A Glimpse into the Origins of sapoots

Hello friends,

You know, it's relieving to see sapoots take form. 2 years ago, I lived in Davis, CA. If you don't know anything about Davis, it can be summarized in one word: Farmland. So because of this, nearly every day I would drag my kitchen chair to a huge field, brew some tea, bring a book, and watch the sunset. It was peaceful, and it holds a place in my heart as the most serene setting I've existed in

But after I would watch the sunset, I would ask myself, "What now?" Once sun crossed horizon, it would get cold and I'd be forced back inside. Sometimes I would read, sometimes I would sip my tea in silence. But one night, I decided to pick up a pen and draw.

This is what I drew. While the fly could use some work, this piece, later titled Predator and Prey, would be the stepping stone for sapoots to exist.

Happy with my drawing, I sent it to some of my close friends. Some artists, some casuals. They liked it.

"Huh?" I mean, I thought it was cool, but I didn't expect others to actually like it. Of course, my friends are biased, but that gave me the confidence to continue to the next drawing.

A few nights later, I followed my normal routine. Drag the chair out, brew some tea, read a book, and ponder as the last glimpse of light disappears. While I was outside reading, Salvador Dali kept popping into my head. You know, the melting clock one. I knew what I wanted to draw.

So, I grabbed the pen yet again, queued up some J. Cole, then went to work. After about 2 hours, this is what happened. Of course, this isn't as beautiful as the great Salvador Dali, but confidence started to grow.

Can I actually draw? Well, sorta. It needed work, so I continued. A year later, sapoots was born.

As time continued, it became evident I couldn't draw as well as I thought I could. I tried shading complex objects with pen and ink and was humbled very quickly. I tried using pencil to sketch out human forms...humbled. I have such a massive respect for traditional artists, but I knew I needed to take a different direction. Then, on a limb, I casually drew Sprout, the logo of sapoots. A lovely little guy. He represents my inner child. Just an innocent little guy who finds himself in hilarious situations. He's simple to draw, but the stories he finds himself in are endless. That's the beauty of simple art.

Truthfully, I'm extremely passionate about sapoots. I know it's going to take an immense amount of work to pull this off, but I have some wonderful ideas for the direction of sapoots. I will be selling at farmers markets soon enough. I will be producing more art prints. But most of all, I'm genuinely enjoying waking up to work on this.

I graduated with a degree in Neurobiology at UC Davis. How? I genuinely don't know. I was a C-, C, and B- Student who barely scraped by. My major was where all the pre-med kids found home, and because of that, competition was fierce--not only between the students and professors, but between each other. I could have studied more. I could have went to more office hours. But I couldn't shake this feeling that school just wasn't for me. Drawing was the escape. The more I began to love art, the more anxious I became. I was scared to find solitude in a non-traditional path. Scared to realize that actually, school just isn't for me. Neurobiology is fascinating. But being pitted up against the smartest people at UC Davis, where the average test score is an 80-85% stripped any joy from learning, as the focus was always "what grade did you get" and never "what did you find most fascinating about...".

So, I somehow got my degree and decided to take my own path.

This is what sapoots is. An escape from the traditional, through simple, thoughtful art.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do,

sapoots