting out, but they don't understand the process that it takes for this work to be presented to the world at this level.

SPEAKER_05 3:32

It's completely different. When you paint graffiti, you you got the root and graffiti you paint in the street, doing a sketch, you know, going to the wall, doing the filling, everything, but you don't got that kind of pressure on what you got in the galleries. Like you need to go to the studio, every money, cut the material, prepay the canvas, think what you want to do, what collection you want to do, and what's the public girl? The people's really emotional. And you can connect with my collector, with the gentleman who follows me, because you're the Caribe and color. And you can try this Puerto Rico put it inside the pigment of my course. So what you see right here now.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

That's great. That's what's up. It's definitely speaking very loud, very vibrant, as you said. These colors are pop and they stand out. But you are rooted in graffiti and it's the culture that you represent. I want to speak to the importance of staying the course and you know, not segueing and going into different directions where at times, you know, artists see what's new, what's hot, and they want to follow the trend. You've been an artist that has stayed the course and been true to your style, to your culture. I want to speak to that.

SPEAKER_05 4:56

The old yeah, doing it the canvas. And people sometimes confuse, oh, you know paint graffiti no more. That's abstract. Oh, you know paint graffiti, that's pop art. Yeah, but inside that it's like where you mix rice and beams, uh, you tu has a sopa and met sazon, adobo, all the those, como te digo, tu haces todo una conexión. Una conexión, es lo mismo. Lo que pasa es que graffiti está como a little bit fade out, pero tú lo ves in my pieza. Tu ves los taggers que yo les llamo extrays because transparency. Different.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

And not only is it that you they're painting, see if you're in the studio, haciendo los canvas, dando la alta para la gente para ver, pero it's bigger than that. It's building collections, it's building a storyline and understanding the process of that. Can we speak to that? Because a lot of artists just see the idea of I can put my art on the canvas, I can sell it, I can make money.

SPEAKER_05 6:01

But it's not easy like that. It's not. Exactly. I never stopped graffiti, but while me doing like, okay, I want to paint less industry graffiti pieces and I want to do more like galleries. When you have a commitment, when galleries, when collectors and Instagram tuyo should be this, you can discipline. Prime, you don't have to have the trabajo or work on paper. Your papel is very sensitive, it's a mujer. You can prepare it, get dry, put a madera in the city, put a waist for it flat. And the same process when you pinta. Terminas de pint, it's the new process. Put the madera in the case, then put the waist for that perfect. Depends on what class of colors you use. I'm mixing a lot of colors. You so I'm a person who all my collections you have one, two, three, five, cinco amarillo, cinco azules, cinco red. Other collections, you think the red is the same color as the other one, but it's different, because I don't have to calibrate it. You mean okay? And that one is already and one mezcla colors, and one pinta, one apprentices and more and more, because one of the gentlemen se equivocate and it's so. But when you start doing galeries, you film with galeries, that you start with murals grand, you will see the 100% because the gente sight, you can guard the respect to those person.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Yeah, that's for sure. Definitely gotta build those collections, definitely gotta speak to the people if you want to keep growing as an artist and building that space for yourself to be able to thrive and live well.

SPEAKER_05 8:04

Cool, find a studio.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

See, with it.

SPEAKER_05 8:06

Oh, it wasn't even gonna say listen, nothing I can say you're doing in your house. It's like, it's not the same.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

It's not.

SPEAKER_05 8:11

The house you drop something, your wife's gonna say, oh, yo, yo, yeah. So, and you don't want to have your house to smell like pain or all that kind of thing. And while you find a studio, you need no, you know every month you need to pay rent. Yeah. So he gives you like, okay, it's not the same what the people say. So you're not selling pieces while you want to pay the rent.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Right.

SPEAKER_05 8:33

It's a little bit like listen, it's como una montaña rusa, esto va a ir bien. But it's nice, you know why? Because you appreciate like you discipline yourself. I never expect I want to do and want me doing it now. And so far, I'm super excited, super happy, man. And everybody see me right now when me walk, yo, I like what you're doing. Oh my god, the colors, oh my god, this collection. And the people paying attention. That's the that's the thing.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

That's important. That's great. With the work that you've been putting out, what is your ultimate goal and the message you want people to perceive when standing there and appreciating your artwork?

SPEAKER_05 9:24

First, graphities, graffiti is un vandalism, like the gentleman sort of like graphite is vandalism, yeah, I'm cansado of this. Grafiti is already.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Exacto.

SPEAKER_05 10:05

And I live, te digo, a conocer different parties del mundo, Francia, Alemania, veo collectores that me dicen one of the one apprentices.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

That's great. You're taking a little bit from everywhere and just putting that all together and what you're saying.

SPEAKER_05 10:36

Listen, sometimes the people don't like my work. Sometimes they say, ah, I don't know that. Ah, you look like this one, you look like this. But if you teasera llevar de toda la gente lo que te dices, tú te vuelves loco.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 10:46

You better believe what you do. You better push hard what you do. And that's it. And lose, aloud.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Yeah, for sure. Block it out. Stay positive, keep focused, stay the course.

SPEAKER_05 10:58

And working, man. And and listen, in esta vida, you don't expect like you don't work, you don't expect the people who want to follow you, the people want to buy something for you. I got collectors that right now follow me for 10 years. He said, I want to buy the piece for you right now. He said, Why now? Because you're disciplined, you consistent in doing it. Imagine I buy the piece costs you $20,000, and the next day you disappear.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Right.

SPEAKER_05 11:22

But the gente va a decir, no vale la pena. Because the gente que collecta de verdad sabe dónde tú vas. Of course. So you appreciate much, much question that you know, the biography, the CV, to the page, that's what you ve, lo que la gente ve, lo que tu has todos los años, and this is a poco.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 11:46

I said, you so fast like that, you gotta kind of prices.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

You gotta build your accolades, you know, my prices you know, sube 1% all the time.

SPEAKER_05 11:59

Like the the last time I said to Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, my price, me vendí tres at Bill Clinton. Wow, that's so my precious va subir un poco más.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Exactamente.

SPEAKER_05 12:09

Hice my solo show in New York City, which when you have a solo show, un solo show that I vendí in School, Miami. And eso es lo que te va subiendo a poco. No, que si un cuadro mío vale this year like $5,000, and the next year costs $20,000, no like that.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:29

People don't confuse.

SPEAKER_03 12:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:31

People think it's oh, listen, okay, you selling one painting today for $30,000.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

You gotta learn who your collector is. I tell people that all the time. You go, you want everybody to buy your work, but if you want to understand the value of art, the trade-offs, and how that can align with your work, know who you're selling to.

SPEAKER_05 12:55

The real collector hope you in question de and you buy the piece for me. Right. Okay, I got cent two pieces.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

Right.

SPEAKER_05 13:03

So what my piece wanna got more value? I want to put cent two and a museum.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 13:08

I want to put cent two and the secondary marketing. So you want the guy here wanna like win-win, you know, and you want to want to lose.

SPEAKER_02 13:23

You start getting chao de la arte mía, papi.

SPEAKER_05 13:26

Listen, every time somebody buys a piece for you, you got money for pay rent, pay bills, pay materials. Because let me tell you something. And you're doing 100% art, it's like you make $20,000, you put $20,000 hang out, and no, $10,000 straight to buy canvas, buy acrylic, and acrylic is really all the equipment you want, you need in that studio. Right now, I got a lot in my studio. Because you're disciplined. You don't quiero que pedirle a nadie prestado. No, I got my own thing. So, and you have a discipline, tengo una collección de collectores, pero no quiero fallarla a ninguno. So nobody's perfect, you know. One time, you know, you're doing something wrong, but you're fixing.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

I want to speak to this uh and bring up a story of a good friend of ours and a friend of the show, Don Rymex, um, brought to me at one point.

SPEAKER_05 14:22

Don Rymex is one of the best artists from Puerto Rico, man. That's right. This little I call him little kids, no little kids no more. A man in the bus in Puerto Rico, man, this much is. I fell in this canal with him, because this can be a counter. In Passig, the years passing, and a year I did Don Raimer, but I don't know. And Don Raimer was famous, but it's a Chama who is a very good person, who is good, with his family and I because it's more bize to me to continue doing it. You say, wow, this much is happy and what I've done, but I'm motiving me. Because not because you're old school, you are more than him. They equivoc a lot of ways. No, the right to learn, and he said, I appreciate things of them, and you learn those, and I learned a lot of things by hand. So what happened in this game right now is the artist sometimes is really arrogant. Oh no, yo, I'm the old school, you need you know, you need respect me. It's not like that, man. You need to respect the new school, the old school.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Each one teach one.

SPEAKER_05 15:40

Look what don't ride, lo que Celso from Puerto Rico, esos chamacos, bro, yo quiero mucho. Some gente que you recuerda you have a bienn't in Venezuela, but I didn't have the piece of Celso. Because for me, it's a wow, it's like I went crazy. I know this guy, man. And every guy every time teaching me, like, see, every time we went, we abreat and te digo that's what we motivate and you continue doing it better.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

That's what so that's amazing. Big shout out to all the Puerto Rican artists out there.

SPEAKER_05 16:18

Perdona because it's too many names. Puerto Rico right now is like, ooh. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Claro, claro. Lo único malo que a mí no me invita a me dicen que yo soy Rican. Oye, Ale, ¿qué pasa?

SPEAKER_03 16:36

Ale, te estamos llamando, ¿qué pasa?

SPEAKER_05 16:39

Ale buena gente, Ale tiene una galería ahora.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

Buena gente, sí.

SPEAKER_05 16:44

Está bien, siempre que me ves Sandro México, you, you, you, you the best. Pero tú me invitas un momento tuyo.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Pero tengo que hacer, no, no. So love, my brother. Pero así es, y de lo que Don Reims, lo que quería hablar es de lo que me estaba diciendo también, la disciplina. Don Reynolds me dijo que si quieres pintar con Send Two, Babi, tiene que estar hecho bien. El día que empezamos es el día que terminamos.

SPEAKER_05 17:10

You know what? When I was down in TAT, Task Crew era un grupo que yo entré, yo lo que hacía era when I started working with this guy on YouTube. Buff the wall, and those people showed me a lot of discipline and told me, listen, you paint when I was graffiti, you know finish, te pasamos el rollo. I said, why? Because respect you though. So until I dije a Raymond, Reemy, tu pintas conmigo, and you're not finished, yo te lo borro. But so far painting together, he terminated.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Whether it's finished or not, he's gonna say it's so good.

SPEAKER_05 17:46

Right now, paint graffiti is hang out, you know what I mean? For sure. I love hanging out, I love talking to my friend, drinking, but you wanna go drunk? You let me know. But I stay with my family.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

Right.

SPEAKER_05 18:01

So I don't got I don't want to lose the day with my family, but hang out with you, only drinking, and I'm finished painting bigger than you, and when I want to take a picture of you, half. And that pissed me out. That's like, ah, and and and me, I don't know. And and my time and me sister, it's not for me gonna wow. I respect everyone, but respect me, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 18:23

For sure. So time and time and energy is very important, so you must respect people's time and energy for sure.

SPEAKER_05 18:28

It's beautiful what you do in production, everybody finishes taking pictures, and you go like, yo, New York's in the house, but you you finish and nobody finishes. And you feel like, come on, bro.

SPEAKER_03 18:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:40

See, yo, I think I you paint every week, and I'm finished before you. That's why I've been a lot of painting a lot of hoax right now from Brooklyn.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Big shout outs to hoax.

SPEAKER_05 18:51

These guys, this means that's for sure. It's rapid.

SPEAKER_03 19:00

Nice.

SPEAKER_05 19:04

I'm 57, you know what I mean? I respect a lot of my friends, I respect la cultura y eso es importante.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Yeah, for sure. Definitely is, man. Definitely very important for representing the gente, su culture.

SPEAKER_05 19:27

Listen, connecting when people's debate. And I telling all the artists, listen, if you do art, you need to learn to talk. Telling you explain to collectors, listen, I'm doing this for this, for this, for this. Collectors, he wanna see why you paint that.

SPEAKER_02 19:42

They're buying into you and your story.

SPEAKER_05 19:44

Yeah, some artists are really like quiet, no man. And you know, listen, yo tuve que aprender a hablar de mi artista. Yo una vez hablaba solo cuando estaba in Bronx and my studio, I caminaba. Hablaba solo con microphones grabando yo mismo. Because I want I want to talk, I wanna say like the right thing. Oh, I'm from Puerto Rico, you know, from my barrio back in the days, going to the lagoon all in San Dulce, and las casitas are azul and yellow, that's what happened. I bring all that kind of flavor and put it in my work. I want that piece.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

Yep. Because they just found the connection.

SPEAKER_05 20:20

Yeah, found the connection. And the the one of the things I learned a lot, the collectors is oh, you're from San Dulce. How you know? The real collector is going to Google and see who's sent to who this guy. And uh and I respect that. Because the guy can compare the verdict. That's right. Because it's an inversion. People confuse sometimes. Listen, you put $20,000, $30,000, no, easy and hard. Right now, with the problem with the economy and the plan right now, the vendor, the artist. But if you want to sell the show, doing it right. A lot of people, oh man, I'm not selling and doing it. Listen, you know why? Because you don't have this discipline. You don't see me in New York City doing a lot of group shows. One, it's like, no me invitan. I don't know why in New York. No me invitan.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

Yeah, but you said it like everybody's calling, papi, como si te están buscando.

SPEAKER_05 21:13

No, no, no me invitan because I don't know. O es que tienen miedo for una pieza a los míos, no, I don't know, in New York, in Bellam Bell, when I get out to all that kind of thing, the crew, that kind of thing, mucha gente me dio la espalda, mucha gente me dejó ando, anda, todo el mundo lo va a oír. But my carrera, I he show you solo. Solo. You would say that I should say yo, solito, solito, solito, solito. I ayudar Europeans, see, much Europeans ayudding. Prime I audited TAT, TAT me dio the money and I carry and I agree. I remember there, he passed away, was at the bakery. As I conocted, I did my show. Depois Nash Loveletter said, What are you here, I'm here. And one that I asked much is the most perfectista of Puerto Rico Eliselle Pagan Ski. He enseigned me the technique that I see and never say to me like yo sen, you're good. Yo Saint, you're doing right. Because the ski is really quiet because I was called. So one said, No, you had a problem with skiing, but I don't discute with this. So Eliselle Pagan and Record with Omar. But I connected a ski, connected to Bexi KC, connected to Blen, a lot of the gentlemen, and I was about to culture Puerto Rico and Perfect. Because the meal was to pin, I was the pintable of those. I'm the worst. I was a people who met the punt, no, this is 500. But come to fashion, if he queried cobra 100, no, 500, some punch droga dinero. Yeah. So it's the other who pintava de todo. I remember that Recall back in the days. He was doing the letter for me. And I said, no, doing like this, like this, like this. Yeah, I feel like you find it.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

He was a teacher.

SPEAKER_05 23:22

So one day I said, you know what? One day I want it doing good. You wanna see me, bro? You wanna see the polymer doing good? And so far, you know.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

That's for sure.

SPEAKER_05 23:37

In this time, you don't know my discipline was pintoping, fa, fa, fa, fa. You said, oh, you're famous.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

Nah, yeah, you gotta learn.

SPEAKER_05 23:46

But listen, but I mean no means to say that you're the gentleman, no, listen, you're the other of those. But soy uno de los buenos de Puerto Rico. That's a fact. Y no soy el mejor, but I'm one of the buenos of Puerto Rico. Some times, uh, this guy is New York.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

Cabrones are de cantera, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_05 24:11

But I'm dead buena, the back in the days in Puerto Rico, Ricky Flavor, Aguadilla, Blen, and the gente in Cagua, uh, Bexica. I've got mucha gente in Puerto Rico.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

No, claro. I want to give a big shout out to Rick One as well. He's out there in Kasimi doing a lot of great work.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

Big shout out to Rick.

SPEAKER_05 24:52

But let me tell you something, I learned a lot, man. But I think I think thank you to God to like put me in in that line and teaching me. And what me said before the New York City, nobody helped me in New York, man. No sé qué pasa conmigo, no me invitan a los group shows, pero no me gusta tampoco because if you hago 100%, I don't want somebody putting close to me doing 20%. And a lot of people in New York, let me tell you something, brush me and opportunity.

SPEAKER_02 25:33

I'm going to Europe. And that's a great point because at times where people get afraid to say no. You know, there's a lot of people who feel that the need to force their way and you know continuously just be placed in the mix of everything that's going on.

SPEAKER_05 25:46

And that's the best decision. People tell me no.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

Of course.

SPEAKER_05 25:48

Well, you're telling no, I'm one human being because it's like a hustling motherfucker. Yeah. Are you saying no to me? Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:56

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 25:56

And I'm going deep.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 25:58

And right now, I'm going really deep.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

It's about learning the value.

SPEAKER_05 26:03

But it's the truth.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Right.

SPEAKER_05 26:05

A lot of people told me no. A lot of people give me a space. A lot of people told me, oh, you want to disappear soon. Uh-huh. I remember when we got the bakery. I got a lot of friends in the bakery. The store is like, whoa, one of the tiendas más cabrones. Definitely. Ah, go to doing a job or doing something. I said, no, dude, I want to do hard. People me miraba. Can mean me pintando canvas, the graffiti canvas, every time it's Wayne. And Wayne by me miraba, I said, what you doing? I'm doing canvas. I sent it to European people for $300, $400. When I started doing the maps, I vendi a loss.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

The train maps, the MTA maps.

SPEAKER_05 26:44

Have a page that se llama Flick.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh Flickr.

SPEAKER_05 26:48

Flickr.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

Yes, Flickr.

SPEAKER_05 26:49

You vendia los maps and $200, $300, me pay for PayPal. And I went, wait, I think it's the dinero. I come to the straight section, give me to the map for free.

SPEAKER_01 27:00

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 27:00

Lo pintaron y lo vendian.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

And the funny part is the train station was right on the corner. Big shout out to the bakery.

SPEAKER_05 27:07

And that lady.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 27:09

I bring a t-shirt, I bring it up. Don't worry, he gave me 20. And let me tell you something.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

That was a two in the five line, right? Yeah. Whole avenue, right? Yeah. Yeah, I know. I remember that.

SPEAKER_05 27:28

I said, man, fuck that. I don't do that no more. And parent. If you doing in Canvas, and when I'm shutting down the store, I don't know what me wanna do. And I did a depression, you know what I mean? Like, whoa, what I want to do now, I got family. I said, you know what? Me reinventé. Did you say? And no, the ojos that you had for my mamma. My mom. She's my mom, you mean my mom because my papa desapareció desde joven, and my mamma nos crió sola with my padrast, which quiero mucho that my padrasty and my papa. My papa lo conozco and I have relation with it yet, but in verdict my papa desapareció. But my mamma in the supermercado, the tienda. And the opposite, the labios, why are you going like that? And I molestaba. And I got with it, and you're the opposite when I was saying the evolution of the transmission like graffiti con la gallery. You did, no pure mostly graffiti because the gallery doesn't want that.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

Finding balance.

SPEAKER_05 28:53

One in the mix of something, empezed, and let me tell you something.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Took off.

SPEAKER_05 29:00

I don't care. I started selling, selling, selling, selling, selling. And so far, um professional, haciendo better and better and better. So what me do now?

SPEAKER_02 29:11

That's what it's all about, man. That's what's saying.

SPEAKER_05 29:12

Yeah, but people sometimes talk a lot, you don't know what's behind that thing. So it's a lot. Listen, I remember I got 25 cents, I don't got 50 cents for coffee back in the days in my studio. Sometimes I sit down, sometimes you're not crying. Like, then I don't have money, I don't sell any nothing. You got pignating and graffiti, but in the R situation, like in Galeria, you know nobody. That's a fact. Again, I say, What? I want to start it again. Are you crazy?

SPEAKER_02 29:44

There's something that I tell people all the time. I'm like, listen, in life, you can level up, but understand when you've reached that next step, you're at the bottom again. You have to build back up to get to the next phase. You need to learn and appreciate every step along the way because none of this is given overnight. None of this is earned overnight. You may win the lottery, but that don't mean that you earned the the will, the understanding, and the realities of what it takes to put the work in day in and day out. You've been speaking of discipline. Discipline is the key to it all. Stay in the course, staying true to yourself, and remaining positive through it all. There's a lot of people who are gonna tell you, yo, you should do this, yo, you should do that. Oh, this is the new hot thing. Follow this lane or follow that lane. You can try it. No, we're not saying that to try it, but be true to yourself. Remain the artist that you are through and through.

SPEAKER_05 30:41

Listen, and it's hard because you need when we started doing like contemporary or like yeah, galleria. You llamada a un amigo in Puerto Rico, si no tuviera muerto, lo quiero mucho, uno de los artistas más que Puerto Rico. Imagine that you I fly to Puerto Rico, my son went to school in Puerto Rico, our school in the central siempre decía, no diga quién es tu papá. You say, my father sent two, but you know, you don't want everybody wanna go crazy with you, ah, I want to pay my father, I want to pay your father. But my hijo entrenado por aquí anda fora. Ah, my papa is sent two. But if I conocted a pon 18 and I conocted a son.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 31:31

I said, oh no, I'm not gonna go to the kid, no. So my hair said, my papa is fully. And I conocted a Pon and Son who i was at the school. And I recuered that Pon and Son empezed a pint with ellos, and I said, One day I'm Europa. You let me know. He said, No, but you need to talk to my mama. And I fell with my mamma and I live to Europa.

SPEAKER_02 31:57

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 32:00

And let me tell you something. Ese muchachito is evolution. Empezó the galería before me. When I started this game, I tell you, Pun, ¿cómo se hace esto? It's simple, Sandra, no te puedes tirar photos más nada así. Then you can see my series. Then you can cambiate your name. No send two, send to fieroa. I said, What? I said, Yeah, you started again. I said, come on, listen, listen to me. Tienes que hacer un CV, yo no sé qué carajo. No, ¿qué es el C V? Un CV es lo que tú vas poniendo lo que haces todos los años, tu biografía.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Pon attention to what I'm diching up for aprending.

SPEAKER_05 32:38

Claro, tu biografía andar en una página web. Yo dije, madre mía, esto es más difficile que el carajo, porque me iba a hacer una página web. ¿Cómo me iba a hacer lo del CV? Y él me enseñó a mí. André, le doy un millón de gracias. Y yo quiero los respeto. Y me rompió mucho el alma cuando se fue porque yo siempre le decía, quédate conmigo. Y aquí hay mejores hospitales. Pero las personas que me han ayudado están en el cielo, bro. Yo siempre he dicho que yo tengo ángeles que siguen conmigo y me llevan en el track. Because yo de arte no sabía nada, yo no sabía quién carajo era Picasso. La gente configuraba Picasso. La gente de Picasso era Picasso, porque tú lo ves, lo oyes en el tiempo.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

Claro.

SPEAKER_05 33:17

Ah, que si fulano es tal, que si Diego. Dicen, yo no sabía darte nada. Yo soy de graffiti. Pero qué pasa? The evolution he put me like going to museum, going reading, you know, who this guy who like that I learn a lot.

SPEAKER_02 33:33

That's usually.

SPEAKER_05 33:47

My goal is like better museum, better galleries, queue secure King's two, que es un muchacho que salió de San Juan, Puerto Rico, Río Piedra Cantera, Bookie Dambron, pasó mucho. Everybody's doing like that to me. A lot of people like no let me shining. But the final delivery, it's donde uno quiere llegar. No es donde la gente quiere llegar. Y yo quise llegar donde yo estoy. Y todavía estoy ahí. No estoy acá arriba. Because you vote, little by little, cuando los aviones no te taken poco a poco. Hay mucha gente que están aquí y se le suba, oh, you know who I'm. I don't like the famous thing. The gente, yo me acuerdo que a día le dije a un señor, ah, you know, I'm famous. I don't care how famous you can pay rent all the time.

SPEAKER_03 34:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 34:35

And my mama me decía, no, tú eres Android Figueira García, hijo mío, eso es send too, eso es para la gente in the city. In my casa, you need to votar la basura, you can't.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

So that's a good thing. You must humble yourself.

SPEAKER_05 34:50

Yeah. Listen, oh, but you need to say nice with people.

unknown 34:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:57

You need to see kind with the people. Like talk to the people, respect people, got time for doing the black book, got time for taking picture with the people. I see sometimes some people, oh yo, doing my black book. Oh, I don't got time now. I said, come on, dude. Don't like it.

SPEAKER_02 35:11

Yeah. Connect with your people, man. Connect with the people that are supporting you. Reach out.

SPEAKER_05 35:19

Then you have a races coming and teaching, like, listen, doing like this, listen like this. You don't quit everybody in my studio because you don't ever want to work. But everybody people stop me. Send too, what you doing that doing this and this and this. Oh, don't tell it. There's no reason to be gatekeeping. People know what's golden. People know what liquid they are. Yeah. Well, you want to say no. Come on, dude.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

Yeah, we can bring everybody to the water, man.

SPEAKER_05 35:46

Oh man. There's no problem here. To me, it's no problem. Listen, God give you something, and and and and you know use it.

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Yeah, you waste the space and a waste of time. Honestly speaking, what are we here for? The purpose that we are here for is to build, grow, and help each other be living in a happy, sustainable space. There's no need for negative energy to be spewed all day, every day. We do understand that that's what sells, and unfortunately, that's what people are chasing after. But that's not the way, man. You must stay positive, keep focused. Don't allow that negative energy to seep into your cipher. I know I say that a lot, and that's a model that I live by, but it is very important. You you see it here today with a living testament right here. A legendary artist who's been dedicated to the craft day in and day out, putting in the focus and the time and the energy that is needed. So for those that are tuning in, definitely take that into consideration. It is very important to state the course and do everything that you need to do to align yourself up. Because at the end of the day, this is not for nobody but you, yourself, the individual that stands in front of that canvas, day in and day out, giving the collectors and the viewers the opportunity to feel connected and appreciated through the work that we're putting out here.

SPEAKER_05 37:03

Every time I see, Mira, I'm gonna explain something to you really easy. You know the Flintstone, the picapier?

SPEAKER_02 37:13

For sure.

SPEAKER_05 37:15

But you soon Flintstone avanzado.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 37:28

So a la vida no puedes tener miedo. But if you caí, para de nuevo, that's it, it's simple. It's really easy. Do you?

SPEAKER_02 37:56

That's it. That's right.

SPEAKER_05 37:57

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 37:58

You just gotta support the ideas and whatever they they want. You can't force nobody to do nothing.

SPEAKER_05 38:02

No, my mom did not force. My mom did, listen, siempre cuando te metes a droga, you respect the gentleman, I don't care. Mamma's like, fuffy, why do you dare duro? Waiting like one o'clock in the morning, but let me tell you something. I'm telling thank you because 57 años, gracias a Dios, disciplinado, terminé la school, but I would have been there. But gracias a Dios logré. A lot of people are trying it doing it. Okay, listen, it's hard, but it's not difficult. It's like you believe what you do and move forward and working hard and respect yourself and respect the other one. And that's it. Show to people what you got.

SPEAKER_02 38:56

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 38:56

People got talent, no show. No, I don't want people to see that. People want to copy my style. Listen, dude. Everybody got something but somebody.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 39:08

Listen, tu siempre coges algo de algo, lo adapta a tu manera.

SPEAKER_02 39:11

There's influence everywhere.

SPEAKER_05 39:12

Yeah, man. People sometimes confuse, bro. It's like me say, ah, tu te parece, okay, good for loads me parasites.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

You're doing something right. You're doing something.

SPEAKER_05 39:22

Yeah, doing something right. And so far, listen, I'll pay the bills.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

Let's pay, that's right. The lights are on here, that's what matters.

SPEAKER_05 39:28

I got 17 years in arte contemporaneous. 17, 18 years with the rent. So doing it right. Balance, people find balance. Listen and don't forget where you're coming from. That's a fact.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 39:59

You ten loss in the tier, punti se acabo.

SPEAKER_02 40:03

That's what's so. Look at look at where we are today, man. This is what it's all about. You put the time, you put the energy, the effort, and the dedication. You can have a space just like this, too. I'm not here to sell you nothing. I'm just here to enlighten you guys, man. So thank you for tuning in here today. We appreciate your time here. Before we go, let's talk to the people, tell them where they can connect with you, where they're able to find your merch just like this amazing shirt that I got on here today, and of course, to be able to collect some of these amazing artworks.com.

SPEAKER_05 40:40

Coming soon. Stay tuned. Uh Instagram. I want to post I think I got new uh print uh pop art pieces. And um I'm right here in Stanford, Connecticut. Before I'm from but I still for the Boogie Dam for life. But today in Stanford, uh, you know, Academy Studio. It's not like you come and hang out in studio, you want to buy something, you come in summer store. You wanna hang out, stay over there. And that's it. Peace and love, man. Thank you, and send two for the Boogie and Bron, Connecticut right now. And graffiti forever, man. Thank you, man. Much of respecto, bro.

SPEAKER_02 41:15

Thank you once again for all y'all that are tuning in. Thank you. We'll be right back next time. Peace.