Aaron Allen, a self-taught artist, reignited his passion in 2009 after moving to Los Angeles. Known for his eclectic style that spans pop art, street art, landscapes, and portrait abstracts, Allen’s work blends personal expression with playful experimentation.
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Aaron’s early influences in comic books, animation, and the art seen in Low Rider Magazine are evident in his diverse creations. Despite not coming from a family of artists, Allen’s mother nurtured his creative talents from a young age, encouraging him to explore both visual arts and music.
Since relocating to Palm Springs, the desert environment has further inspired Allen’s work, infusing it with elements of the local landscape while maintaining his unique artistic voice. Balancing creativity with the practical challenges of monetizing art, Allen remains dedicated to producing pieces that express joy and thought provoking emotion, often addressing themes of social justice, mental health, and representation. His art, filled with vibrant colors and geometric shapes, strives to transcend categorization, aiming to simply be appreciated as “art.”
In addition to his visual artistry, Allen is also a musician, playing multiple instruments and incorporating music into his creative process. His artistic mission includes inspiring others, particularly those who may not see themselves represented in the art world, and giving back to the community through various causes. Allen’s work continues to evolve, shaped by his experiences and the diverse influences that inspire him daily.
Back in April, before festival season kicked off, Coachella Magazine met up with Aaron Allen at a local coffee shop in Palm Springs. During the interview, we discussed his artistic journey, influences, music, representation, social justice, and the challenges of balancing creativity with the business side of being an artist.
“I think Palm Springs offers this slower life, but then there’s also stuff going on all the time and you kind of get to pick and choose what you get involved in. And so, that was interesting to me.”
Aaron Allen
Artistic Beginnings and Influences
Coachella Magazine: Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background as an artist?
AARON ALLEN: I’ve began my journey back into art in 2009, and I decided to pick it up when I moved to Los Angeles. And then from there, I periodically did a lot of shows and tried to get a little bit better. I’m self-taught, so it was more like me learning things on the fly and incorporating things that I saw, and just different techniques to build a style that I do now. My art, it’s personal sometimes, but then, it’s a little bit playful. It’s varied. I do a lot of different styles between pop art, street art, I love landscapes, portrait abstracts. It’s always these categories that everybody’s putting art in, and sometimes it’s just art.
CM: Did you grow up with a family of artists?
AARON ALLEN: I did not. I was kind of the only one, maybe like the black sheep that was just artistic. I kind of grew up with art and music. My mother facilitated that. She put me in a lot of art classes when I was younger. I spent a lot of time playing music, playing trumpet, guitarist and stuff like that. So I was always just involved in the arts from a young age.
CM: What inspired you as an artist growing up?
AARON ALLEN: I loved comic books growing up. I loved animation. My mother bought Disney stuff, so we had all the Disney collection and I used to have all of those, “How To Draw This” books. But also, as I got older, and growing up in the nineties and having a lot more Latin influence, I grew up with Low Rider Magazine, and so that was a big thing for me, like looking in the back where they had the art section. I collected that for years and I loved the classic car style too, that came from it. But it changed you know. So like, muralism became a big thing that I loved. Those early inspirations were from that stuff.
CM: Did you go to art school?
AARON ALLEN: I’m mostly self-taught. I think I took a couple classes in college when I was kind of in and out. But yeah, it was mostly just self-taught and I just kind of learned as I went.
CM: What brought you to the desert initially?
AARON ALLEN: I came out here with an ex-partner of mine, and we decided to move here. And also I wanted to be back in California. I wanted to change a pace. I’ve been back and forth here for a long time and it’s just like, it was more of a different inspiration. I think Palm Springs offers this slower life, but then there’s also stuff going on all the time and you kind of get to pick and choose what you get involved in. And so, that was interesting to me. There’s always stuff going on, but then you can step a couple blocks away and then have a nice quiet space or whatever to chill. And so, I like that aspect of having those things available.
CM: Has the environment inspired your artwork to go in new directions?
AARON ALLEN: Definitely. I think being here, I definitely saw everybody doing a lot more pop art, which I probably was subvertly doing and didn’t realize it. And so that’s kind of crept into my work. And definitely landscape. I’ve incorporated more mountains and palm trees and the pool scenes and stuff like that that, but sticking to what I do also. So it’s putting all of these old ideas that I had and incorporating ’em and making new ways of making art, if that makes sense.
”I think having a show is successful in itself, but also, you’re like, “I need to eat.” And so those are the things that I kind of think about. I need to take care of myself, but I’m always just loving being involved in arts.”
Aaron Allen
Balancing Creativity and Business
CM: What have been the biggest challenges that you faced in your journey in artist?
AARON ALLEN: More than anything, I think the challenge is probably, “How can you monetize on that?” And it sounds bad to say, but I think we have to look at it in the same breath. You have to look at it as, “Can I make a living off of this? Can I be successful at this?” But what is your level of success? Because I think having a show is successful in itself, but then also, you’re like, “I need to eat.” And so those are the things that I kind of think about. I need to take care of myself, but I’m always just loving being involved in arts.
CM: How do you balance the creative aspects of your work with the business side of being an artist?
AARON ALLEN: Yeah, it’s a hard thing. Every now and then, I’ll have help from people periodically who see me and I know, but being new here and kind of making new friendships and new partnerships with people, a lot of it is on your shoulders when you’re just by yourself. And so you’re balancing this business side, but then also trying to balance this creative side and how to space time out and how to manage your time to get certain things done. I’m learning more and more as I get more involved, but it’s a process.
CM: What inspired your choice of subject and techniques?
AARON ALLEN: I’ve always been a portrait guy, so that was kind of my start. But I never was interested in doing like super hyper-realism or like the still life. I loved it to a certain point, but I always wanted to add all these elements. I’ve tried different styles of art, I’ve tried to incorporate all of those things into one style. Right now, I kind of feel I’m combining all of these ideas that I’ve had and trying to make these pieces of art that you can’t really put in a category. And I think that’s why I hashtag so many things. ‘Cause I feel, it’s so many different aspects of art, I just want to get to a point where people just see it as art and it not be broken down so much.
Sometimes, I get caught up with breaking down my art into categories and just not seeing — It’s art. It’s a development over so many years of trying different styles and you know, loving different aspects and seeing what works and what doesn’t and saying, “I still love that, so I’m gonna bring that idea back.” Not everybody loves graffiti. Not everybody loves street art. Not everybody loves landscapes. I kind of circle back to all these ideas and add a little bit more and make it a little bit better as it goes on.
CM: What do you hope audiences take away when they view your work?
AARON ALLEN: With the Palm Springs Cultural Center, it was a retrospective of some of the stuff that I did. That’s why I tried to show different pieces. I realized that I was going through a lot when I was making all of this art. And that’s worked itself into my art, being an emotional person, trying to evoke this sense of who I am. But I was trying to make things that were happy versus like me saying, “I’m dealing with all of this stuff going on. I’m gonna make these sad looking pieces of art.” I was just like, “I’m gonna make this look enjoyable and happy and vibrant and colorful and despite whatever I’m doing.”
The Palm Springs Art Museum (exhibit) was about joy and love and I wanted to express that despite whatever was going on in my life.
CM: I noticed that some of your pieces have influences from Keith Haring. Can you tell us more about that?
AARON ALLEN: I don’t think a lot of people knew who Keith Haring was, or what he stood for. ‘Cause he obviously was an advocate of social justice and he dealt with AIDS and HIV and passed away from it.
I’ve done a lot of black history months and I think I was kind of skipping over things that maybe are topics that I want to talk about. And I thought, it would be very cool to show to black males showing love towards one another, but then also adding that little Keith Haring nod. It was a nod to the culture and the fashion and all of that. But it is also was a nod to awareness about AIDS and HIV because it’s still prevalent, it’s still happening. I think things are changing and medicine is changing and that’s awesome.
”I just want to get to a point where people just see it as art and it not be broken down so much.”
Aaron Allen
Themes and Representation in Art
CM: Can you elaborate on the themes you explore in your art, such as social justice, mental health, inequality, HIV prevention, gay pride, and domestic violence?
AARON ALLEN: A lot of people just came to me and asked me if I was interested in contributing my art to certain things. As long as the cause is actually worthy and it’s admirable, I’ve always been okay with doing that. And I think some of it is personal. I’ve seen all of those things happen. I’ve experienced some of those things for myself. I think that’s the other side of it that’s important. We want to make art and we want to be known, like credited for having these shows as an artist and we want to be paid as artists.
I think we kind of forget that we have to give a little bit back sometimes. And so whenever people ask me to do things like, domestic violences and things like that, or social justice, I’ve learned how to be careful about what I put out there ’cause that’s important as well. And I’m never gonna stop. If somebody asks me to contribute or be a part of something, I’m gonna always try to give something back if I can.
CM: How do you incorporate representation in your artwork? And why do you believe it’s important for artists to reflect diverse perspective in the world?
AARON ALLEN: If I’m using myself as an example, I didn’t see anybody who looked like me who was like pursuing art. I might’ve saw a few different people. But when you don’t see somebody that looks like you in a certain space or a certain place, especially growing up, and it’s not always championed. You don’t think that you have an avenue to do it. And I felt, I don’t see anybody that looks like me, like really being successful at this. It was important for me to say, “Okay, if this kid sees me and sees all of these, you know, tattoos and he sees I’m a little different, then he may feel inspired to do that.”
I remember this one lady who messaged me and told me that I inspired her to get back in art at 70. She hadn’t done it for like 30 years. And so that kind of stuff, is the point of it.
CM: You use different mediums in your artwork. Can you discuss your creative process when working with these materials and how they influence the final outcome of your pieces?
AARON ALLEN: I tend to stay with acrylic, but I really like mixed media. I like using it all. And there’s probably some other materials that I don’t use yet. I played around with spray paint. I think it’s one of those things you need some open space to do. But I really love pallet knife work. I love portrait work and I love putting all of this stuff together. I think oil is a time-based paint and there’s technology and materials that allow to dry faster. I use a lot of that stuff, but I really like using both acrylics and and oil to make whatever I’m doing.
“With art, it’s helped me get through a lot of stuff. I kind of consider it my therapy and so it’s helped me get through a lot of stuff in my life.”
Aaron Allen
The Role Music Plays in the Creative Process
CM: You are also musician. What instruments do you play?
AARON ALLEN: I grew up in music that was just like a second love. I played trumpet first, but then I played drums, I played saxophone, I played a lot of instruments. I always sang, I was in choir in high school and stuff like that. And I still love to sing. I guess, it’s just me in the shower sometimes. I taught myself how to play guitar. I’ve gotten rid of all my guitars and I think I might pick it up again, but yeah, I think maybe I’m just kind of musically inclined a little bit.
CM: When you are creating, do you have music playing or do you like to work in silence?
AARON ALLEN: I would say like 90% of the time, especially when I’m in studio, there’s usually music going on. So if it’s a TV, I’m usually putting on something on I want to listen to. It might be a documentary or it’s usually a music documentary. Those things are like super inspiring. I like to see their creative process, because I think they’re like one and the same. So if you look at somebody making an album, it’s the same thing as art. They have all these concepts and all these ideas and they make the song, it may not even have a title yet.
But I think now for me, I’m evolving, so I put on different stuff now. Sometimes it might be jazz and it’s a lot of jazz and classical sometimes — that kind of gets my brain going. But it just depends. I might put on hip hop sometimes. I love R&B, that’s my first love. I just want to be in my space and kind of seeing and do my thing. I always put that on as an inspiration.
CM: What music do you have on your playlist?
AARON ALLEN: It’s crazy. Like it’s all over the place. It’s like my workout playlist is different from my studio playlist. And that may be different for what I may listen to when I’m at home or I walk these streets. I think the atmosphere dictates what I listen to or how I feel that day. I might be at the gym working out and I may need to listen to something a little heavier. So I might put on Jay-Z or then like the next day I might put on Madonna or like Janet (Jackson), you know. And then I might listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Metallica, ’cause I grew up listening to all that.
CM: How would you describe yourself in three words?
AARON ALLEN: I’m ambitious, I’m passionate. But I’m humble.
CM: And lastly, what do you love most about being an artist?
AARON ALLEN: It is the inspiration. It’s being creative. I don’t think that people have a way to express themselves all the time. And I’ve found these things that have given me a way to express myself, a way to express what I’m going through and my emotions. So it’s being creative, but it’s also just having the ability to express myself. With art, it’s helped me get through a lot of stuff. I kind of consider it my therapy and so it’s helped me get through a lot of stuff in my life. And I’m always grateful that I have that outlet to just be creative.
WEB: www.aaronallenart.org
SOCIAL: aaronallenartstudio