Digital Pop Artist Anthony T. Peña shares a glimpse inside his world
Meet Anthony Peña
This digital pop artist has made a name for himself in our city! Check out his story.
By: Xitlally Velasco
Anthony T. Peña is a self-taught artist who loves drawing people, illustrations, and logos. He graduated from Omaha North High School and studied fine arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
As an urban contemporary digital pop artist, Peña's color palette varies depending on the subject matter. A majority of his art centers around the American flag and the African-American experience by manipulating the red, white and blue throughout his work to tell the story.
“HOPE” is Peña’s drawing that was turned into a mural at 13th and Nicholas Street. The graphic represents Dalton Carper’s viral photograph of Zuri Jensen, a 7-year-old girl who became a symbol of hope for the Black Lives Matter Movement. She was photographed at a protest for George Floyd at 72nd and Dodge on May 29, 2020.
Photo courtesy of the Omaha World-Herald
Peña was also one of the 17 artists selected for the Omaha by Design Art+ Infrastructure Metro ORBT Utility Box Murals Project, which won an OEAA award for Outstanding Public Art.
His latest projects are a veterans wall mural for Metro Area Transit and an Omaha summer arts festival mural cube dedicated to Ukraine. Additionally, Peña recently did a collab mural named “Peace” with artist Patty Talbert, a project that came to him by Omaha By Design and Arts+ Infrastructure. On top of expanding his artwork portfolio, he’s also passionately eager to produce his 1st graphic novel called “4 OUT OF 5”.
“As an artist, I love using my first amendment right to express myself through my art. I believe that art is life, and I feel blessed to be able to create whatever my imagination dreams up; from concept to completion, I always trust the process.”
Peña shared with us five things he holds close to his heart…
1. Art.
“Once upon a time, my life was full of doubt and despair, but now it’s filled with hope!”
- Anthony T. Peña
When no one was there for me, especially when I was feeling down and depressed, my art always seemed to make me feel better. I used to get so discouraged and frustrated because I wanted to be an artist so badly but could never find the right avenue to show my work. I wanted to give up, but I thank God for the internet and the technology to showcase my artwork. Once upon a time, my life was full of doubt and despair, but now it’s filled with hope!
2. Studio.
This is my fortress of solitude. I love being able to go to my studio to get away from the outside world. Before I got my space at Hot Shops, I spent the majority of my time drawing and painting at my apartment. Getting a studio was a dream come true for me, and it’s an incredible feeling to know I’m among other artists creating whatever our hearts desire.
3. iPad and Procreate.
“The artwork I’ve made from this app so far makes me eager to see what else I can dream up.”
- Anthony T. Peña
The digital artwork that I am able to produce would not exist without my iPad and the Procreate app. The technology in a drawing app like this has been a game changer, and I’m still learning to use it. The artwork I’ve made from this app so far makes me eager to see what else I can dream up. It also makes me feel like I’m making the world a better place and saving trees by going paperless.
4. Art Community.
Ever since 2020, when I first came on the scene as an emerging artist that created the ‘Hope’ drawing, I never imagined the variety of other artists that I would meet in Omaha. I have had nothing but love shown to me by the other artists. To be introduced as an artist has always been a lifelong dream for me. And I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter if you’re a struggling or an established artist; everyone appreciates and supports each other’s art.
5. Imagination.
“My imagination has no limits.”
- Anthony T. Peña
I love doing concepts, and I like to say in a world full of possibilities, anything is possible. My imagination has no limits, and having the ability to create something from nothing is an amazing feeling. Visualizing a drawing in my head and then putting it down on paper brings an idea full circle.
Xitlally Velasco is a University of Nebraska at Omaha journalism student with a concentration in public relations and advertising and a minor in Psychology. Velasco is the Digital Content Curator at Lozafina Marketing and Public Relations. Send your tips and story ideas to office@lozafina.com
