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

Hi Tony, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Art has been in my life from the beginning, since a child I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I got introduced to painting at 16 and I’ve had my foot on the gas since then. The passion I’ve always had for bringing my ideas to life, eventually turned into an obsession. God gave me the gift so it’s only right that I live off of my greatest gift.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am the founder and creative director of a creative house named Painted in Blue. I specialize in handmade leather goods and anything else that allows me to push the boundaries of my creativity. Painted in Blue is literally a culmination of my 20 plus year career as a painter. I understand detail, functionality and I value looking good.

The idea for Painted in Blue came from the time I spent hand painting leather bags from 2015-2016. It was fun and made good money, but i felt Incomplete painting on someone else’s product. After having 2 specific dreams in 2019,I decided to become a one stop shop. From then on I’ve been leather crafting.

Of course there is nothing easy about this journey. Spending 10 years doing the whole “starving artist” thing, working tirelessly to build a following for my painting, just to have god switch everything over to a completely different lane. Sure starting something from scratch is hard, but it’ll always be worth it. My work ethic and obsession for mastery has helped me so much through the tough times. my grandmother always reminds me that it has to get better. We can only go up from here. I’m extremely thankful for the clientele that I’ve built up in the past few years.

When it’s all said and done, I want Painted in Blue to live for generations. I want to leave a legacy that shows artists and other creatives that anything is possible. I want everyone who chooses to invest (it’s more than a purchase) to know that you chose quality. You chose the support artistic visions coming to life in the form of luxury. Plus, I want to continue normalizing men making dope stuff for women.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My praises always go to god first, but there are 3 specific people I will always thank. My high school art teacher Rebecca roberts, my grandmother and my wife. My grandmother always kept a pencil in my hand, ms. Roberts shifted my landscape by introducing me to painting and my wife fully understands/supports my artistic mind.

Website: http://www.paintedinblue.com/

Instagram: @_paintedinblue

Other: Tik tok : @paintedinblue

Image Credits
Love is enough productions

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