We had the good fortune of connecting with Steve Casino and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My uncle was a commercial artist so I was aware of it as a career from a very young age. Seeing him quickly draw recognizable objects was like a magic trick to me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m mainly known for creating miniature people using peanut shells. It started as a joke to amuse my friends. I’d find a peanut that was shaped like someone I knew and draw a face on it with a Sharpie. The results made everybody laugh. Then I branched out to celebrities and started adding limbs and painting them. It turned out I could paint insanely small with great detail. After making about 20 of these I posted them online and they went viral. This launched my art career at age 47. Before that I mostly failed at every artistic endeavor that I tried but was too stubborn to quit. All the skills learned upon the way made it possible for me to excel when the time was right. Using the success of the peanut art I’ve branched off into many new areas. I’m known for using oddball mediums such as Tic Tacs and discarded packaging to make art. This has all led to much media attention with appearances on Good Morning America and other shows. I’ve been featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not twice. Am so happy that I didn’t give up.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite places to eat is Johnnie’s Pastrami in Culver City so we’d go there a few times. I love to kill time at Amoeba records in Hollywood then walk across the street to the Funko store. I’ve got a soft spot for Topanga Beach because it’s kind of isolated. I also am a fan of the pizza at the Rainbow Bar And Grill in West Hollywood so we’d definitely go there. Maybe do some shopping on Melrose. Definitely have a drink at sunset at the rooftop bar of The Whaler in Venice beach. I’m a cheap date.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My friend Lude was an amazingly gifted artist who taught me how to draw properly in high school. The famous caricature artist Philip Burke took the time to go over my portfolio when I was in college and spared no criticism. It set me on the right creative path for the rest of my career. My friend, Artist Robert Petrick believed in me and got me into the toy industry. And my friend Jason Freeny inspired me to just be creative and just do art. This helped me grow a following on social media. There are many others but the guys I work with at Bang Zoom Design (toy inventing firm) inspire me every day.

Website: stevecasino.com

Instagram: @stevecasino

Twitter: @stevecasino1

Facebook: http://facebook.com/painterofnuts

Other: Tik Tok @stevecasino

Image Credits
Steve Casino

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