For the Love of Pixar: Featured Artist - Rey Paez

On October 11, guests attending our Pixar tribute show benefiting LiNK: Liberty in North Korea, Invisible Children, and Give Clean Water, will see artwork from Rey Paez of West Covina, CA. 

Rey's work is fun, whimsical, and incredibly imaginative. I recently had the privilege of asking him a few questions. Below are his answers. 

Rey Paez signing his artwork. 

1. The Pixar universe is full of characters we can relate to. Is there one particular character you identify with the most? Why?

Hmmm, this is a tough one because their are so many Pixar characters that I can identify with... But since I have to choose, I would say Sulley from Monsters Inc. He has a special place in my heart. Sulley is such a softy and caring character who always wants to help everyone out. He also has an innocence and naive side to him that I can totally relate to. 

Sulley. Monsters Inc, 2001. ©Disney/Pixar.

2. What person, place or thing is inspiring you right now?

These days I get inspired by so many of the amazing artists I follow on Instagram.

3. You're showcasing a piece titled "Chuck & Jay" at For The Love of Pixar next month. Tell us about it. 

It's basically a movie poster for a story I've had in my head for a while now. That story is about a little boy named "Jay" that's handicap and gets bullied at school. His one escape is drawing monsters in his notebook. One day he wishes that those monsters would come to life to be his friends and protect him from the bullies... And so the wish comes true.

Chuck. Original character design by Rey Paez. 

That's the basic idea. Ever since I thought of this story I wanted it to have a slight Monsters Inc feel - it would be somewhat of an alternate world that the monsters would live in and so on. I'm hoping some day to turn this into a short story or something... I'll need to find a writer since I'm far from being a good one. 

4. If you could travel back in time, what advise would you give to your 10 year old self? 

Wow! Hmm... I would definitely tell myself to be more adventurous and try harder to get out of my shell... I was way too shy and cautious about everything growing up. I would also tell myself to not worry so much about what other people think! We should all really stop worrying about what others think or what their opinions are about us. 

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Check out Rey's Instagram feed here to see a gallery of his work.