ARTCOHOLIC

Art, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Imagination to change thru paint the things I can, and Craftsmanship to show the world the difference.

My name is Isaac López and I am an artcoholic - a New York based artist of Dominican descent, the intern who became Art Director for the New York Daily News the 5th most read newspaper in the U.S. then.

I had my first taste of art at a young age, creating Fashion Models Paper dolls with a perfect circle head outlined by the red round sharpener. A style later used by Dominican painter Alberto Ulloa, to make his iconic round heads paintings, I didn’t influence his technique, but I proved Picasso’s quote to be true, “Every child is an artist.” I was born in New York City, raised in the countryside of Dominican Republic until the age of 11, had some troubles learning how to walk and even holding a pen, but once I got the hang of it, I was like 'Forrest' and ran with a number 2 pencil and a composition notebook in hand.

In the summer of ‘92 like Akeem, my two sisters, mom and I, settled in Queens, not with the same quest as the Prince of Zamunda, but for a better opportunity to succeed in life. I graduated from Newtown High School in '99, with two scholastic art awards and top of the art class.

I couldn’t afford a private university, so I did four years of Visual Communication in New York City College of Technology instead. My internship took place at the New York Daily News where I started laying out house-ads for the paper. 8 years and 500 sections later, I made a collection of award winning and controversial front pages.

In my experience working in a newsroom for 17 years I have become more aware of the issues happening in the city and the world. This has awakened in me the desire and responsibility to use brushes and a mouse to produce emotional artwork and with it empower people to continue to fight for a better quality of life.