Hi, My name is Aristotle Steven Mirones. I’m 23 years-old and I was born and raised in Staten Island, NY. I am someone who is honest, direct, and always ready for a new creative adventure. I come from a very traditional family that practices Greek Orthodox religion. I began drawing at the young age of 3. years old. Going to a Jesuit high school in Manhattan, Being active in sports and extracurriculars, and being involved in my Church and Boy Scouting all brought me hope for a successful future ahead. Attending college away from my family taught me how to maintain a productive lifestyle by being organized with classes and networking with others. Overall, I like to stay curious and engage myself in all aspects of human endeavor. With all that being said, I can be close minded at times and people don’t always know what I’m thinking. I’ve developed an understated, or introverted  personality and I’ve only truly felt “free” and self-motivated when ‘m making art, sketching, or doodling. I am very passionate about being productive and efficient in my craft. If given a chance, I confidently believe I have the ability to provide every single person with an inspiring message and give society a new vision of the world around us. 

I always loved to sketch when I was younger. I always had the comforting feeling every time I picked up a pencil and put it to the paper. I was inspired to make a comic, because I liked the graphics in comic books. As I went into high school, I chose art as my elective class and by senior year I was selected to take the AP art class. By then I have ended up experimenting with a variety of mediums and art techniques, such as, water color paint, charcoal, collages, and abstract art.  

I was incredibly inspired, yet I had no direction in my creative career. Beginning college I stopped drawing, and chose Psychology as a major. I was raised to do good in school and attain a stable job, but by the end of my sophomore year my creative mind was compelled to pick up a random sketch pad. I got back into it and never stopped since. I had no materials other than ink pens. I started doodling again and inspirational creativity was brought back into my life. Ever since then, I’ve gotten the ball rolling and have been finishing pieces with ink, and some colored pencils. Now after graduating college in 2024, I have been in a tug-of-war battle either sticking with a paycheck job or choosing to make art full-time.

I’d say drawing, in all, is a wonderful way to capture thoughts and emotions. It’s like a visual language that tells stories and brings imagination to life without saying a word. The words must come about from the viewers themselves. I like to create intricate surreal and abstract ink pieces that push visual and conceptual boundaries. I want viewers of my art to understand that I like addressing the limits we place on ourselves by creating a new realm of imagery in reality. Overall, I like to provoke thoughtful dialogue, challenge established norms, and simply engage viewers in meaningful reflection.

The way I view my artistic creativity through my journey is outstanding. I have developed a productive relationship with art… in regards to the fact that I have endured both: my mental awareness — identity, purpose, discipline, & beliefs, as well as my practiced principles — frameworks, concepts, & metrics. Drawing can be relaxing and challenging, which makes it so exciting! Sure, it can be a bit stressful, but in the chaos there are new possibilities. Thus, as an artist, I continue in my own subtle flow state.

Since my childhood, I’ve had a passion for drawing that continues to this day. This passion has helped me develop my own personality and express myself creatively over the years. Every piece I create tells a story and reflects my thoughts and emotions to some degree. Some should be able to relate to these emotions, others might not. Therefore, I always like to keep this quote in mind:

“Art is meant to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” 

– Cesar A. Cruz

1.You started drawing at the age of three. Can you recall any early memories or specific moments that made you fall in love with art?

Absolutely, I started drawing since before I can remember. From what I do remember, I was expressing my inner-self and it didn’t matter who saw what I drew, nor who was supportive of it. I was always in my own world, and learning to expressing myself along this journey. At a really young age I was drawing cartoons. I came up with my own characters, maybe because I had many exciting childish thoughts from playing video games like Super Mario and reading comic books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants. I truly found my love for artistic nature and qualities later on in Middle School when I would hone in on certain skills and met my first art teacher. He introduced me to the basics like color wheel and primary colors and basic forms of shading with pencil.

2.Coming from a traditional Greek Orthodox background, how has your cultural heritage influenced your perspective on creativity and self-expression?

 It has to a certain extent. For the most part, I keep the family’s culture and religion separate from art. Both religion and art give me relaxation in their own ways. I’ve realized it is much more fulfilling to have clarity on your own qualities and hobbies, giving each the perfect amount of attention to grow as a person. 

I can say my culture and religion has influenced my self-expression. In situations where I am more in-tune with my culture, I am socializing with family. I am very outgoing and observant with people that I love and trust. On that note, I would say that my optimistic attitude and mannerisms play a role in how creative ideas end out on the page of a final art piece. It is best to be just as intuitive with art as you are with human relationships.  

3.You describe yourself as introverted and feeling truly “free” when making art. How does your artistic process help you communicate things you might not express otherwise?

It helps me communicate things in the simplest way, where I do not have to say anything. It is comforting to allow myself to visualize and decipher art, and simply be one with it. My friends and relatives notice that I am one with my art.

4.You work primarily with ink and colored pencils—what draws you to these mediums, and how do they shape your artistic expression?

What drew me to these mediums is the fact that I was a young aspiring artist and this is all I had available to me. Pens, color pencils, markers – they are so simple and may as well be the most universal mediums to doodle with. I like it like this, it gives me peace of mind. I can honestly bring a pen with a notepad anywhere and start creating at any point in the day.

5.You mentioned experimenting with various techniques like watercolor, charcoal, and collage. Are there any techniques or mediums you hope to explore further in the future?

This is my favorite question, because I know that this will present to me many new challenges. It could be stressful exploring other mediums. Yet, I am extremely eager to try each of them at least once. I know for sure I’ll have a period in my life where I am focusing completely on collages. I find it cool that you can combine paper in the most intricate ways and make something appear differently from what it was originally. The past year I’ve been collecting vintage pieces of paper, plastic, and cardboard. This is due to the fact that I’ve grown this attitude of “Don’t let things go to waste!” I think every artists goes through this mindset at least once in their life. I would also like to have a period in my life where I am sculpting, specifically, welding! So, on top of collecting collage material, I have also been collecting metal scraps and other disassembled electronic materials wherever I find them! This skill will surely take some time to develop, but I am so eager to start.

6.Many of your works explore surreal and abstract themes. What inspires these visual and conceptual ideas?

What inspires them is my twisted mind, yet playful nature. I like to be relaxed when I draw and in order to do this, I usually attack the blank page with no plan. I want to fully understand how my creative mind works as it creates. When I am putting random lines on the page, moments later I know something out of the ordinary will appear. I truly think that I can delve into a different reality, being fully aware of the “process of creating.” I know how to connect lines and forge conceptual thoughts. Which isn’t unusual because every artist does this in their own way. 

Other times, I have a direct plan for a final art piece. I like to transform a blank page into a spectacular and grotesque scene, which may or may not include an overall theme, if you allow it. I establish the elements of a piece simple, yet each vibrant in their own way and with their own structural importance. I am so proud of myself for being able to think creatively my whole life. I am a self-taught artist and constantly impress myself. 

Do you think it is hard to create something that seems like it belongs outside the realm of human possibility? In my opinion, it really isn’t. With this in mind I’ve been extremely inspired by Salvador Dali and Maurits Cornelis Escher because their work truly alters human reality. They’ve taught me to evolve with my own art just like they have. And the byproduct of that, time and time again, are beautifully intricate ink pieces.

7.Your art aims to provoke thought and challenge norms. Can you share an example of a piece that sparked strong reactions from viewers?

 I haven’t had art where it’s been in the open to many viewers, if i’m honest. First of all, I say that my art aims to “provoke thought and challenge norms” because I identify with my art more than anyone – my art completely and utterly provokes intense thought and challenges my normalities every day! But, I have been given many opinions on my art by friends and relatives. People have so many different views on it. I haven’t gotten an opinion or review that is almost similar. For example, take a look at my piece “Heart.” One friend described it as “A living thing that fell into a dried up shrub… the giving of the heart into an arid area, giving it a red, colorful life” Meanwhile my aunt described it as “The contrast of the oxygenated and Un-oxygenated heart.” However, in the future I’d like to be able to provoke and challenge a bit more. I know it will take some time and require me to build more of an audience. I know I’d have the ability to shock some people with the visuals I produce.

8.Beyond visual art, do literature, music, or psychology influence your creative process?

Out of these three, I would say that psychology influences my creative process the most. I actually graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelors in Psychology! After obtaining this degree, I focus a lot on human behavior and mental cognition relating to organizational and creative success. I am eager to apply resourceful theories of psychology and intellectual thought to my everyday work life. Psychology has simply taught me to develop core mental frameworks in order to be productive with my creative process.

9.What would success look like for you as an artist? Is there a particular goal or dream project you hope to achieve?

I want to create a 100 million dollar art community and host galleries and exhibitions. I’d also like to create live art for an audience. Overall, I am eager to sharpen my skills, try different mediums, and experiment with other art techniques.

10.If someone unfamiliar with your work were to look at one of your pieces, what do you hope they take away from it?

They would be quite baffled. They would be reminded that art is “subjective.” They would be immediately inspired to go ahead and do art of their own. I simply think that my art can prove to artists that “art block” doesn’t exist… and to non-artists that they do in-fact have the ability to draw and be “good” at it.