Donald Yatomi: 0:00

I mean, don't stop. That's what I tell my kids all the time, just don't stop. It's like, and right now they're trying to figure it out. You know, they're, they're in their 20s. They want to be an artist. I said, Yeah, I don't. I don't have an answer for you right now, but it'll come. It just comes. But don't stop what you're doing.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:19

Welcome to the BoldBrush show, where we believe that fortune favors bold brush. My name is Laura Arango Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others who are in careers tied to the art world, in order to hear their advice and insights. For today's episode, we interviewed Donald yatomi, a multi faceted artist whose journey from graphic design to illustration to concept art and fine art exemplifies creative resilience and passion. His advice to aspiring artists centers on carrying a sketchbook everywhere, capturing fleeting ideas and never stopping one's artistic pursuit. Donald emphasizes the critical importance of networking, highlighting that success often depends more on who you know than what you know. He candidly shares insights about handling rejection, noting that sometimes a rejection says more about a viewer's limitations than the artist's talent. Throughout his career, from working at DreamWorks to creating album covers for metal bands, Donald has demonstrated the value of diversifying artistic skills and income streams. His most profound wisdom lies in understanding that artistic success isn't just about money, but about maintaining creative freedom and continuously pursuing what you love. Finally, Donald tells us about his upcoming solo exhibition at frame of reference art gallery in Whitefish, Montana on August 7, welcome Donald to the BoldBrush show. How are you today?

Donald Yatomi: 1:48

Good. Thanks for having me. Laura, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:50

Thank you for being here. I'm really excited to talk to you, because you have such an extensive background in illustration, working with you know, DreamWorks, Sony and all these amazing things, but also your work is so beautiful. I love the feeling of the rooms that you paint and the feeling of the places that you paint, because they're very they have a nostalgic air to them. I don't know why. There's just something in them that I can look at them and just feel like, wow, yeah, yeah, like my childhood.

Donald Yatomi: 2:23

Thank you so much. I don't know, of course, I don't, I'm, I'm flattered, and I'm glad you feel that way. And to hear those words, it's always nice, but, man, at the end of the day, my ice, I'm still trying to figure it out. You know, as a painter, it's like, but yeah, as far as the nostalgia thing, I've gotten that compliment a lot. And I don't know if it's because of my age and I'm drawn to more of the nostalgic spaces or what. I don't realize that I'm just drawn to these spaces, especially laundromats. Laundromats is something I grew up with. So, yeah, I like, I take, I like, going to those spaces and doing sketches. But anyways, thank you. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 3:15

of course, you're welcome. And yeah, laundromats, I feel like a lot of a lot of people have experienced laundromats. And just, there's something about the smell, the sounds, the colors, and then I see them in your paintings, of course. And like, I'm there, you know, it really pulls me back there again. I feel like I'm holding a coin in my hand and I'm waiting for my laundry. Yeah, yeah,

Donald Yatomi: 3:40

yeah, you know, there's, there's a lot of, well, I mean, of course, you know, growing up, I spent a lot of time in laundromats because we didn't have washer and dryer, because I grew up poor and all that. Right, so, so I was drawn to laundromats because it was really, really familiar to me. But as an artist, yeah, as as you get educated and you learn the skills to paint and to draw, suddenly you're in this space, a laundromat that you want to connect with. And it's the artistically. It's the boringest space in the world, right? It's monochromatic. There's repetitive shapes like those, the circles and every machine is all in line, and so it's it's boring. But I remember the first laundromat I tried on painting, I just said to myself, That's my challenge. That's the challenge to try to take a boring space and try to make it, try to connect with a viewer, or try to make it romantic at the least. You know what is romantic in my eyes, right? To try to capture the sound and the memories that I had when I was a kid. But, yeah, the. First, first laundromat I did was in Santa Monica. Think it was on the corner of Oceanside and 23rd that's, that's where I used to take my our laundry when I first got married. And yeah, I did a, I did an on location oil painting in there, and awesome. I mean, you know, it turned out okay. And ever since then, I just kept on doing laundromats. I think I've done so many already. They all seem to sell. I don't know who's buying them, but it sells.

Laura Arango Baier: 5:41

I guess it's someone who really also loves the nostalgic feeling of a laundromat. I mean, it's a vibe, it's vibe. But yeah, I wanted to ask you, too, if you mind telling us a little bit more about you know who you are, and what else do you do besides fitting laundromats?

Donald Yatomi: 5:57

Okay? Well, going back, I grew up in Hawaii. I went to the University of Hawaii. I remember back then, you know, I didn't I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I didn't know how to be an artist. So one of the things that they would say was like, Well, why don't you get into graphic design? So I majored in graphic design first, and I remember that first semester, I was like, I hate this. I hate what is this? Typography, studying typography and letter placement and, you know, big, abstract shapes. So I went to the counselor, and I said, I don't I don't think I'm like this. What else do you have for me? He says, he goes, What do you like to do? And I said, I like to draw and I paint. And he says, Well, why don't you just switch over to the fine art department and you can paint and draw all you want. So anyways, so I switched over. Long story short, I graduated with a painting degree a BFA in University of Hawaii. So that's how it all started, um, but then again, I was faced with another challenge. You know, after I got out of University of Hawaii, I had this BFA in my hand. I'm like, What do I do now? You know? And you know, they don't, they don't teach you how to do the gallery circuit or how to how to make a living. It's a university. They just teach you the classical theories and such, but you don't, it's not a commercial oriented school. So that's, that's when I said to myself, you know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try to go, go to art center. Art Center was the school I've always wanted to go, and I applied there for a master's degree because I already had a BFA, right? I got a master apply for a master's degree, degree, and they rejected me. They're like, I think you'll really benefit from our illustration program. Why don't you, why don't you do our bachelor program first, and then you can get into masters, like what, I already have a bachelor. I don't want to do another batch. Well, anyways, I wanted to go so badly that I said, Okay, I'll do a BFA program. So I got into the illustration program way back in 93 and then was great. Well, you know, it was, it was hard, though. Was one of the hardest things I've ever done, Art Center. It was kind of traumatizing sometimes. But man, you you learn a lot within a span of three years, and you get connected with the most amazing people. So in that sense, I have absolutely no, no regrets. I mean, in fact, I still, I still keep in touch with a lot of them, you know. And a lot of them gave me jobs, you know. So they all went into the entertainment industry and such, and, yeah, I think that's all I got for now,

Laura Arango Baier: 9:08

yeah, well, more will come up, because I'm also very curious about, you know, because you, you did some concept art as well. And of course, with illustration, I was also curious, because now, of course, you do fine art, and that's what you've always loved, from what you've mentioned, how has your process that you've noticed? So that you can think of, how has your process been affected by your your knowledge in concept art and illustration?

Donald Yatomi: 9:40

Let's see, definitely helped out a lot because, you know, Art Center teaches you the fundamentals, you know, the for the real formal issues, down to basics. They start you off with that, and they drill, drill it into you. So you learn, you basically learn about color theory, and you. Yeah, and even the harder stuff, like, you know, there's, there's so much figure drawing classes back then, so we had to understand the human anatomy. And then one of the harder classes that was required for us to take, I think it was, I think, I think it was my fourth or third term. There's eight terms altogether, third or fourth term, they require you to take perspective so you are they teach you three point perspective and how to plot it on paper, things like that. So learning, learning all those things by hand, definitely helped, because by the time I got out of Art Center, Photoshop started kicking in big time with the entertainment industry, right? So Photoshop was, was replacing a lot of the traditional artists in the entertainment field. And I think, I think some of them, I mean, a lot of us, kind of resisted, you know, oh, I forgot to tell you. Right out of our Art Center. I went to work for DreamWorks. So I was I got lucky that there, I worked on Prince of Egypt and wrote to El Dorado as a background painter. So that was fun. That was a that was a cool way to start my

Laura Arango Baier: 11:16

career. I'm gonna fan girl a little bit. I love those movies. Oh yeah, yes, those are some of my top favorites from my childhood.

Donald Yatomi: 11:25

Yeah, it was, it was fun. And, man, you just learn a lot. You know how? You know, sometimes they teach you things in school, and it does you don't really understand or get the purpose of it. For instance, Art Center teaches you a lot of doing preliminaries before you do the final painting, both both in sketches and studies, gray tone studies and color keys. But I remember as a student, I was like, what is all this? Why is this so necessary? I want, just want. I just want to go straight to my painting. You know, it's like all the appetizers before dinner. You know, it's like, what is this? I just want to eat dinner. Well, when you get into the industry, it is. You can see how, why it's so important to do all these preliminary so I learned a lot. Again, it was redundant stuff, but DreamWorks, a lot of the preliminaries and color key requirements came back and came back into play to get to the final painting. So yeah, where am I getting at, yeah, did I answer your question?

Laura Arango Baier: 12:42

Um, in part. I mean, do do you personally do those preliminaries for your, your fine art work, or do you, did you abandon doing preliminaries altogether?

Donald Yatomi: 12:50

Oh, no, no. Nowadays, I actually do a lot of these preliminaries. Yeah, I do on location like, especially my, my, my urban paintings. You know, I do a lot of on location sketches, both with markers and paper. I don't know if people still use that. I should bring out my markers. Oh,

Laura Arango Baier: 13:13

like the Prismacolor markers, or, like, those are really great. What also, like the Copic markers, yeah. Sort of style, nice, yeah.

Donald Yatomi: 13:25

So I do a lot of preliminary studies on location. If I have time, um, usually, usually if I just want to see basic shapes and, uh, sequential reads, I'll just do Copic markers. But a lot of times I'm doing, I have my iPad with me, and I'm doing on location sketches using procreate. So do you? Do you ever use procreate?

Laura Arango Baier: 13:52

I have never used procreate, but I did see some of like your your digital work, and I think it's also really

Donald Yatomi: 13:59

cool. Oh, oh, thanks, thanks. So I'll do those things, and I'll also take a lot of photos. So it's like, so I'm combining a lot of things I'm doing. I'm trying to capture the colors with my digital paintings. I'm trying to do the basic composition sketches with my Copic markers. And then I'll take a lot of photos, just in case I miss a lot of details. And so bring all of that together and bring it back into the studio and just start on hopefully make a successful, larger painting out of it. Yeah, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 14:36

And then in terms of the I guess I would want to also know in terms of the composition, right? Because, as my, one of my instructors used to say, reality is boring. Do you ever play around with, like, the colors and like, kind of, like, push them around a bit, or, like, change them up a bit for composition?

Donald Yatomi: 14:59

Yeah. Yeah, you know, in Okay, so in the 80s, I was highly, highly influenced by photo realism, so I did a lot of studies on the photorealistic movement out of New York, right? The Don Eddie's, the chuck closes. So those guys, I remember doing my final thesis at the University of Hawaii, it was based on photorealism. So I did a lot of photorealistic paintings. And, you know, the emphasis of photorealism was to capture the camera. You know, as a young person, I always thought like, oh my gosh, that looks like. That looks so realistic. And if you're looking at a photo realistic painting, it's, it looks so realistic. And you're, you're convincing yourself that that's reality. But photo realism was all about what the camera sees and not what the human eye sees, right? And so it was more of the discipline of matching paint to the to what the camera captures and you're putting on Canvas. So I started off like that and doing a lot of photo graph copies, you know? So, so, so you get you get trained, and you get good at capturing what the camera does. But nowadays, it's I do. I combine a lot of things. So I do, like I said, I do the photograph. I do studies for myself, but I what I experience when I'm painting, I'm, I'm fighting against four things. And I wrote this, Dave, you start to realize that you're, you're fighting against what you see, right? And there's, there's an eye, eyeball curvature that we're fighting against, right? Because when we're looking at a space, we're like, Okay, I'm going to capture that. But even if you're standing still with your your neck not moving, as soon as you move your eyeball, the cone of vision changes, right? So when, when you shift your cone of vision, everything that you looked at straight ahead starts curving out, and you don't, you don't even realize that, right? So you're fighting against that. And then when you're taking pictures, you're fighting against the camera, because the camera has its own field of vision, and it takes out a lot of the value steps. Sorry, I'm getting really technical, but, um, yes, so the camera breaks down a lot of the value steps, steps that you see in in real life, and you lose it on on the whatever you take pictures, whenever you take pictures, and then you're also fighting against what you're trying to understand. So there's a static there's a static fundamental that we have to put down on paper. And so that's the perspective. Like three you're trying to implement the three point perspective of what you see in life and putting it on canvas. But remember, you're fighting against what you remembered seeing and also what the camera is saying the photograph. So while I'm fighting all of that, I'm also fighting against what I what you said earlier, about, like, Yeah, real life is boring, so you try to make up stuff, you know? So, yeah, on my canvas, sometimes I do a lot of cheats. I ignore things on the photograph, or, you know, that not turn painting, for example, right there. I remember when I was doing those studies, there was nobody standing outside. I'm like, Oh, it needs a person standing here. So I didn't capture it in my color study, and I didn't capture in my photograph, so I had to kind of type in on Google. I'm like, person standing outside in the dark, you know? And then sometimes I'll do that, I'll grab photos and just put it in there. So, yeah, I'm doing, I'm doing all those things, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 19:32

oh, that's, that's really cool. And it's very, it's very true, you know, you have all of these things that could potentially be working against creating a good image, right? Which is why it's so important, first of all, to paint from life as much as possible, because I feel like that's the way to directly attack any distortions we might naturally have. Like, for example, in my case, I know I have a tendency, like, when I would paint the model or draw the model, I had a tendency to make my model thicker than they were, mm. Um, a bit like, bulkier. And since I know I have that tendency, right, I would like overshoot, the the thinness, and then, because I have the tendency to pull back into, like, the thickness, it would end up just landing in the right spot, overshoot, um, but what's really cool is I like that you mentioned the the the fight with also, like, that cone of vision that we have, because I think that's the biggest challenge of any artist, is when you look at an object, right? Or like, when I'm looking at you right, everything around your image is blurry to me, like it's not directly, yeah, in perfect, crispy sort of view, right? Which is why I think a lot of the old paintings by the old masters are also very successful, because they take into account like the point of interest, right? That that the point of where the artist wants the person to look at. And usually, if it's a portrait, obviously it's the face of the sitter. And then the secondary point of interest might be the hands, and then everything else, still really well painted, but it isn't the primary point of interest, so it tends to just be like painted in such a way where it's not bothersome to the eye, but at the same time, if you look at it directly, it won't be boring either, right? It's, it's a very delicate and difficult balance, yeah?

Donald Yatomi: 21:19

And I, I think, I think you knit, you hit the nail on the head. I mean, that's where the artist comes in, right? You can use all these tools. You can use a sketchbook, you can use the iPad, you can use the camera, you can use all these tools. But the end of the day, it's like, okay, what do you want to put on the canvas? It's not, it's not, it's not these things that you use. It's It's you. It's like, What's What do you want to capture? Where do you want the field of the focal point to be? I forgot to mention to you what what the camera does and doesn't do that you reminded me what the camera doesn't do as you take pictures for references, that is that it doesn't capture the real time atmospheric distortion, right? So when you take a picture of a foggy space, like a road with a foggy background, sure it'll capture the fog and and define all the descending or ascending value steps towards the camera. Sure, it'll do that, but it doesn't capture the real time distortion. So when you're actually there, you see so much more, and things are moving right in the air. And that's why so important for me. Anyways, because I've I'm done with the photorealistic thing that I did in the 80s is to capture the that noise. It's the visual noise that that the camera doesn't see. It'll, it'll do static stuff, but it won't do the real time stuff. So it's kind of hard to explain. And along with that, you're you're also experiencing the quietness, right? Or the noise, or the movements, you know, everything kind of comes together, and you're like, Okay, how do I capture that, using all of these tools and putting it on the canvas? So that's why it's important to use them. Use both the camera and the your yourself, you know, being there yourself, so that you really get to know your subject matter, whether it's a figure or or an environment.

Laura Arango Baier: 23:38

Yeah, yeah. And I think you definitely do it successfully, because, again, like to bring it back to the laundromats. Like, I see your painting of a laundromat, and I can, I can feel like I'm in there, in like, the sense of, like the feeling that humidity inside of the laundromat from all the machines going, you know, or even just like the sounds, the colors, there's just something very specific about it. And I like that you mentioned. Like that you mentioned, you know, the like, a foggy sort of road, if you've experienced it, right? You know that fog isn't just one perfect thing, right? You'll have like, kind of like sheets of it and like little clouds of it that move around. So you might get, like, a peaking of something that comes into focus a little bit better in the back, but then that cloud goes through, and then it exposes another part. So it's, it's really interesting to try to capture, of course, life, right? Something that isn't static. And I think that's one of the it's like, yeah, it's beneficial to use photographs, especially in if you're capturing a pose, or something that just isn't easy to hold for too long. But of course, there's a caveat of, like, well, it's useful, but it's limiting. It's just a tool. Like, it shouldn't be the the end, right? It's a means to the end. It's a something we use. Yeah,

Donald Yatomi: 24:57

I mean, it could be the end for. Are some who like doing that. That's really fine. Not for me. It's just, you know, it's kind of like what you said earlier about like, Yeah, real life is boring. Sometimes you make it, make it a little bit more, push it a little bit more. I also wanted to point out too, and I'm not a figure guy, I'm not a I'm not a huge I mean, at Art Center, we were required to draw the figure and paint the figure like extensively. But I'm, you know, that's not my my topic of choice. But you probably would understand even when you look at the figure, religious human form, if you if you took a photograph of the model, and you try to paint from the photo, sure the accuracy is there, sure the proportions are there, sure the likeness is there, but you're not going to catch from the camera unless you See it, see the model in real life, are all the how your eye translate, how a surface moves backwards, right? All that stuff, and also the material of the face, whether it's greasy or or there's blemishes, things like that, that the camera just like, just abstracts out. Another thing that the camera cannot capture with the human form is, like, the changing temperature, you know, with our with our skin, like you don't even realize that we're like, there's like blood moving in, this just changing the actual color of the skin, and even the water or the moisture, or whatever, whatever, whatever else is going like I said, I'm not an expert, but, but when I remember, when we're we're doing the live model extensively at Art Center, it's like, you're looking at your painting. I'm like, well, that's not what I saw half an hour ago. You know? It's because the person is changing or moving or whatever.

Laura Arango Baier: 27:02

So, yeah, I definitely relate to that. Like at one of the studios where we did a lot of our figures, we had a skylight. But of course, you know, if it's sunny outside or if it's cloudy, despite it being a skylight that you know, it comes at an angle, and the light does it the best can right to be as equal as possible. It doesn't, you know, it would change the colors on my model so much sometimes that, like even my instructor, once they would come for critique, they'd be like, I don't see any of that. I'm like, I promise it was there 10 minutes ago. If you look at their leg, I promise it was a lot more orange, like, 10 minutes ago. So I would try, like, that's the other challenge. Like, okay, well, now that I've done it this way, I'm going to try to wait until, like, I see that it's cloudy again, and that indirect light really helps bring out the natural colors of this person. So it's easier to continue. Because you know, there comes a point where it's like, I don't want to take these out, because they actually look really beautiful. And human bodies are actually much more colorful, yeah, sometimes than we would think, like, there's these beautiful lilacs in some people's face, or, like, these beautiful grayish greens, or these gorgeous yellows, like, there's just so much more in there. And the camera, like you said, just absolutely cannot catch that. Yeah, I cannot.

Donald Yatomi: 28:25

Do you like, um, Alyssa monk's work, yeah, yeah, she, she's able to, oh my gosh, communicate or capture the human skin and so many, so many colors. It's crazy. And her, and I love her balance between thick and thin brush strokes. You know, she just, she's just dancing all over the canvas. So anyways, her, her work is just amazing.

Laura Arango Baier: 28:54

It is, yeah, and it's, it's wonderful to look at work like that too, because it's so inspiring. It's like, oh man, I I really want more variety in my brush strokes. For example, like seeing her work is like, oh wow. Now I can do this, because I also see in your work, you your images also have a painterly movement to them, which I really like, like because you also have this really nice blend of, like, thicker paint and center paint and like this vibrating sort of look to your work that is really

Donald Yatomi: 29:25

beautiful. Thank you. I like the way you described it, because it make it makes me. You made it sound like I know what I'm doing, but, man, I don't. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm telling you the truth. Till this very day, I'm just still trying to figure it out. And now a lot of it, too, is just, I'm so impatient, you know, it's like, I just want to move on. Because, okay, so for me, the most important thing for me that I've grown to become is that I care more about compositions. Uh, and the narrative, believe it or not, like my my stuff, is more about composition and the narrative and and what it's communicating, rather than my color mixing or my brush strokes. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm sorry. I'm sort of like, resolved that I'm not going to be a great painter all you know what I mean, yeah. But I'm more, I'm more, like, you know, I all I care about is how it sits on the canvas. I want it to read. I want the cadence, the cadence order to be the way I compose it. So composition is not just placing those the darks and lights and the cools and the warms and the white spaces, but it's also like, where are you having your viewer eyes move, you know. So I'm, I'm kind of like directing where to look first, where to leave off the canvas, how to enter back in. That's what I care about. And, um, so anyway, so till this day, that's what I fight against every every time I paint, it's like, oh, what? I don't care about my colors. I don't care if I paint. I don't care if people say I'm a good painter. I just want to, I want them to be engaged. I think that's all I want, you know. You know, with when you want to talk about great painters, like, I can't compete with them. They're so good.

Laura Arango Baier: 31:30

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Donald Yatomi: 34:06

yeah, I wrote this down. Did I tell you who my biggest influences are? No. What are they? You might they may or may not. Connect. Of course. Chuck Close, right? We talked that, yeah, Chuck Close, um, Jackson Pollock. I mean, I mean, I don't do, I don't do expressionistic art, but I love Jackson Pollock and De Kooning. Those are the three guys that just really, really like keeps me going. Like, I know my work doesn't look like theirs, but those are the three main guys. And then, and then, I was highly, highly influenced by my former teachers at Art Center, Richard bunkle and Ray Turner. So. Ray Turner is a friend now, so it's kind of cool. But those guys, and then going back, going back to the 80s, I was highly influenced by the American illustrators too, you know, like Fred ottneys And Bernie Fuchs. So Bernie Fuchs, do you like his stuff?

Laura Arango Baier: 35:25

I will admit, not familiar. I might have seen his stuff without knowing it was his. I mean,

Donald Yatomi: 35:32

he's, his compositions are just amazing to me. And he's, he always uses that Dutch, Dutch slant, Dutch tilt and all that. But his stuff is really engaging. But yeah, these guys, even though my work doesn't look like theirs, they're totally highly influential. And then, and how can you not like Dan McCall? Oh my gosh. Love his stuff. I want to paint like him. I've been trying to paint like him for years. I'm like, I can't do it. I just cannot paint like him. So, yeah, those are the guys. I don't think I mentioned to your audience what I've been doing for the last 28 years too. So after DreamWorks, I got into video game design. I forgot to tell you that

Laura Arango Baier: 36:30

I'm happy to hear about it, because I think it's so fascinating.

Donald Yatomi: 36:34

So after, after DreamWorks, I got into video game design. And back then it was early, early PlayStation One, you know, the early video games. And they, they, so I was one of the early ones to start as a concept artisan, but, but, man, that was the one of the best things that to happen to be a visual designer for video games, because I get to you get to draw everything and anything you know, and you get to make up stuff. And I think that that that has helped me too to this day, like being able to make up things from your memory, because everything is just based on what you remember. Yeah, you can look up stuff on Google images all you want, but the database that your brain has is way, way more than what you can type in in Google. So it's a so I was able to be a concept artist for 28 years or so for video games, and then recently, about two years ago, I actually resigned from Sony, because, yeah, Sony was such a great company. They treated me well. It that Job was able to I was able to raise my family, and, you know, was such a good thing. However, towards the end, you know, you start realizing that, you know, your passion to paint comes back. You know, I've been painting for art galleries at night throughout the whole time I was working at Sony. But finally, like two years ago, with AI taking over video games and everything, you know, it kind of changed the demand for concept art, the way it looks and everything. So, so I left, and I and I'm trying to do this painting thing full time now. So, so far, it's been good. I mean, I've already, I'm already sending my work to five art galleries, so that's kind of keeping me afloat. But it's, it's been good, yeah, yeah, and I built this studio, Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 38:57

cuz you moved last year. Yeah, yeah, both last year. Yeah,

Donald Yatomi: 39:01

right. So this was a old external garage when we bought the house, and then we just converted it. We took out the garage doors and put French doors and windows, added a bathroom back there. So anyways, so I'm trying to do, I'm trying to do the full time thing, and it feels, I'll tell you, my stress level has gone down, because when you work for the corporate world, man, it's so stressful. So I mean, I did well. I did good enough in the corporate world, but yeah, at the end of the day, you just want to paint. That's all I want to do. It's just paint. And so here I am doing it now,

Laura Arango Baier: 39:51

yes, and actually, that's really funny, because, of course, one of the questions I like to ask my guests courses how they like what it was like for them to make the job. Jump into becoming just full time artists, you know, without, like, a day job, which, of course, you're Sony. What has it been like for you, besides, you know, less stress, in terms of like, for example, like, income, or how have you considered like, maybe, like, making sure you have more income? Like, besides just selling work. Have you considered like teaching, or is there anything that you've done to, like, try to keep keep yourself going?

Donald Yatomi: 40:28

Yeah, I've been fortunate enough that so I'm I'm doing, I'm paying for five galleries in five different states. So that's that's good. Are sales steady? No, it's not. It just kind of comes and goes. But what I'm doing on the side is like, I I do freelance work, so I'm illustrating for a book right now for this Russian, Russian company. And it's a really fun, fun book. It's a book on inventions and and larger than life, vehicles and machinery, you know? So it's kind of like perfect for me. I don't know if you want me to share this, share your screen, or anything like that.

Laura Arango Baier: 41:07

If you have like images, then that would be kind of cool to see.

Donald Yatomi: 41:10

Okay, I'll show you some stuff. Oh, go ahead. Going back to your question too. What I do also is, I do teach online for CGMA, as a digital artist to teach digital art, Photoshop. I don't do the three day stuff. I just do digital paintings, all right. So it's kind of cool this. So, as you know, working for video games, one of the one of the favorite things that I was able to do was draw and paint machinery, right? Whether it's guns or tanks with or cars with machine guns? Yeah, it was, it was, it was awesome. And I still like to do that to this day, you know? So when I got this gig that was really fun. What let me share. So one of the first things I did was called the ornithopter. So it was basically the Ask was taking Da Vinci's drawings, and and see what, what I, what I would envision a human powered airplane would be. So, so, can you see this? Yes, and so, so this was a sketch. This was the initial sketch of for the two page layout. And so you're sort of making up some stuff. There's a lot of sketches that you're sort of making up. And then my invention was like, This guy is, is just pedaling and just with this little wheel here is powering the whole, the whole the whole aircraft. And it's not, it's not for real. But, you know, you get to kind of do these kinds of fun projects. So this sketch was approved, and after that they we take it to a full, full color finish, which is, so it ended up to be that so cool.

Laura Arango Baier: 43:32

I love a little Victorian guy in the background.

Donald Yatomi: 43:34

Yeah, yeah. So you're trying to, you're trying to make that connection with with what davench sketched out way back when, right, and some of the inventions. So this is kind of fun. So this is done in Photoshop, and that led to a couple of other assignments. Let me see. After that, I did the Caspian Sea Monster, which is that. So it's the same layout, you know, you're doing the main illustration, and then you're also incorporating, you're also incorporating some made up, made up vehicles, and then explaining the technology all on one page. So there's that so cool. Then they had me do the screw propeller vehicle. So, you know, just more of these kinds of vehicle designs, you know. So this, this, this main vehicle actually existed. And then these sketches to the left here are. The actual vehicles that they made. And then this, in this corner, I'm doing my own invention, so I get to have a little bit of fun. So I'll take these, the technology, and just make up my own

Laura Arango Baier: 45:16

that is so fascinating. Do you find that like this? Because, of course, I mean, you have your fine art work. Do you find that this also kind of feeds the excitement of painting? Or do you like, or is this more like one of those things that's like, it's it feeds a different part of your soul that maybe your fine art doesn't quite feed?

Donald Yatomi: 45:35

No, I think it just feeds a different side of me. It's like, I do, like I I am kind of nerdy in some sense, in this kind of sense, you know, I like, I like the equipment design, and then my painting, my painting, you know, I still like all painting. So it's like, it's, it's like liking two things, it feels like, but like I said, I've been, I've been fortunate. I just I've been fortunate to get these kinds of freelance work while I'm doing painting on the side, you know, because it really helps with the the income, you know, to have the multiple streams of income. So some people, some people, some artists teach a lot or do workshops, and I don't, I don't do the workshop thing, you know, maybe, maybe one day I will, but I, I'm so busy already, you can't I have the space to do it. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 46:35

it's one of those things where it it's it'll happen when it's going to happen, if you want it to happen, right? Like, I find that one of the beautiful things about this career, and I've mentioned it in the past in past episodes, is that every artist can pick and choose the ways that they can fill out their income. Right? Some artists might do prints of their work. Some artists might teach every year at least like the same expected workshops. Of course, primarily they sell their paintings, they'll sell online courses like they'll find ways to fill out those gaps in income that selling paintings only just can't really do because, of course, any sales person, whether they are artists or not, will know that there are dry spells. There are, you know, times when you sell, sell, sell, and times where you don't sell for a while, because there are extenuating factors outside of our grasp, like, of course, the economy or anything that happens, whether it's like, for example, the fires in California a few months ago, where that affects people's ability to be able to purchase artwork. So being an artist is so much like, how, how do you want to? I like to compare it to like the video games. It's like life is open world exploration type of video game playing, RPG, right? Oh, of course I do. Well, that's funny, yeah, when I heard you play videos, I'm like, hell, yeah. I like to say life is an RPG, and you're just you pick what you want to do, and then if you're an artist, of course, within that, you have to figure out your income streams, you know. So it's cool to see that, because I've never met someone who does, like, freelance, like illustration, like you who like, Oh, I really, really love this enough to actually, like, go out there and, like, try to find, like, side income from that and still sell my work. I think that's something for you know, that would benefit our listeners maybe still have that love for illustration and don't want to give it up. Yeah, feel like they have to pick and choose between the two, and it's nice to know, oh, wow, this person does both, and can still find enjoyment from it, which is important, yeah,

Donald Yatomi: 48:50

I have, I have a couple of painter fans. That's all they do. They just sell paintings. That's how good they are, yeah. So, so there's that. And then a lot of us, a lot of us do teach on the site in some form or another, and, and, yeah, so I, I do the teaching, and I do Photoshop too, but I gotta tell you about this one thing I do on the side too. So I do album cover art. Art. So it's kind of, so that's been kind of fun. But in all honesty, it's like, you know, metal bands, they don't have a lot of money, so it's like, it's, it's more like, you know, just you get paid a little bit, but it's, it's not, it's not going to make a living, you know, kind of thing, but it's fun because I like, I like the music, so I should show you some stuff.

Laura Arango Baier: 49:47

Yeah. I mean, if you have images of album covers you worked on, that's really cool, because I think, and I love that you mentioned this, because I think that highlights also how artists do what they do out of. Love for the thing, and not because of some expected profit, like the profit is like, Oh, that's nice, and yeah, it makes it maybe a little worth my time, because, you know, our time on Earth is limited, but in the end, you know, we're still making something that hopefully will outlast us, and we're doing it just for the sake of it, like art, for the sake of art and for the sake of creating beauty, I think is something that just, it just makes me happy to be career, yeah.

Donald Yatomi: 50:30

I mean, at the end of the day, it's like, you're gonna, you're gonna flourish. And, you know, flourish, when I use the word flourish, it doesn't always equate to my it's like, what, what is success to you, right? What it's man, when I was like when I was working in the corporate world, doing video games, man, they pay you a lot of money, but you're, you're not really happy. You know what I mean? Because you're in this corporate structure, there's so many rules and policies, and it's a collaboration decision in regards to art. So you got the whole world deciding what your art is supposed to look like in video games, right? So, and that's your typical corporate structure anyways. And you're sitting on the computer from Monday through Friday for eight to 10 hours, and you're stuck, you know what I mean? And you know, for people that like to travel or take vacations, you have to go through all these steps to get permission to to be allowed to go. Yeah, it took me a long time to realize that, man, it's like this, you're giving up your freedom for money. So it's like, where do you put success? So that's why I told you that I love that last webinar with with John master or Don Lester. Yeah, he was able to articulate. I gotta watch it again, but he, he was able to articulate what was success to him, right? So it's a balance between income freedom and doing what you love to do, right? So that's you just got to put where, where your importance are. But let me show you some of the other things that I do. If that's okay with you, that's totally fine with me. So here's my other website. Yes, I saw this one too on art station,

Laura Arango Baier: 52:39

which will have the link in the show notes for this as well, so everyone can go check it out.

Donald Yatomi: 52:45

I have all these categories. So can you see my cursor? Yes, I can. Okay, so, so I do environment design, vehicle design, aeronautical design, naval design and mech design, and then character design and then weapon design. So these six categories is what's required for entertainment design or video games. So that's that's why I keep it, you know. But I have other folders that that shows my digital studies on location. So, you know, I do these kinds of things. So I'm at restaurants and breweries and doing on location, on location sketches with procreate,

Laura Arango Baier: 53:38

just to have, like a tablet or something that you take,

Donald Yatomi: 53:41

Yep, yeah, this is on iPad.

Unknown: 53:45

Oh, that is so cool.

Donald Yatomi: 53:49

So it kind of records it.

Laura Arango Baier: 53:56

I think that's, that's such a, you know, just for our listeners. Also, it's a great opportunity to, if, like, if someone does have the a tablet, and can afford a tablet, of course, and can, like, you know, use that if they're traveling a lot or if they don't want to carry, like, painting equipment. It's also really nice to be able to use an app like this to paint on the go.

Donald Yatomi: 54:20

So this was a laundromat out in Oregon. I sat there, and there's this person just sitting there. So I'll do, I'll do these digital studies which actually lead to the actual painting. So that digital study led to, I highly recommend using artwork archive, by the way.

Laura Arango Baier: 54:48

Do you ever use that? I've never heard of it.

Donald Yatomi: 54:51

It's so cool. Yeah, it's like a database that you can manage all your images.

Laura Arango Baier: 54:57

Thanks. So folks, if you need. Place to go to work, go to artwork archive.

Donald Yatomi: 55:03

So this digital painting, which was done with procreate and infinite painter and paint storm paint, Storm Studio. Those are the three software that I use on my iPad. So I sat there and painted this from life. Took this study and made an oil painting of based on so because of that study, I was able to take this. So that's the study. This is what I saw in my with my own eyeballs, right? But you can going back to the early, early things that we talked about about half an hour ago, about whether I make up things or add things or edit things. So from that study, I took it to a big painting, and you see how I added the word laundromat backwards on this glass. Yeah. So sometimes I'll do that just to make the painting a little bit more interesting. But you can see how many laundromats I've done. Oh,

Laura Arango Baier: 56:12

goodness, yeah, tons, almost entire pages, laundromats.

Donald Yatomi: 56:19

Oh, you remember that laundromat I told you that I the first

Laura Arango Baier: 56:24

that's that is so nice.

Donald Yatomi: 56:27

Oh my gosh, it's terrible.

Laura Arango Baier: 56:29

No, I love it. I really love the the warmth of like the the lights. It really makes you feel like it's kind of, I must say, it sounds a little it looks a little grimy, um, but it's a vibe. It's Thank you. It really puts you there.

Donald Yatomi: 56:46

I you know, Laura, you probably, you're probably just tired of me or hearing that from me, but, man, it's like, when you're an artist, you're just always struggling whether you're good or not, right? It's like, Yep,

Laura Arango Baier: 56:58

so absolutely, I don't think that goes away ever, which I think is, you know, just to talk about that a little bit, I think it's still a bit important to have those goal posts, you know, as an artist, where they're just far, just far enough away, they're out of your reach. And then when you get there, your goal post move. You know, because we're also we would never really continue to grow like it. It sounds a little bit like, if you know the myth of Tantalus always reaching up for the Apple and never quite reaching it, or the fruit on the tree, that's a little bit how it feels to be an artist. I know some people like to compare to Sisyphus, but I feel like that's, I don't think that's the appropriate comparison, since Sisyphus was being punished, I don't think painting is much of a punishment, and it doesn't feel as futile to reach out for this delicious fruit that we're all reaching out for, and we all have our own fruit that we're reaching for. So I think it's, yeah, yeah, and you're

Donald Yatomi: 58:01

right. And you're right because it's like, even, even at my age, I still want to take classes, you know? I mean, that doesn't stop. Let me just show you real quick before I stop sharing. Sometimes I'll do so I told you about the album covers, yeah, so sometimes I'll get gigs like this, like doing illustration, like a portrait homage. I got this gig, and this guy wanted an homage of his brother, and he wanted, he wanted it done in the 80s montage style, you know? So sometimes I'll get gigs like that, and then here's a, here's an album cover I did for tourniquet. I don't know if you know tourniquet, no tourniquet. It's like this 90s thrash metal band, and the drummer, the drummer called me up, and he wanted me to do a cover for his next single. So the next single was, was supposed to be the RE release of Ark of the Covenant. I think that was a song. And he's a huge animal rights guy, right? So, he wanted me to show all the animals being lured into this train. I mean, there's so much symbolism here, right? Yeah, I see. So the train, of course, what, what, um, led to Auschwitz and things like that. He, he, I'm sorry, metal is so dark it is, yeah, it's so dark. So they, you know, the more darker you can go, the more they love it, right? So this is, this is all the animals that's being lured into this train. But the train, it was a combination of a guillotine and a mousetrap, all the cheesy, cheesy motifs that we. Could think of. And then the guys in the middle are the butcher, the scientist, and this circus guy waiting in there. So there's that. There's another one. This is the front cover and the back cover for this band called Emissary.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:25

Oh, that's cool, yeah.

Donald Yatomi: 1:00:28

And then I did, I did a couple for Megadeth. Do you know mega Yeah, I know Megadeth.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:38

I like Megadeth,

Donald Yatomi: 1:00:39

yeah. So I did this. Oh, that is

Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:43

so cool. This whole this

Donald Yatomi: 1:00:44

was for their Christmas card, and I made the Christmas tree all in the shape of all their guitars put together and their drum set to be the boosters. You know, that's their logo up there as a star. So I did that one, and then here's another one for Megadeth. It was basically their mascot, making

Laura Arango Baier: 1:01:13

snowing so cool and like a nuclear you

Donald Yatomi: 1:01:18

want to look more of my stuff. You can hop on that.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:01:22

Yeah, that's awesome. Um, that is so cool. I didn't know that, like, there, because, of course, like, man, we all love, like, our own bands and stuff and like, it's, I feel like, even I don't know, maybe it's a niche thing. I was a kid, I was like, Man, this would be such a cool album cover. And like to see that someone like you is actually like, oh, yeah, no, you can actually like, do that. Yeah. So cool. That's something to add to my list. Maybe I'll add it to my bucket list where maybe I'll reach out to some band that I like and be like, Hey, I'm gonna hit you up. But so awesome. And then I also wanted to ask you, you know, if you have any final advice for someone who wants to become a full time artist.

Donald Yatomi: 1:02:10

For you, know what I tell my kids all the time, because they want to be artists too. This is what I tell them. I say I tell them carry a sketchbook with you at all times, like a small one in your back pocket, or or or a small sketchbook in the glove compartment of your car. Always carry one, because there's two things that happens while we're traveling, whether we're just running through the grocery store, sometimes, sometimes a thought would enter your head that you as an artist, only you can articulate through drawing. It's not about note taking, it's not about journaling. It's about sketching out that little creature that you imagined or you know, and you draw it as soon as it comes park the car and draw it and then, and I tell them to date it, because dating it is very important, because you're going to always refer back to your old sketches and then bring it to life, whether it's whether it's a full, full painting or not. I mean, that's one of the biggest things I would tell anybody is to keep a sketchbook with you, because that's your that's your database that you can carry with you to become that artist. You know, I mean, I mean, that's what, that's what I mean, that's what that's that's the thing that no one else has, is your brain and is your memory and all your experiences. So I, I know it doesn't equate to a practical step to making a living, but it's, it is one of the most important steps is to carry a sketchbook with you. I think, yeah, and don't agree,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:04:04

yeah. And that's one of the reasons I have a Samsung Note, because it has, like, the little pen. So in my notes app, I can actually, like, draw my little ideas and makes it really convenient.

Donald Yatomi: 1:04:17

Yeah, yeah. I mean, don't stop. That's what I tell my kids all the time, just don't stop. It's like, and right now they're trying to figure it out, you know, they're, they're in their 20s, and they want to be an artist. I said, Yeah, I don't, I don't have an answer for you right now, but it'll come. It just comes. But don't stop what you're doing. You know,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:04:40

yeah, that's, that's really great advice. And your kids are lucky to have like you as a father, and if they want to be an artist, like, this is what you do. Kids like, that's great. I wish my dad was an artist. I can just hit him up, like, Hey, Dad, I'm stuck in this. What do you what do you recommend? Yeah, that's really great.

Donald Yatomi: 1:04:59

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. But at the same time, I remember how I was when I was 20. You know, an adult could be telling you the golden nugget, but you won't really hear it until you actually go through the steps of doing life, you know. So I remember like it took years before I looked back in my 20s, and I'm like, oh, that's what that guy meant when he said this, you know. So it's one of those things. It's like, yeah, you know, that's that's my advice. But, you know, people might not hear it, but they'll hear it years from

Laura Arango Baier: 1:05:40

now? Yeah, yeah. That's why they say you have to repeat the same kind of tips in different ways, or the same advice in different ways, because in one moment, we might hear it and not really resonate with it, because we're not ready for it yet, and then eventually we hear it again. It's like, oh, now that I've experienced a bunch of things. It makes it more obvious that this, this was the thing, even though I've heard it a million times like I get it now, yeah.

Donald Yatomi: 1:06:08

Can I say one more thing? Of course, that would be helpful, but it's very, very hard. Is, is, I don't think anybody can teach you how to take rejection, but you gotta be ready for rejections, and however you process that and handle that. It comes, rejection comes, you know, even to the most successful people like you know. So just be, just be aware that it does come and, you know, you gotta be able to take a rejection and learn from it and and sort of like, have that self awareness that, hey, maybe, you know, maybe I'm, you know, I'm not ready for this, you Know. But there's another thing too, is, when you get a rejection, it's not always your fault, meaning it's not just your work that it's that's an issue. Sometimes it's the other person that you're proposing to that they're they're not, they're not being able, they're they're not able to see the value of you just yet, you know, they don't see the potential, or they don't see a value of you. So, like I said, it's not rejections will come, but it's not always going to be you that's being rejected. They're actually, you know, not not being able to appreciate you kind of thing. I hope that makes sense.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:07:41

Yeah, it makes perfect. I mean, art is in, in the end, you know, still pretty subjective, and it's a, it's one of those things also with the competitions, right? Like you apply, you put in your work, and then if you don't check out who the judges are, right? Because sometimes they'll have the list of judges, if you don't check out who the judges are and the type of work that they make, you might accidentally fall into, well, you know, I put my painting and it's the best painting I've ever made, which is, yeah, but you're posting it or like you're applying with a painting that maybe won't be appreciated by the judges. Because from their work, you can see that they have a, I don't know, a tendency to prefer hyper realism or a tendency to prefer this style. So like you said, it's not necessarily the person's fault. They could have, like, a really beautiful painting that would do better in a competition where the judges do have this similar vision of appreciation of that type of work. So yeah, totally. And even galleries too. I mean, if you apply to a random gallery and like, your work doesn't really fit in with their stuff, then you get rejected.

Donald Yatomi: 1:08:47

Yeah, yeah, totally. Actually, you kind of reminded me of another important item. You're giving me ideas. Um, networking is huge. Okay, so you know, you know how they say. It's not what you know, it's who you know. That is true. That is so true. There's been so many times when I'm when I was in video games, a young person will call me up and say, hey, hey, Donald, can I buy you a coffee, you know? And I'm looking at this kid, I'm like, okay, he wants me to, he wants a job, you know, and wants me to get into so we would meet and have coffee. And all he wanted, all he wanted was to just be connected with artists. Long story short, years later, I did hire him. At the moment, he wasn't looking for a job, but it's because he, he stayed connected with me, and it's, it's about who you know. So, so there's that, and then I just never stopped trying to connect with and doesn't always have to be artists. This could be non artists. It's just, it's who you know, that's gonna help you along the way. So don't just sit in your studio and just draw, you know, try to get out there and connect with people. You know, that's what I would say,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:10:15

totally, totally. I mean, like, there's so many really great like conventions for painters and like painting societies and there, there are a lot of opportunities, if you look for them in your local community, even that, I think more people should be paying attention to or even just shooting an email or a DM or anything to like someone you admire. You never know if they're they're gonna respond.

Donald Yatomi: 1:10:39

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know what um I look back years ago, and I was, I remember admiring a certain artists, I'm not going to mention the name, but such a wonderful painter, and I was so intimidated, but I was just, I'm just gonna send him an email, and I just asked him for the same advice that you're asking right now, you know? And he turns out to be the nicest guy. The most intimidating painters out there, turns out to be the nicest painter, nicest people. And he sends me an email, and it's like, three paragraphs long, and it was so cool. It was just one of my the moments and like, I still haven't met him in person, but I intend to. But yeah, he sent me a three paragraph email saying, do this and do that, and try, tried doing this and and he was telling me his little story too, about going through rejections, but don't give up kind of thing. So anyways, I

Laura Arango Baier: 1:11:43

think that's passing it forward. Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. Well, actually, speaking also of your work and passing it forward, do you have any upcoming shows or workshops that you'd like to promote? Yes,

Donald Yatomi: 1:12:00

August 7 here in Whitefish, Montana, I have a solo exhibition. I'll have 18 new paintings and some some of them you see back here. They're not all completed, but they're on its way. So I'll have a solo exhibition on August 7 at frame of reference art gallery. So if you guys are in the area, yeah, come by.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:12:30

Yeah. And then, if someone can't go, uh, where can they see more of your work?

Donald Yatomi: 1:12:34

Yep, uh. So I have a website, Donald yatomi.com,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:12:41

awesome. And then, um, of course, you have, like, your social media links and everything, but of course, I will include all of that in the show notes. Yeah. So people go check it out. Yeah,

Donald Yatomi: 1:12:51

follow me on Instagram. And if it if anyone wants have questions for me, just reach out. I'm, I'm more than happy, you know, because I've been there, you know, I've been, I've been there when I was in my 20s, and it's like, wanted, wanted advice, and I wanted help. And, you know, these people were so, like I said, I gave you that one example. They're, they're nice, you know. So I'll be nice. I'm more than willing to ask questions. So yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:13:22

and you've been a joy to have on the podcast. I really appreciate all of the wonderful advice and the very cozy chat this has been. This has been really great. Thank you so much. Donald,

Donald Yatomi: 1:13:33

thank you. Thank you for having me. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:13:35

of course, we'll keep in touch. Of course. Okay.