Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Elion.
Gregory, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I started my military career in 2009 and up to 2013 everything was going well. I had just gotten orders to go to Korea and had follow on orders to Italy. I would be in Korea for a year then would move to Italy, all of a sudden, my orders were taken from me and I was told I would have to separate from the military because my job was too full basically. Just like that my military career was over and I had no plan, so I moved back to Texas and ended up getting a civilian contracting job where I would have to relocate to Doha, Qatar. I was in a middle eastern country for 2 years by myself and enjoyed it. After my time was up in Doha, they reassigned me to an office in Hampton Va. Now this is where things really begin to shift for me.
I was randomly laid off with no warning and the only thing that was keeping things together for me was school. My savings diminished and times got really hard, I began to struggle with anxiety and depression and ended up having to move in with my Girlfriend in Atlanta Ga. Before I moved the only money, I had to my name was the money I received for selling my furniture because I couldn’t take it all with me. 500 dollars is all I had the day before my move and the moving truck ended up costing me 450 dollars. I packed up all my things and moved to Atlanta with 50 dollars and an overdue phone bill. Right when I got to Atlanta my phone was cut off, so I had no GPS and had to follow my Girlfriend the rest of the way.
I turned to photography just to take my mind off the stress and it turned into a passion. This past year I taught myself how to shoot 35mm film cameras and added that to my skill set along with digital photography I picked up while in Qatar. Photography opened my mind and allowed me to release stress while also teaching me valuable lessons. I could have stayed down and not rebuilt my life but one thing photography has taught me is that everything has a blessing or lesson depending on the angle you look at it with. With photography angles are everything and they can make or break a picture and the same can be said with life, changing the way you look at your problems can change the whole picture. This concept has gotten me through some tough times and this is what I would like to teach the youth. My main goal is to create an organization where I can teach this lesson through all art to the youth while also getting them recognized for their work and vision.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My art is photography. My photography is digital but as of late it’s been mainly 35mm film photography. How I create is based off inspiration at the moment or if there is a story I’d like to tell through a photo. A lot of the times I just take my cameras where ever I go and do a lot of random walking and just looking around. It’s hard to explain but when I see the photo in my head, I quickly snap it, it’s like a 6th sense so to speak. Basically, I go a lot off feeling because I want my pictures to be felt and not just seen and that’s what I want people to take away from my work a feeling of the moment in the picture.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Being an artist is hard and it is especially hard when it comes to finances which I’ve had the pleasure of learning recently lol, but I would just encourage others to continue to do what you can and write down ideas so that you don’t forget them. Do what you can and work with what you have fall in love with the art and the money will come later.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can see my work on my Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/elion_gonzalez/, a way to support my work is purchasing prints or just liking or reposting my pictures. For me at the end of the day it’s not about the money, money comes and goes but it’s more about the feeling. Art inspires and thats what I want to do, Inspire.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3459 hombly rd Houston tx 77066
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/elion_gonzalez/
- Phone: 470-658-9109
- Email: Gregory_elion@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elion_gonzalez/
Image Credit:
Gregory Elion
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
