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

Hi Tariq, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
When its all said and done I want to leave a legacy of art that tells a story in time, that motivates and inspires the world to be great in whatever each and every individual is great at in this world. I want to leave works of art that provide, peace, healing, comfort, and strength for ages to come. I want people to say that God was at work in this man. I want to leave a valued, cherished, and unique body of work behind for my children’s children. I want people to remember me as one of the greats in the art world. One who took adversity in life and turned it into a passion for a God given purpose. I want people to remember that Tariq Mix did everything with heart. He loved what he did and he shared that same love with the world through his art.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Art is everything to me. It provided me a way to be someone when I thought life as I knew it was over. I used art to get me through a very traumatic experience of having a heart attack at the age of 19. Being an athlete was my first love and at the time I was running track on scholarship with dreams of maybe taking it to the next level one day. When that was taken away I used my art to speak and run again. I used my art to put my emotions and heart on canvas. I’m truly blessed and happy that I can do what I love for a living. It hasn’t always been easy but with God, faith, risk, and perseverance I have made it to where I am today. Ha! I can’t even begin to tell you how much money that I have invested and lost, long days of working a fulltime job and coming home to paint another 6 to 8 hrs, staying up for 2 days in a row to get things done, being turned down by galleries, being told no, and how many failures that I have had period to get to where I am today. All of that produced strength and allowed me to grow to see the wins during all those rough times. I can honestly say that I’m thankful for the rough times though, because those were the times of learning hard lessons and training for the next win in my career. You have to have faith and take risk in this game. When you know that you know you have to fight and not give up. If you never take the first step you will never make it to the finish line. I learned to never fear what hasn’t happened yet and to always believe for the greatest outcome at all times. I want the world to know that if you dig deep and put all of your heart into the one thing that you love and want to see happen that you can win. I want people to believe in themselves and go after their purpose with an unstoppable passion and desire. Win with heart!

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
I would take them to some of the art districts as well as the High museum to get a taste of the art culture in the city. We would also go to the Beltline, rent bikes to ride,catch some of the good eating spots, shop at some of the local shops, and catch some of the art scenes. Next throughout the week we would have go to Rock Steady Atlanta, The Agency, and Marcel to get good some good food. Being that we are going through these times with a pandemic I would have to choose activities that practice social distancing for now. We are doing our best to adjust to this new world and time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost I give God all the credit for where I am today. Without God I would not be here to tell and create this story. I want to give a shout out to my parents for raising me up to be great in my ways of life. Big shout out to my alma mater Howard U. for the great opportunity, education, lasting memories and relationships built. HU gave me inspiration to form my style and put my own unique stamp on the art world. Lastly I would like to give a huge shout out to all my family, friends, fans, and collectors for routing me on, not letting me quit, and supporting me from day one of this journey.

Website: www.tmixstudios.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tmix_art/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/mwlite/in/tariqmix
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/tmix_art
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/tmixstudios

Image Credits
Images taken by me

Nominate someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.