Art – the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

Regardless of the medium, artists of all different styles have to pull inspiration from somewhere. A young artist from Youngstown, Ohio who goes by Diesel knows this well. Drawing since he could hold a pencil, he now runs a small business making money off of his designs. The value of his work isn’t always monetary, however, and his inspiration comes from a variety of sources. Many of his pieces are by request, but this drawing of Tech N9ne he drew at random. When asked what sparked his interested in Tech, he says:

“Tech was a big influence. Never holding back and just doing what he felt his way. A nd look what happened — still elevating his stardom. He’s got mad credit from me. I dig his creative style and feel I’m in the same boat. [I get] sick of people telling me to do this or that, so like him, as well as other influences, I’m doing it. Before it’s all said and done, at least I gave it a go.”

Diesel’s been a fan of the rapper from the get-go, praising Tech’s classics as his best work. His first listen to Tech N9ne was the song titled “Questions” from his 1999 release The Calm Before The Storm. The song opens with:

“What’s really goin on?
Why do I do the things I do?
Why so many questions?
What am I doing?
I talk to myself… when there’s no-one to talk to.”

Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason. More often than not, we’re motivated by an external force. For artists it could be following in the footsteps of someone they admire, or simply the drive to put their own perspective out there- to make people think. For Diesel, this is the most important factor by far. He also believes everyone has a certain unique creativity within themselves. One of his favorite quotes is, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up,” by Picasso. As someone who’s been expressing his artistic abilities at a very young age and spinning his own viewpoint on things for years, there’s no question that Tech would agree.

Check out more of Diesel’s artwork at:

https://www.facebook.com/DieselArt

– Callie Brown, Blog Contributor