Meet the artist: Zack Rhodes
Q. Who is Zack Rhodes?
A.I grew up here in Sonoma County; was born in Santa Rosa and grew up in Petaluma. I’ve been here my whole life except for a little time spent in Austin.
Q. How do you spend your time?
A. Since the pandemic, I’ve been the main caretaker of our son, who just turned one.
Q. What else should the community know about you?’
A. I started Free Art Friday in Santa Rosa in 2015. The idea is to give the community a clue about a piece of art that’s left out in the community. You find it, you keep it. It did wonders for me as an artist.
Q. Why do you make art?
A. I like when people can relate to me. I used to do a lot of commission-based pieces. But as soon as I made my MO less about money and more about making my art a reflection of what I see and feel, I was happier.
Q. What’s special about this piece in particular?
A. I drew it in the summer of 2019. My girlfriend and I were homeless at the time and were looking for a place to rent. We had jobs. We had money. It was just a renters market. We were trying to be honest with our situation and people looked down on us. We were wearing our hearts on our sleeves. I knew this was temporary but at that moment I was starting to lose faith. I liked the idea of making compassion a trending fashion.
The original lives in my sketchbook and my Instagram. I did a run of prints and sold some. Eric Kent Wines Cellars (located on Hopper Avenue) also used the label last fall.
Follow Free Art Friday on Instagram, and check out Zack’s art yourself.
