Meet Nanaekow Stiles | Artist

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

Hi Nanaekow, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always wanted to be an artist growing up. As I aged I started to get exposed to different types of art like Photography and fashion. I wanted to create a business where I could do all that in one. So I created a brand that represents my inner child playing with all forms of art.

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.
If I could describe my art I’d say it’s heavily influenced by my childhood. Growing up me and my brother watched a lot of cartoons. I try to create art that makes me feel that peace I had as a child. My art is unique to me and it’s pull ed from my memories and influences. All of that is manifested on a canvas so I’d say that’s what makes my art different.

I don’t think I’ve gotten anywhere near where I want to be in the future. I don’t think I ever will because I am constantly growing but I would say where I’m at now professionally was due to my resilience in what I want to do. I am a very determined person when it comes to my interests so if I put my mind to something I will do my best to succeed at it. I knew I wanted to be an artist at an early age and I was going to make it happen one way or another. It definitely wasn’t easy especially growing up during a time where people didn’t think you could make a living as an artist, I knew you could. I would watch interviews of artist telling their story of how they became a professional artist and I used that as a blueprint for my career. I’m still using it. It’s not been easy. I’ve had setbacks due to money because I fund my business myself without any external help so it’s all me and that can be challenging at times.

Some lessons I’ve learned is to honestly keep going. Don’t give up even if you feel no one cares. What matters is that you care about your art. Eventually people who resonate with your art will come and you can build a community from like minds.

What I would want the world to know about me is that I’m no one special. I’m just a guy who enjoys art and wants to do it for the rest of my life and if you want to support me I would greatly appreciate it. I also want to let other up and coming artists know to keep going. Enjoy the journey.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day 1: Ride bikes on the silver comet trail then chill the rest of day Day 2: Climb up Kennesaw mountain then go get sushi at the Rotating Sushi Factory in Kennesaw.
Day 3: Chill during the day then watch a movie at the Starlight Drive-In Theater at night
Day 4: Have a picnic with a group of friends at any field
Day 5: Go to the Escape Room at the Battery then eat at Gio’s Chicken Amalfitano there as well
Day 6: Spend an entire day Thrifting
Day 7: Go to Atlanta Motorsports park and race for like 3 hours.
I’m kind of a homebody so that stuff above probably sounds boring but that sounds like a fun day for me. Little 5 points is a cool spot for artists. If you’re more into nature you’ll probably like Cloudland Canyon State Park or Sweetwater State Park. I personally prefer Cloudland. Ponce City Market and Marietta market are cool too.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely want to thank my dad. He always pushed me to pursue business because he knew how much I was interested in it. Pretty much my entire family has been very supportive and have encouraged me to keep going. My friends push me to create artwork that others can connect to. Sometimes I can be very much in my head when creating art and they encourage me to look outside my mind to create a stronger connection with my customers.

Website: Boyatplay.co

Instagram: Boyatplay.co

Twitter: Boyatplay.co

Image Credits
Profile picture taken by Cory Mullin