We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Hyner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Super early on. I had all this creative energy bouncing around in my body when I was very seven or eight, but I didn’t know what to do with it or even what I was feeling. The easiest creative job for me to understand at that age was acting. I acted in plays in junior high, but by high school I realized I wanted to focus more attention on writing, directing, and the visual side of things.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m primarily a screenwriter by trade, but have found an amazing creative outlet in photography and visual art. Early on during Covid, I was understandably frustrated and to cope I turned to Photography and Photoshop. I was trying to make something new everyday. In March of 2021 I created a piece called Twenty Skies that I posted to instagram as well as Reddit. That image went viral and has brought a lot of attention and unexpected opportunity my way. My philosophy is to create images that resonate with me and to create only for myself, so seeing them connect with others has been immensely satisfying. I feel seen and understood. It’s nice to communicate with people through art.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

For me it’s been about being authentic and true to oneself. I’ve gone through the stages of emulating other’s work, something all artists do at one or many times in their life. For the most part, though, the images I create and post are just images that I want to see. They aren’t for anyone else and I’m not trying to fit into a specific box or style. I just want to create an image that reflects how I’m feeling. In my experience, creating for myself has lead to originality,

Separately, connecting with other artists has been gratifying. I’ve been active on Reddit and Instagram for a few years now and have made some great friends by being encouraging, being encouraged, giving constructive feedback, etc. There are wonderful artists out there making things for all the right reasons and it’s a joy to connect with them.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Youtube is an amazing place to learn. For Photoshop, everything changed when I found the channels Piximperfect and Phlearn. Unmesh Dinda and Aaron Nace are amazing teachers. Their personalities and teaching styles made me want to keep returning to learn more. I recommend them to everyone who messages me about where to begin.

Also, as I’ve already mentioned, the community on Reddit and Instagram has been wonderful. I’ve privately messaged artists I admire about how they’ve accomplished elements of a piece of work and I would say every time someone responds with a warm and thorough response.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alexhynerart.com/art
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexhyner/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexhynerart?lang=en
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhynerart

Image Credits
All images created by myself, Alex Hyner.