Our Sites

Still Building America—Pablo Guerrero’s art and ancestry

“At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

It’s an amalgamation of industrial sculpture, graphic design, and family heritage that Pablo Guerrero has prepped into a triumphant blend.

Considering the work it produces now, Amigo Arts has its roots in an unusual place: Pablo’s grandfather’s cleanup service company, Amigo Janitorial. Pablo wanted to pay homage to his hard-working family while forging his unique path, so as his aunt took over the original company, Pablo moved in a different direction.

His love of the Ed Roth vein of hot rods inspired an early project due for Pablo’s graphic design studies at Central Washington University. When an assignment resulted in a Camaro-themed, mixed-media, dimensional piece, the professor advised Pablo that perhaps next quarter he should enroll in sculpture classes. And the rest is history.

An AMC Rambler’s fender became the canvas for the first art Pablo sold, and it was to “an awesome public artist,” which made the transaction even sweeter.

Every job after school was a fun stepping stone, from a shop that built things for Disney to a company where he was tasked with designing and fabricating vehicles in a “Monster Garage” style. After a stint as an industrial designer for a beer tap handle business, Pablo got bit by the “sign bug” and began designing signs as a freelancer. Even now he’ll take on subcontract work for larger sign companies.

So what does he enjoy most about Amigo Arts?

“I think my favorite part is the people. We tend to gravitate towards the people putting it all out on the table and making their first big leap as an entrepreneur. We love being part of their success. Plus, we get to make really cool stuff and hardly ever the same thing twice.”

Since Pablo and I first discussed this interview almost a year ago, his business has grown, and you can check out his new website at AmigoArts.com.

Along with his wife Melina, he started his brand out of necessity when the downturn in the economy cut hours off his day job. Fresh from moving out of their garage and into “an actual shop,” they’re still thriving. And he has eyes on a few specific, eclectic future goals.

The first is to build a theme park attraction or “really cool dimensional scene” based on a cartoon or movie.

The second: “I also really want to design and fabricate something for the Seattle Mariners. My family has baseball in their veins. My grandfather is the biggest fan; I think it would be the ultimate payback for my grandpa to get to the field and see something I made.”

Pablo is looking to expand his workforce as well.

“Last, my goal for the company is to employ. I never went into this thinking we’d be this big megashop, but I’d really like to get to be a shop of maybe five to seven.”

Parting advice from Pablo: “Don’t be scared to get out of your comfort zone, learn all the time, and stay the course. Peaks and valleys, man. If you are going out on your own, there are going to be plenty of times when you think it would be much easier to hang it up and go to work for someone else. I’m guilty of this popping in my head from time to time. Stick with it; it’s definitely more rewarding!”

Check out Amigo Arts on Instagram and on Facebook.

All images courtesy of Amigo Arts.