If you’re bored at home these days, it may be time to pick up a new hobby. An artist in Buffalo is turning to social media to bring out your artistic ability while you’re in quarantine.
“Whatever is going on, you can just tune in with me and I’m going to help you feel a little bit better about yourself,” said Valentino Dixon of Buffalo.
Dixon spent 27 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. While behind bars, his love of drawing kept him sane and even helped the Buffalo native get his conviction overturned.
Now, he’s sharing his passion with others. He’s bringing his show called Draw and Talk with Me to Facebook.
“I usually take questions from our viewers, and I pick a subject matter to draw, and while I’m drawing this I’m teaching them how to draw the subject matter and then I’m answering their questions,” Dixon said.
In his show, he interviews people of various backgrounds while teaching them how to draw and then posts the episodes on YouTube. But during the coronavirus outbreak, he’s changed it up a bit. Since last week, he’s been going live on Facebook at 6 p.m. on weeknights to offer his artistic expertise to people stuck at their houses.
“People are at home, they’re bored, I just want to entertain people and lift their spirits and make them feel better, it’s a lot of fear out there and rightfully so but I just want to give people a sense of ease,” he said.
It’s not only fun and games but he also provides life lessons in the videos. This week, he’s inviting kids to join him for his Facebook lives.
“I ask the tough questions to these kids and just to see where their brains are at and try to help guide them in the right direction if they have a perception of something that’s not right,” he said.
Dixon has a message through all of this.
“I survived a 6x8 cell for 27 years, then we can survive these two months or whatever it is we have to go through,” he said.
If you missed Wednesday’s Facebook live, it’ll be posted to Valentino’s YouTube page, where you can find plenty more content. The Facebook lives are usually posted to YouTube the following day. Dixon will continue to do the weeknight videos until the end of the month. Next month, he’ll do them on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings.