Q: How long have you been an artist? Please tell us a little about your chosen medium.
A: I have been making art at some level for as long as I can remember. It’s something that has always giving me a great amount of joy and comfort. It became a way of making a living somewhere in the early 90s with numerous commercial art jobs. Throughout that time I was working on trying to find my own voice of what I wanted to say within my personal work. In the year 2000 my wife Aprella and I moved to New York City. It was at that time I started pursuing my own personal art career in full force.
Q: Have you been trained, and if so from what institution? Or are you self taught?
A: This is always a hard question for me because primarily I feel that I am self-taught most everything that I do is a result from me finding my own personal way on how to get to those conclusions. However it’s hard not to talk about teachers and people who had a huge influence on my development. One of them would be my Jr. high school art teacher Will Robinson. He was one of the first people that pushed me further artistically to pull out things from places I would’ve never thought to go. My father, George, has always been a huge influence and even today I still pick his brain all the time when it comes to carpentry and the idea of construction. My Dad was a huge influence and helped me to understand perspective and the way things work. I know for sure I wouldn’t be at the place that I am today without his knowledge.
Q: What inspires your creations?
A: The quick answer to this would be just life. That is absolutely my biggest inspiration. All these beautiful landscapes we get to witness and the relationships we get to build and the ones that we see fall apart. I am inspired by the human condition mixed by my own interests in mythology. But, just living a full life is the biggest inspiration that I have.
Q: Was your family supportive of your artistic endeavors?
A: I couldn’t be more fortunate. My family has always been extremely supportive of my choice to pursue my art career. From my era that seems to be a rare situation because I have a lot of friends who have family that were not supportive of their artistic paths. So, I’ve always been grateful that my mother, Anne has always been one of the biggest cheerleaders on this journey of my career. I still call mom, dad and sister every time I get a new gig or sell a painting. I love nothing more than to hear them get excited over it.
Q: Is there someone special who has encouraged your work and your path as an artist?
A: My wife Aprella. I wouldn’t be who I am today artistically or personally without her. Aprella’s encouragement is endless for the past eighteen years. A painting doesn’t leave the studio until she sees it and I get her feedback.
David Stoupakis is a featured artist in the Specter Issue of the Miroir Magazine.
David Stoupakis website – http://www.davidstoupakis.com/