A model of consistency

It is always good to watch young men of color inspire their peers and the rest of the world through their creative expression. This is especially true when it comes to visual art. For artist Ozzyoz Da Vyrus, his artistic journey started very early on in his life. As a matter of fact, he got into art as soon as he was able to pick up a pencil. Ozzyoz Da Vyrus’s would always end up asking his dad for more paper and pencils. As opposed to video games for Christmas, Ozzyoz Da Vyrus’s would receive clothes, crayons, and pencils. While he didn’t like the outcome at the time, he credits those scenarios for helping him to stay focused on his craft. At a young age, Ozzyoz Da Vyrus indirectly learned the importance of being consistent in your craft. This trait would be a driving force for him throughout his artistic journey. He believes that consistency is the most important trait that will allow a starving artist to have a sustainable career in the field.

As a matter of fact, the driving force behind the journey of Ozzyoz Da Vyrus is to show upcoming artists that they don’t have to be starving artists. He wants to show artists that they can have a great career if they have the right tools and strategies in place. There are times during one’s journey in which pivoting is necessary. For Ozzyoz Da Vyrus, that moment would come in the 7th grade. The surging popularity of Facebook, Myspace and the digital era forced him to put the paper and the pencil down. He knew that he had to fully embrace digital art. Ozzyoz Da Vyrus’s transition to digital art was fast-tracked by taking college credit courses in digital art as early as 7th grade. His effective use of Instagram enhanced his early momentum. Since 2012, Ozzyoz Da Vyrus has gained organic support from uploading his digital art on the social media platform. He has nearly 100,000 followers. Ozzyoz knew that his artwork was getting better and better each year. His Instagram allowed the evolution of his art to be on full display. Ozzyoz Da Vyrus is heavily influenced by Japanese inspired art. As a kid, he was blown away by the level of detail in the animation. It was a far cry from Looney Tunes. He worked on replicating the style artistically over and over until he mastered it. Like a chef mixing different ingredients, Ozzyoz would take his love of pop, hip-hop culture, and graffiti and add it to his Japanese Style artwork. And thus, the ‘Vyrus Style’ was born. Vyrus was taken from the term ‘virus’ because his artwork is so infectious, you won’t get enough from it.