We recently connected with Chase Fleischman and have shared our conversation below.

Chase, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I do. Overall, I’m happy where I’m at in my creative career, but I do wish I took this pursuit more seriously when I was younger. I spent a lot of time drawing at home or school, working on new techniques, themes, etc., but it took a long time to start showing work publicly and learning the business side of the equation.

I didn’t even start painting until 2017, and my portfolio has now shifted almost entirely to that medium opposed to drawing/illustration. It’s an ongoing process that I’m still learning as I go.

Chase, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an artist whose focus is primarily on sci-fi/surrealism and oftentimes musical themed work. Originally my portfolio was entirely drawing based but it has since shifted to paintings and murals. I started showing my work publicly around 2013 at a traveling show called Pancakes & Booze.

In 2017, there was a new art gallery opening up in Dallas called Deep Ellum Art Company. I submitted my portfolio to them and was accepted in their initial lineup of artists. Shortly before they opened their doors, I was contacted by their Art Director who asked if I’d be interested in painting a large mural on their building. To that point, I’d never painted before. I decided to take a chance and…learn how to paint on the fly, in a very public and potentially embarrassing manner if it didn’t go well, but luckily it did! They haven’t banned me from the gallery yet.

Since then I’ve dived in head first with painting. One thing I’m proud of is that I feel like I have developed a pretty unique style when it comes to painting, particularly my robotic themed works, which makes them more recognizable.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The first time I ever showed my work publicly, at the previously mentioned Pancakes & Booze show, the curators holding the event had placed my artwork in the furthest back corner of the packed venue, and at the very bottom of the wall. Needless to say, I didn’t sell anything that night.

Second time I showed my work publicly was at an art festival called Urban Legends in Deep Ellum. I had my clamp lights and table all set up, prints on display, original works on the wall behind me and was ready for the wave of festival attendees who would surely be interested in my work…still sold nothing. No prints, nada.

I went back to the drawing board (pun!) and put together some new pieces, while also learning to adjust my prices to a more…”realistic” level. Eventually, Pancakes & Booze was heading back to Dallas, so I signed back up. This time, I sold my first piece in maybe the first 15-20 minutes of the event. Before long, all of my work was off the wall and heading home with new owners.

Since then, I have continued seeing highs and lows in this creative journey, but I have no plans to stop any time soon. I’ve even begun curating my own exhibitions, which brings on a whole new set of challenges that I love trying to tackle.

My goal now is to always try and improve my skills to be the best version of an artist that I can be. If I can slap some paint on a canvas that periodically someone decides would look good in their home or business, even better.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Probably all the work that goes on behind the scenes to get that painting or drawing or whatever creative “thing” you want, out the door and on display. For me at least, there’s countless hours of trying new techniques, pushing through creative blocks, juggling the time and energy to sit down and “create” alongside all of the other things that might be happening in my life at any given time.

For any non-creatives who reach out to artists requesting commissioned work, artistic projects etc. just know it is infinitely easier for an artist to just create whatever they want without deadlines or time constraints, and show it to the world. It becomes much more time consuming and stressful when an artist needs to factor in the vision/wants/needs of another person into their work.

That being said, it is incredibly fulfilling when you’ve poured hours of time and energy into a commissioned piece and the client loves the work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chaseartist.com/
• Instagram: @chasetheartist
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chaseartist/