Photo by Tyler Nelson
Dominique Viverette holding the Pop art-style ink and watercolor painting made for his grandmother, who survived COVID-19.
It’s rough for artists right now. Results of a recent survey by Americans for the Arts report that around two-thirds of artists are unemployed since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
A 2018 graduate from MIAD, Dominique Viverette got his bachelor’s in illustration with a minor in communication design. The majority of his work is with watercolors, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by just looking. The way he combines ink and watercolor makes for such vibrant work, it’s hard to tell it is done by hand.
Viverette’s senior thesis turned into a business for him after graduating. The brand MKE Native helps get some of his art to the public, but that wasn’t the only thing that helped him network his art into the community.
By Dominique Viverette
Drawing#2
“MKE Native is about everything surrounding Milwaukee,” says Viverette. “I paint a lot of landscapes, along with animals found around the city. I’m also native Milwaukee, born and raised and plan on staying here.”
Living in the Sherman Park neighborhood on the north side of Milwaukee, where the impact of COVID-19 is much more severe, Viverette has serious first-hand experience with the virus. At one point a few weeks ago, he had three close family members in the ICU because of coronavirus. His 76-year-old grandmother was successfully treated and released into therapy after her hospitalization. The two other family members were an uncle, who was just released, and an aunt. Unfortunately, his aunt did not survive.
“It’s definitely hitting home,” says Viverette. “I knew it was real, but I didn’t take it as serious. I feel like anyone that has a loved one that gets it, takes it 100-percent more serious.”
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Viverette was driving for Uber as a day-job, but as soon as his family was affected by the pandemic, he stopped. Not only was driving for the ride-share a way to support himself, he was also using it as a networking opportunity.
“I was meeting hundreds of people a month,” says Viverette. “I would pass out my business cards for my art to passengers that seemed interested.”
Image courtesy Dominique Viverette
Viverette's Mitchell Park piece which was selected for the Milwaukee County Parks 2019 Maptacular.
MKE Native is mainly sold online through Viverette’s website, but after one Uber ride, someone noticed he did a print of the Mitchell Park Domes. That landed him an opportunity to get some of his clothes and prints on sale at the gift shop at the park, but also was accepted as a featured artist for the Milwaukee County Parks 2019 Maptacular, where Viverette’s print became the face for Mitchell Park.
Viverette has been staying positive through all the adversity and has a really good outlook on what’s going to happen when things get back to normal.
“I feel like COVID-19 will inspire a lot of artists,” says Viverette. “Personally, I took advantage of this time by keeping myself busy painting, reading the bible, cleaning, updating my website and most importantly, restructuring my life.”
Viverette feels like this pandemic reshaped his family spiritually and prepared him for a rainy day. Hopefully he doesn’t have to deal with that rainy day any time soon, but if he can stay positive through this, that should give others who are struggling a little hope.
