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Hello and welcome to the third “Wow Me Wednesday,” a weekly series in which I interview and feature artists who inspire me. Today I’ll be featuring Roberto Cuevas. Online he’s known as “iamcued”. He’s trying to push the boundaries of mobile technology and his surreal, photorealistic pieces have gained him quite a following. Roberto is also a Graphic Designer and Music producer from Atlanta, Georgia currently based in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Do you consider yourself to be an artist? Does that term rub you wrong? How would you describe yourself and your abilities?

Yeah! I do consider myself to be an artist, because I am a boss at creating inventive stuff all day everyday! In all seriousness, though, I think a skilled artist is someone who can unify self-expression with skill in an original, innovative way. The best ones are the ones who do this, while also serving as pioneers whose innovation sparks continuous creativity among other individuals. My goal is to be a pioneer, and specifically, my first endeavor is to tackle the frontier of mobile media creation. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been progressively making steps to push the artistic & technological boundaries in the field of mobile art. It’s wild that I’m at a point where I can humor the idea that I’ve begun to potentially revolutionize the genre in my own way, especially when it comes to video, as the broad experimentation with this medium has allowed me to shatter many of the technological limitations in creating mobile content.

I think you are very well on your way to those goals! Did you always know you were an artist or designer? What’s your story about how you got into all this?”

When I was little, I was really into drawing and painting. In middle school I started to fiddle with graphic design in some volunteer gigs, but I didn’t consider the possibility of being a freelance creator in my career at all. Now, all I wanna do is create.

So, obviously mobile editing is a huge deal to you which brings me to my next question: 
What do you see as the future of creativity and content creation? Also, do you think that there is a balance between technology and analog when creating? Or in your own personal creation process are you all in with mobile or do use other tools as well?

It seems like everything is currently shifting more and more towards a focus on mobile tools & creating things on the go. For me personally, I find that I can flesh out an idea much faster using my phone or tablet, as opposed to Photoshop on my computer. I try to balance them out, but I usually lean towards mobile stuff when it comes to personal passion projects.

It’s still bonkers to me that video livestreaming using a phone is actually possible. I think creative tools are going to become more and more accessible, as the tech becomes smaller. However, there’s almost a bandwagon-like effect that comes with the territory usually. Take the photography scene on Instagram, for example, which has become super trendy. However, I think in a few years, there are going to be less bandwagon jumpers, and more individuals who genuinely have a passion for the art as the tools & communities continue to expand and grow.

So, one of the last questions! What is your dream for your next 5 years?

My biggest dream & goal is to create the new standards! To create new forms of success, to give people tools to create & achieve their own goals, and overall, change the game in the process. I want to do massive creative projects in collaboration with the biggest artists, brands, and creators, as a music producer & visual artist. The end result being growth and innovation. Because Woo Boost!

That is amazing such a good goal! Just a few follow up questions to wrap things up.

Who are your biggest influences? Favorite artists or designers?

I’d have to say my biggest artistic influence is @huseyintaskin, who is an incredible photographer based in Istanbul. Also a big fan of @brightong, @escapingyouth, @ryankpotter, and @jonathan_swinney. Also, special shoutout to @danwashere & @swhitegraphics!

Any final quotes, mantras to inspire the readers?

At the end of the day, I’d just encourage people to keep working at their craft, seek to inspire, and look for ways to make it possible for others to do the same. As my friend @jonathan_swinney says, let’s “Create the new clichés.”

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A big thanks to Roberto for making this a successful “Wow Me Wednesday.”

If you’d like to see more of Roberto’s work you can find him on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamcued/

And thank you all so much for joining me! If you have any artists you think I should interview leave a comment below.