Create how you Create with Ernalgas

We sat down with Ernesto to see how he creates.

Story Writen by: Scott Morris

Confidence is key,

no matter what you are doing in life. Standing behind what you are about is the biggest motivator that anyone can have. @ernalgas knows that better than anyone as he always reminds himself of 3 simple words: don’t give up.

Ernesto comes from a family of artists with a carpenter father by trade but an artist by passion and a brother who introduced him to art. As a kid, his brother would him comic books which he would trace to practice his craft (not to the enjoyment of his brother because it would damage the pages but that’s beside the point). That was just the beginning.

He always felt a strong support system and specifically remembers his older cousin who would give him nice, neat printer paper and fresh pens that he could draw with. This gave him the confidence to build on the skill he developed because these family members always encouraged him to create.

As a visual artist, Ernesto does a wide variety of creating, ranging from illustrations, graphic design, photography and more. Come 2018, he decided it was time to take that passion and turn it into more than just an idea.

“How do I prove to myself that this is a sustainable career and how do I make it exactly what I want; maintain a lifestyle with my art.”

At this time in his life, Ernesto was not happy with a lot of aspects of his life, spending his weekends wasting money three-to-four-day benders. He felt that he could never keep that consistency he needed to build momentum and progress forward. So, he decided it was time to focus on his sobriety so that he could make his business dreams happen. And just a year ago, he finally made the leap to move on from his full-time position and focus solely on creating as his business.

He began with making graphic t-shirts as a business to combine his graphic design skills with his passion for illustrating. Since then, he has continued to help out companies build their brand through logos while also constantly improving his illustrations skills as that is his biggest passion.

That motivation has continued to be found within himself and also externally. He remembers one interaction he had with someone in Houston where someone specially asked if he was an artist. In that moment, he realized how difficult it was to call himself an artist. There was a resistance to overcome and finally say “I am an Artist.” From then on, he decided to dive into what he wanted to do and change how he viewed himself. 

“It made me own what I am doing and stop being so shy about something that many people see as a hobby.”

And with him being a Houston local and native, there is a lot of inspiration that comes from the culture built in the city. But he wants to keep his own twist on things to not just remix or copy what has been done before.

“My approach is I gotta draw from my own experience, my own thoughts, my own perspective and something that is true to me. Creating in that manner is work that is original but I think it resonates with myself and other people.”

Throughout creating, Ernesto just enjoys the process. It’s not so much about the destination anymore because the journey is the true art for him. His pieces typically start in one place but end up in a completely different place, and that is exactly how he likes it.

“This is who I am, and this is what I do. If you are not convinced that your product is great or if you can’t stand behind your logo, what makes you think other people will.”