Today we’d like to introduce you to Alfredo Ott III. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Alfredo Joseph Ott III was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Alfredo was exposed to art at a very young age as his grandfather, Lucien C. Barbarin, Jr., was an artist. Inspired by his grandfather, Alfredo began to create his own work. His first formal classes were at McMain Magnet Junior High School, New Orleans, Louisiana, under the guidance of Mary Pierson and Clifton Webb. In 2001, Alfredo graduated from St. Augustine High School as an aspiring basketball player and a developing artist. Prior to his enrollment at Dillard University, Alfredo attended Delgado Community College where he took courses in painting and drawing. While at Dillard, Alfredo studied various disciplines of visual arts under the guidance of talented professors John Barnes Jr., Dr. Charles Hollingsworth, Cheryl M. Dixon, Clifton Faust, and Alex Baker. Alfredo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual Arts from Dillard University.
Additionally, Alfredo had the good fortune to participate in a study abroad program while attending Dillard. Through the ISA program, he was enrolled in a Plein Air painting course conducted by Ron Gibbons in Paris, France. This experience also allowed him to explore his talents in photography. Combining the two, Alfredo presented a series of paintings based on his photographs for his senior show in 2005.
While the visual arts have always been a major part of Alfredo’s life, he also has a passion for basketball. At the age of nine, Alfredo quickly found a love for the game. He played basketball for four years at St. Augustine High School and graduated as a three-year letterman. Alfredo received a full athletic scholarship to play basketball at Dillard University. His talent for the game earned him many awards and honors.
After graduating from Dillard University in 2005, Alfredo decided to pursue his basketball career. This decision led him to Worthing, England, where he played for two seasons. In 2007, Alfredo moved to Spain to continue his basketball career for seventeen seasons. The following is a list of places in which he played: Pamplona, Navarra, Spain / Logroño, La Rioja, Spain / Azpeitia, Gipuzcoa, Spain,/ Palencia, Castilla y Leon, Spain/ Melilla, Spain / Castellon de La Plana, Spain, and Ourense, Spain (Galicia).
While diligently working to further his athletic career, Alfredo still found time to continue his artistic work. He took online courses with Savannah College of Art and Design in 2013. He is pursuing a master’s degree in Digital Graphic Design from the Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR). While abroad, he was able to work in a studio with sculptor Jose Antonio Olarte. The experience taught him techniques that have helped shape his work. In Castellon de la Plana, he studied under Raquel Chover and Nacho Puerto at the Academia College. Alfredo also has works on display in Ourense.
Traveling and living overseas has opened his mind and artistic eye by immersing him in different cultures and experiencing an array of inspiring sights.
Alfredo currently lives in Houston, Texas with his wife Lindsey, and their son Alfredo Ott IV. He now has studio space at his home after recently working at Winter Street Studios in Sawyer Yards, 2018-2020.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Well, the past few years for everyone have been pretty challenging with Covid. The most challenging event was having my son in Spain during the pandemic. I was in season at the time which meant practicing every day and traveling every other week for games, taking courses for my master’s, and also coaching kids twice a week. I had to miss a game or two because of my son’s birth and had to do plenty of translating at the hospitals because my wife doesn’t speak Spanish. Let’s just say my time was occupied 24/7. During that time we were also occupied with trying to get permission for our mothers to travel to Spain during the pandemic which was also a very challenging ordeal. Apart from that our transition from Spain to the united states this past year has been pretty hectic as well. We began our return stateside at the end of January, we began the process by shipping about 24 boxes of our belongings to the states. Upon arriving, we began our search for a home to lease. After finding one, we rented a Uhaul and collected our belongings from various family members in New Orleans and in Houston. After finally having all of our personal belongings in one place for the first time we began our lives in Houston (Medical center). Then last month, after about 6 or 7 months of leasing we bought our first home in the Bear Creek area. So that meant more packing and moving. This whole process of finding a new home and moving in unexpectedly went pretty quickly. I also had an art show to prepare for in October while watching our son daily and starting back up with my online coursework. This year has been a very busy one. I’m continuing my transition after retiring from basketball this year. This will be an ongoing transition until we finally settle into our new roles and home.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I recently retired from playing professional basketball overseas for 17 years (two in England and 15 in Spain). During all of these years overseas, I was able to keep up with my artistic side. During the last few years of my basketball career, I have been more and more active artistically. I have had the opportunity to showcase my art in Spain during my stay there. I am an artist, and for me that includes various mediums, including oil, acrylic, and watercolor painting, digital art/painting, logo design, book cover art, movie poster art, and drawing. I have plenty of interest such as basketball, nature/animals, plants/gardening, sustainability/renewable energies, watching documentaries and learning about history, and also watching movies/tv shows when I have the time. The subject matter for my artwork stems from all of the interest that I have. I enjoy doing animals, portraits, some abstract works in pen/ink and watercolor, and have been doing more digital painting as of late. I would say that I’m proud of the fact that I have been able to continue to grow as an artist and create the art that interests me. I guess the thing that sets me apart from others is my background and the diversity in my subject matter.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The crisis has taught me to stay true to my interests and things that I love because those are the things that will keep me balanced throughout my life. The time indoors allowed me to create like never before and to research and find out things that I may not have been able to find out in such a short period of time. It also showed me things that could be possible to accomplish once the pandemic was over. The crisis also helped me pinpoint where my interest truly lies.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://planetott.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planet_ott/?igshid=17zfpgidwuh47
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlanetOtt/about
