I've been trying to snag an interview with artist Travis Cuellar for almost four months. The prolific and talented visionary (who also works under the alter ego Didas Dunhill) seems to be entirely wrapped up in his craft, releasing a steady stream of unique work in both galleries and through his buzzing social media accounts. From brightly-colored cartoons to more abstract studies of shapes and cubism, each piece that Cuellar releases appears different than the last, while always fitting nicely within his personal realm of individuality. Be sure to enjoy the Q+A below as you gaze through the numerous pieces of art found throughout this feature.
Hey, how's it going? Where are you currently located? Tell us a bit about your surroundings.
It's going good man. Everything’s finally coming together again. I'm happy, the darkness still floats above me but I found a way to cope with it. I evolved and discovered a new style through the process. As of right now I’m currently living in Sacramento for the rest of this month. It's fall so the colors in the city are inspiring. The rain comes every couple of weeks and the rest of the time it's sunny with big clouds and beautiful sunsets. This is home and the vibes are good right now
For those unfamiliar, can you give us a quick background on who you are/what you do?
I'm a designer of many crafts. I portray a unique style from my vision to the tools I use everyday to create the oddly yet colorful pieces of work. I'm still searching for what I want to do as a designer because the list never ends. A lot of people probably don't know that I taught myself how to express myself in other mediums. From photography being my first real tool to express my vision. To locking myself in my room all summer after graduating high school to learn how to paint. When I found graphic design I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. This is where I found my first love and once I started I couldn't stop. Nothing can stop me from bringing ideas into reality and with the way designers are pushing for the future who says I can't do anything my imagination thinks off. On top of that I've produced 2 small EP projects. Learned how to create animations and I plan on working with interior design and some fashion this year.
Are you working on anything in particular this week/month?
Fixing some tweaks with my website and some different projects but more towards getting everything ready for this quick trip to San Diego then moving to New York for a couple of months. This will open up new ideas and projects for 2017 so I'm excited to get that in motion. March will be an interesting month for me.
You recently collaborated with xackleard. How long have you two known each other?
I've known Xack for about 3 years and that's been my brother ever since our first show in Chicago. That’s Family. Thank you Xack and Jackie for everything you guys do! All those long nights in the studio are about to pay off.
Can you describe the difference between Didas Dunhill and Travis Cuellar?
Didas Dunhill is a character that I created in 2014 that turned into a way of expressing myself but from a different perspective. He works closely with making music and the black book drawings of himself. When you see all the illustrations or design projects I have created or worked on that was done personally by me. It's confusing but it's the way I work. It keeps everything balanced.
What's the rest of the year looking like for you?
Work and a lot of traveling.
