Juan Travieso, 29, is an artist based in New York and Miami, Florida. He recently appeared in the New York 2016 SCOPE Art Show. Travieso is represented by Jennifer Singer of Jenn Singer Gallery.
Can you tell me about your art?
These are all painting of endangered birds. I’ve painted over 1,500 endangered birds so far.
Why did you start drawing endangered birds?
I read an article about endangered animals a long time ago. Then I started drawing them and it just sort of stuck. I also draw other endangered animals.
Have you heard of Ann Craven? She has an exhibit called “Hello, Hello, Hello” and it features birds. Let me show you some pictures.
No, I haven’t heard of it. Oh, that’s the African Gray Parrot! They’re also an endangered species. I painted a couple of them. I definitely have to check this out.
Yeah, it’s interesting. Craven once compared her work to prayer because it’s something she does almost every day, but is slightly different every time.
Definitely. You can see the different strokes in her paintings as well. Art is definitely a practice and sometimes it’s frustrating and other times a blessing.
Would you recommend someone going to art school?
I went and I think it helped me a lot, but school is not for everyone. It is very structured and it is definitely difficult to get out of that structure once you’re in the real world, but it does help hone your skills and build your network.
The conversation has been condensed and edited.
Scope New York 2016 is located at 639 W 46th Street, New York, NY 10036.
The show runs from March 3 and ends March 6, 2016. Hours vary each day and can be found here.
General admissions tickets are $35. Student discounted tickets are $25.
You can follow Michael Bong on Snapchat @mikeybong to see more of his art adventures.