Meet Alex Ferror | Muralist, Illustrator, & Visual artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Ferror and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, how do you think about risk?
It’s undeniable that behind the stories of highly successful people, the risk-taking factor is a common point. Important to mention that, by successful people I mean the self-made ones or even those who gave up the safety of “traditional” occupation to drastically pivot their lives/careers towards something they loved and believed would serve a better purpose.

Although I don’t see myself there yet, I am proud of the risks I’ve taken in life so far. I am sure they are shaping the human, the artist, and the entrepreneur I want to be.

My pathway as an artist until this day has been 100% based on taking risks and getting (way) out of my comfort zone. The first one was going against my father’s prediction, which literally told me – when I was still a kid who couldn’t stop drawing – that I wasn’t and would never be a professional artist. Which I obeyed for decades afterward.

With my love for art put aside, I did what most poor boys, coming from poor countries do to socially ascend, I worked hard from very early in life. Luckily though, throughout my journey, I met great people who believed in me and gave me opportunities that lead me to become a successful leader and head of sales and marketing in the fashion retail sector in Brazil, having hundreds of people “under my umbrella” and fairly comfortable life.

That’s when, the eagerness for knowledge and new challenges made me give up on a 15-year career to move to a new country, and – in my mid-30s – go to college. In the period between quitting my job and moving to Atlanta, GA though, the art came back to my life like a tsunami. Although I didn’t dare to go to art school, while I was in the university (after more than a decade out of the classrooms and learning in a foreign language), I challenged my father’s voice in the back of my mind and took the risk of exposing myself as an artist.

It was paid off, as after painting my first couple of murals in Atlanta I was embraced by its fantastic artists and community. One mural led to the next, and another one, and since then I’ve painted murals in different cities, countries, and festivals. The taste for new challenges lead me to gigs that I only dreamed of, and today my art can be found in children’s books, a collection of children’s clothes, partnerships with brands, the entire floor of a basketball court, the houses of many collectors, and even an 8ft sculpture of one of my characters. All of this in less than 7 years!

In 2020, after my wife (the biggest supporter of my art career) and I decided to take a new risk and move our main base from Atlanta to Lisbon, Portugal, I decided to go full-time as an artist. What I couldn’t anticipate, is that a few months later the world would be hit by a pandemic, nor that – due to its lockdowns and travel restrictions, I couldn’t go back to Atlanta for over 2 years. In 2021 though, I went back and my love for this city and its people just increased.

As I get ready for my upcoming season in the A, I see how nowhere else in the world has rewarded the risks I’ve taken more than Atlanta. So, it doesn’t matter where I am in the world, Atlanta will always have a special place in my history and my heart. And against all odds, I’ll keep taking risks, using my art to take love and kindness to people around the world, and hopefully inspire other people to shut the negative voices in their minds and let their inner artists blossom.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My visual work is very influenced by children books, 80’s and 90’s cartoons, films, songs lyrics, and of course, the work of other artists, especially the ones heavy on characters and with similar subject matter. But I take most of the concept for my pieces from children, from my own dreams and memories to talking to children and ask them questions about how they see things different than us. And this is how I aim to connect to the viewers. I believe that all of us can relate to childhood and the whimsical way kids interact with their world, giving a different usually lighter – meaning for everything, from ordinary objects to their emotions. Most of our core memories come from our childhood, from the dearest to the bitterest ones. So, by understanding the relevance of all these memories in shaping us, the adults – and society – we are today, I revisit this period of our lives to collect the elements I need to compose the imagery in my artwork. These elements are all part of my whimsical and colorful universe, where memories and imagination are celebrated with diversity and positivity.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
EAV was my neighborhood, so Joe’s Cafe, We Suki Suki, Argosy, Emerald City Bagels, Grand Central Pizza, SoBa, and the Octopus Bar were my favorite spots within a walking distance. On my last visit, the Ok Yaki was a great surprise. Their food and drinks are great. Since you’re in EAV make sure you visit Kaboodle Home, the coolest shop in the neighborhood, and enjoy lots of murals by many local and international artists.

Some other places I love are the Home Grown for breakfast, Buteco, in Grant Park to eat Brazilian goods and listen to good music, Antico’s Pizza, Kevin Rathbun Steak and Ladybird on Beltline, Ormsby’s, Dancing Goats coffeeshop both the O4W and the Decatur locations, H&F Burger, Tiny Lou’s, The Varsity, Fellini’s Pizza, Superica, BeetleCat …

Ok, it’s clear I like to eat, and I’ll make other recommendations but not before going to the Buford Highway and eating legit food from all over the world (not mentioning the also legit Korean Karaoke places there).

But I’d also recommend going to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch an Atlanta United game, and to walk around Little Five Points (if you’re still hungry, get a burger at the Vortex). A stroll on Beltline is a must, especially if enjoying a King of Pops, hunting the Tiny Doors, stopping at Ponce City Market (OMG, so many good places to eat there!), and visiting Binders, my favorite art supplies store and the Print Shop by Free Market, where you can find limited-series prints exclusively made by some of the best artists in town (including yours truly). After leaving PCM, walk one more mile and get to the Piedmont Park, get a drink or a beer at Park Tavern and enjoy the sunset (the second-best sunset in ATL, after the Jackson St. Bridge, where the sun sets behind the city’s skyline)

If you’re not too tired or in a food coma, you can become a lead singer of a badass rock band at the live-karaoke bar Ten High, below the Dark Horse bar in Virginia Highlands. Or go sleep and get up early the next day to go to Six Flags and spend a fun day riding rollercoasters.

If you like art, the High Museum is probably on your to-do list already, but please do a gallery hop too. From Cat Eye Creative, FreeMarket, and Kai Lin, to ABV where – if you’re lucky – you can get there on a Drink and Doodle evening and end up watching some of the best artists in town… drinking and doodling. So much great art is being live-made, and at the end, you have a chance to take them home, by bidding on the silent auction.

Street art is huge in Atlanta, so a mural tour would be necessary. From the Living Walls and Outer Space Festivals, with huge murals by local, national, and international artists, to Forward Warrior and Stack Squares projects, both mostly by local artists, and both located in the lovely Cabbagetown neighborhood. Chances are, that to get there, you had to go through the Krog Street Tunnel, the free zone for street artists, and therefore an ongoing everchanging canvas for muralists and graffiti writers.

Because “go where the locals go” is the best trip advice I’ve ever had, I skipped the Coca-Cola Museum, the GA Aquarium, and all the other attractions around the Centennial Park on purpose. As a tourist, you should go, but as a host, I wouldn’t be with you that day.

So much more to mention, but it would be impossible to cover it all in a week. Which is great, you have many excuses to come back to Atlanta several times. You will love the city more and more every time.

Have I mentioned Fatt Matt’s, my favorite barbecue joint in town? If Bourdain loved it, who am I to disagree?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A huge shout out to my wife, Joy, my biggest fan, supporter, and partner in crime, I would never have come this far without her. To my big sister, Debora, who bought me coloring books and art supplies when I was a toddler, her cool doodles were the first thing I tried to copy, and therefore, she’s my first inspiration. Also to my friends, who support me in so many different ways, from encouragement to actually buying my art, and always showing up. To my collectors, a big shoutout for sponsoring my dream job by commissioning and hanging my pieces on their walls. To my partners, who invited me to add my art to their brands, businesses, products, books, festivals, etc. And last, but definitely not least, a shoutout to my fellow artists, for teaching me so much, for all the tips and collabs, for referring me to all sorts of gigs, and for inspiring me with their work. I’m proud of being a part of such community.

Website: https://alexferror.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexferror/

Twitter: twitter.com/alexferror/

Other: Discord: https://discord.gg/RS3t7xVESM Rarible: https://rarible.com/alexferror

Image Credits
Ian Lundie Lanny Nguyen David Sepa Brian “Kaotik”