Tobal is a Polynesian-American artist who creates art in the form of storytelling through his diverse characters and variety of colors. His work is influenced by his love of cartoons, film, skateboarding, comics, music, humor, and the ups and downs of everyday life.
Two characters you’ll often see in Tobal’s work is Skully. A skull faced character with different objects coming out of his head. Skully represents that although we are all very different we all are the same underneath. Tobal uses this character to help viewers to relate to the piece and feel a sense of unity and family. The objects coming out of the head often represent the emotions and thoughts during the time of creating that specific painting. The second character you will see in many of Tobal’s works is LoveBots. These square shaped robots with hearts on their chests represent the feeling of Love that is desperately needed in everyone’s life. With each painting, Tobal hopes to pass on that feeling of love to each viewer.
Tobal was born in 1982 in Panama City, Panama while his father served in U.S Army. At the age of 3, his family moved to Ceres, California where his interest in art really began. Collecting comic books with his father, Tobal was amazed at the art in each comic he held. Constantly trying to draw these characters his love for art grew. When he was 12 years old, his friend introduced him to skateboarding. This piece of wood on wheels would change his life. Skating every day Tobal was constantly in the streets. Bringing his board wherever he went. Naturally, he was exposed to the works of many graffiti artists. His art expanded from sketchbooks to walls in his teen years. During high school, his passion for art paused after getting arrested for graffiti as well as his high school teacher told him, “you’ll never be an artist, nobody buys art that’s not realistic.” Years went by before Tobal made any art. In his mid 20’s his desire returned when he found himself at a crossroads in life. Find a way to make a living doing what you love or continue getting by in a 9-5 job. He chose the first.
Over the course of 14 years, Tobal has continued to develop his skill as an artist and built a family of collectors from all over the world. His overall goal is to bring more smiles to the world through his art.