Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Don Yoshimura.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
As a child, I was very close to my aunt Lydia who loved to draw. She had these drawings she did of glamorous actresses from the golden age of Hollywood. I was obsessed with them. I’d always ask her to show me them again and again. She began to show me how to draw around the age of 9. When I got into high school, I took art as my elective and I had an amazing art teacher named Lee Samuels. He was from the Grossmont area of San Diego and was very dedicated to not only teaching us about art but also about life. A very inspiring man. I still talk to him to this day. After high school, I began hanging around some very well known tattoo artists. I picked their brains and learned how to draw from them and hoped to secure a tattoo apprenticeship. I fell in love with my tattoo friend that was teaching me, and at that point, I had to come to terms with the fact that I am a gay man. It destroyed our friendship and my spirit. I stopped drawing for a long time. While working a corporate job, I was harassed for being gay and was eventually fired after I complained about it. My passion for art bubbled up inside of me again, and I began searching for artists that I could relate to. My search landed me at the Tom of Finland house in Los Angeles. There I met an illustrator and muralist named Miguel Angel Reyes who is also from the San Diego area. He inspired me to celebrate being gay through art. It really is where my art is evolving towards these days. After having very negative homophobic experiences and feeling like a misfit, I love celebrating who I am through art. I enjoy sharing it with men and women that identify as LGBT and those that love and support our community.
Please tell us about your art.
I enjoy drawing. I enjoy using graphite and colored pencils. I am learning how to paint, but I am not very comfortable with it yet. I am someone who has felt discriminated and ostracized for being gay from various jobs and opportunities. I felt bad for being who I am. I always had a hard time deciding what my subject matter would be and what I wanted to say with my Work. I’m still developing my work and my message but over the past few years I’ve really embraced who I am, and I decided what better way to do that is by making LGBT art. Through art, I hope I can continue to grow as a person and as an artist and inspire and influence anyone who has ever been made to feel bad for being who they are.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
I could use some advice on this haha. I have a full-time job in the corporate world, and I make art for fun in my free time. I don’t do it for the money. I do it because it’s apart of my soul and who I am as a person.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
If any art people are out there, I’m interested in doing gallery shows and branching out. I also do commission Work.
The best way to contact me is through my email yoshimura620@hotmail.com.
Anyone interested in my story and my work can follow me on Instagram @EricYoshi.
I am working on creating more artwork that will be available for purchase and on my big cartel account ericdonyoshi.bigcartel.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: Ericdonyoshi.bigcartel.com
- Email: yoshimura620@hotmail.com
- Instagram: Ericyoshi
- Facebook: Facebook.com/yoshimura25
Image Credit:
Eric Don Yoshimura
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