Meet Aaron Sutton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Sutton.

Aaron, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A child of the 80s raised on both coasts that was fed a healthy dose of fantasy, anime, sci-fi and horror films. My father was in the Coast Guard so my younger years were spent on Governors Island NYC and Long Beach CA. Both areas had a huge impact on my growth and development as a young artist growing up during the crack era Reganomics and the beginning of Hip Hop as a global culture. I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I received my first art award at six after we moved to Kansas City in 1986. We moved to Atlanta in 1990 after my parents divorced. The dirty south was a different planet. The talk the culture and expression were all relevant in my development. My mother would take us to Black Expos and other cultural events to keep us grounded. She also married my stepfather, that was for Somalia. This was right before the Olympics and the Dungeon Family blew up, leading the south to rule the world.

After moving back to KC, I really began to focus on my art and got into graffiti at 14-15. I formed graffiti, breaking and rap crews in KC that were active young and always battle-ready. Some of the older artists at the time were not nurturing the next generation and would beef and battle with some of us. The competition only made us stronger. Circuit Breakers was the dance crew, Visual goodies was the Graffiti crew and I emceed/rapped under the name of Brother of Moses with the Deepthinkers up until 2014. I attended the Kansas City art institute after HS in 99 but didn’t really like it. I was in there looking at Juxtapoz in 1999 they were like GET THIS STUFF OUTTA HERE LOL. A bit ahead of my time with the whole graffiti and “lowbrow” art. I wasn’t inspired by any of my instructors and the lack of culture overall was alienating after two years. I left school to pursue music but would always create no matter what. I became a father in 2004 and I began to paint a lot more and my Afro Cosmic style was born. I switched from oils to acrylics because my son was always in the studio with me.

That same year I got signed as a recording artist to Coup De Grace Records Rob Swift, J-live and Paul Barman and were our label mates lol. We got a great review by Vibe magazine even though I dissed them lol and our first album NECK MOVE was re-released in Japan. The duo was called the Deepthinkers. We were distributed by Caroline so we made some noise. DTs consisted of my self and Leonard Dstroy, aka Kyle Dykes. We were a socially conscious group with beats that were out of the world. Leonard is still active in the music and has produced a number of tracks for Strange Music artist. I later helped established Kansas city’s first HIP HOP academy with a group of friends and fellow artists.

We had a great four year run as a group teaching 1000s of children across KC the elements of HIP-HOP culture. As I became more involved in the art scene of KC, I began to paint murals across the city. I also started sculpting in 2010 (self-taught). My graffiti roots came in handy as I began to bring my afro-cosmic visions to the city. I became the youth art director for fringe festival KC in 2016 and would regularly work with the KC Chalk Walk as an artist thought the year for different corporate events and youth programs. I continued to work as an art instructor for at-risk, homeless and incarcerated youth in Kansas City, working with various organizations up until 2019 when I relocated to Denver.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
If it were a smooth road, it wouldn’t be real and it wouldn’t be worth it. We grow from every challenge we face and it’s important we don’t lose sight due to rejection lack of acceptance or frustration. We can all feel uncertain at times, especially now, but with the artist, there are no guarantees. Clients can disappear, be cheap, or difficult. Projects can get canceled and works you’ve spent 100s of hours on may not sell. A wall you just painted may not last a week. It comes with the territory. Many artist are eccentrics that yes want to make money and survive off of their work but there’s something other than a monetary drive them. I’ve always been able to maintain solid relationships with clients and for the most part, they’ve all been great and I can’t complain. I’ve worked with and been supported by all walks of life on my artist journey and I’m extremely grateful.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
I’m an illustrator, sculptor and muralist. I create album covers, T-shirt designs, etc. I’m know for my afro-cosmic work, which is a blend of graff- futurism, figures along with various symbols and shapes. VG Visual goodies is also interchangeable. It also stands for Visual Griot. The visual Griot pieces are narrative and speak to the situations of today with jumbled arrangements of imagery and objects. What sets me apart as an artist is the ancient futuristic cultural infusion I portray with my 2d work and my sculptures. My sculptures go under the name Soulmec. A combination of Soul and Olmec and they are some of my standout pieces literally. I really enjoy making them.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t know about luck but I definitely feel blessed by the ancestors and spirits that assist me on my journey, Maintaining good relationships with clients and organizations is very important as well. As a visionary artist that doesn’t heavily rely upon reference images or models, the energy has to flow. It’s very organic and can be spontaneous. You have to capture the spirit the moment the energy of the idea you have or it can be lost. I’m grateful to have clients that appreciate what I do and keep commissions within the realms of my style and expression. The same can go for opportunities you have to stake while it’s hot, stay on top of the project and keep the momentum up to remain excited and involved in the projects.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 816 278 6969
• Email: elaron7@gmail.com
• Instagram: @visualgoodies
• Facebook: Arron Sutton Visual goodies

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