Today we’d like to introduce you to Clarione Gutierrez.
Clarione, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I remember discovering I could draw when I was seven years old. Our class took a field trip to the San Diego Zoo, and when we returned to class, our teacher gave us paper and asked us to draw our favorite animal at the zoo. I ended up doing seven drawings, and each one seemed to be a little bit more skilled than your average second-grader. Since then, art has been my reputation. I loved cartooning, gaining inspiration from Disney movies and comic books.
Throughout school, people would ask me to draw them pictures for their binders or book covers, and I would create flyers and banners for school events. I was also the cartoonist for my high school newspaper. In my senior year of high school, I was fortunate enough to get a job as a caricature artist for a company called Kaman’s Art Shoppes and drew caricatures at Sea World. This is probably where the majority of my “professional” training as an illustrator came from.
Getting to draw various types of faces every day and working with some of the most talented artists in the country was the best hands-on training I could get (while getting paid)! However, I ended up getting my degree in Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. Though I tried to establish a career in fashion design, I found myself navigating back to my true passion – art. I continued to develop my skills as an illustrator and then learned other disciplines like graphic design and painting.
In 2011, I started working with some friends at the San Diego Zoo performing as a live speed painter. We would create a painting on stage, with music and dancing, right before your eyes in a matter of minutes. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of performing for various events and companies across the country. My most memorable performance was in 2014 where I was asked to perform with the Broadway cast of “The Lion King” for an annual fundraiser called, “Gypsy of the Year,” benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Today, I continue to perform the show and am privately commissioned for my illustration, painting, and graphic design work.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There is a stigma associated with choosing art as a profession, and it is perpetuated because it is NOT easy. Just because you are talented does not mean you can easily succeed in turning it into a business. Not only does it take a lot of work, it also requires a thick skin. Being a professional artist takes a lot of drive and discipline, and you have to be okay with rejection. Not everyone is going to like your stuff, and someone will always have an opinion.
This is what I think a lot of artists struggle with and keeps them from showing off their work. I went through a ton of criticism and rejection to get me to where I am today. You have to go through it and take it for what it’s worth. I learned so much about myself in those situations and used it to make myself a better artist. Even now, I still won’t make every client happy, but that is okay.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the clarione art+design story. Tell us more about the business.
I provide a broad scope of art services, but I am mainly contracted for painting, illustration, graphic design, and my live speed painting show. The thing I get commissioned for the most are pet portraits.
People love their dogs (including me) and will definitely get a portrait painted of their fur baby. My illustrations have evolved from caricatures to a more stylized character illustration, combining a bit of fashion and sass into each character’s design. Though every now and then, I’ll still get asked to draw caricatures at a corporate event or birthday party. I’ve also created logos and flyers for several organizations and companies.
I also love to help my community with my art, whether it’s through donating my services to design a logo, create a mural, teach classes, or even donate pieces to auctions that help raise a lot of money. There is nothing more rewarding than making someone’s day better by sharing my art with them (and it’s something that hardly takes any time away from me).
The project I am proudest of is an award-winning LGBT themed children’s book I created with my friend, Tyler Curry, called “A Peacock Among Pigeons.” It’s about a peacock named Peter who grew up with a flock of pigeons and learns a valuable lesson in loving the feathers he lives in. Tyler wrote the story, and I illustrated it, and together, we’ve been able to spread this message of diversity and acceptance to kids all over the world.
The book is currently being adapted into a musical and is co-produced by the Gay Men’s Choruses of San Diego and Boston.
I think what sets me apart as an artist is my confidence, an outgoing personality, and an ability to connect with my audience. I’ve been told I’m relatable, which is great because I don’t want to come off stuffy or unapproachable. I also come from a strong customer service background so making sure my clients are happy is very important to me. With so many talented artists to choose from, I need to make sure they made the right decision.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I firmly believe that things happen when they are supposed to. I’ve wondered how different things would have been if I started doing this 15 years ago. I wouldn’t have succeeded because back then, I didn’t have the knowledge and experience I have today.
Not everything amazing will happen when you want it. And great things happen to you all the time, but usually, you’re not ready for it or aware they are happening. But that doesn’t mean you should stop working. Because when the stars align, and you’re prepared, you’ll be at the right place at the right time.
However, I will credit the time when my career “took off” was in 2013 when I performed for a fundraiser thrown by my friend, Big Mike Phillips. I actually donated my performance because he’s an amazing guy who’s done so much for our community.
Little did I know that so many key players in our community were attending the event and I ended up getting a lot of calls after that evening. Would I call it luck? No. But I think when you start doing good things and putting good energy out there, that energy gravitates back, and good things start happening to you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.clarione.com
- Email: clarionegutierrez@gmail.com
- Instagram: @clarione
- Facebook: facebook.com/byclarione
- Twitter: @clarione
- Other: youtube.com/clarione
Image Credit:
Tyler Curry, Chris Bogard, Michael Lawrence, Tim King
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