We were lucky to catch up with Robert Jackson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Robert, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
This is such a funny question but I think it comes from the movies portraying an anguished artist staring at a blank canvas, puffing on their cigarette, and sighing. I suppose I have certainly met my share of disgruntled artists over the years, but for goodness sake they should get another job and see how fortunate they are. As for me, I feel like one of the most thriving people in the world, I color for a living! Maybe I’d be considered Epicurean, a “Carpe Diem” philosophy, and one who really wants to make the most out of life. Painting is always a joy for me. For 30 years I’ve been a full time artist, which truly outshines the “regular jobs” I did previously as a young adult. That being said, is it all easy? Of course not, but as the silly saying goes, the best things in life are never free. The business side of art is somewhat a regular job and at times discouraging, but that really is a small part of the process and which is why I enjoy working with galleries to let them do just that.
Robert, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I did not grow up thinking about art at all. My father was an Engineer working for a corporation, and I gave it very little thought as to following in his footsteps. For Christmas my senior year in college (BS Electrical Engineering, University of Delaware) my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) gave me a set of oil paints as a Christmas present. I absolutely had no idea what to do with them. So, I signed up for Painting 101 that last semester. I had no idea at the time how much that would change my life, but that was my favorite class throughout my 4 years of college. My professor could see my passion and asked me if I would consider staying at the school and getting a Masters of Fine Arts with him. Already having an engineering job lined up, I asked him about the practicality of it. His quick response blew my mind, “How do you want to make your living as an artist?” I responded with “what do you mean, as an artist of course!” He explained that almost all graduating artists find other ways to support their art, the majority becoming art teachers, others working in bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants, etc… He then held up one hand with his fingers outstretched and said less than this many of my students have made it off their art alone. I thanked him for asking me, explained I already had a great job offer, but that someday I’d come back to him when I’m a full time artist (I did but that makes this story too long).
Working as an Engineer I painted at night, thinking that someday when I made enough from art I’d quit my job. I quickly came to realize that you never make full time money doing a part time job. As a result, I had to take a leap of faith and quit to be an artist. Wanting to get a little reassurance, I met with the Pastor of the church we were attending of I could chat with him about about this life changing decision. To my surprise, he suggested I quit, not to be an artist but to come work at the church. After 5 years of Engineering, I quit and found myself in the ministry. Lots of passion in that career, but I found myself still thinking about painting, and after 5 years there, now 30 years old with two kids, I decided it was time to quit and be the artist I wanted to be. Thirty years later, I guess this stuck.
Initially, I just loved painting and for some intuitive reason, still life became my interest. Most still life involves painting objects just for the sake of painting the objects, making a pretty painting. That quickly became dull for me, painting flowers, vases, fruit, etc… but I still liked the concept of still life. I also found that the world was saturated with these types of images, and in order to make a living I’d better be uniquely me. I started having a little fun, maybe my apples would have cocktail swords and a playful bite out of them. Balloon dogs and vintage toys became common props and I began to find that the more fun I had with my art, the more fun my collectors had. As opposed to wall decorations, my art became conversation pieces. And best of all, my work became recognizable as my own. I pretty much put everything I am thinking and feeling in my paintings, though somewhat in a puzzling way. Think of my paintings as Act 1, Scene 1 in a play, I love to let the collectors figure out their own journeys through a painting.
These days, I am pretty much what one thinks of as the quintessential artist. Painting 8 hours a day, sending my paintings off to galleries around the country to sell for me. A few shows a year in commercial galleries and museums, both solo and group.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
This is a more recent story, but wait – I suppose it has been 5 years ago now! In 2019 I was painting the outside of my studio which happens to be on the main street in my town with the sidewalk right there. Not my swiftest move, but when you have a can of paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, you aren’t holding the ladder. I fell off the ladder landing directly on my back, L1-L4 to be exact and a couple ribs. I managed to get myself home, told my wife I was going to get in the hot tub, to which, seeing my face ashy white said “you are going straight to the hospital.” The Dr. told me I have good news and bad news, what do you want first. I like dessert last, so I said give me the bad first. He said “bad news, you broke your back and some ribs, good news is I can’t do a thing about it.” The way the breaks were, I didn’t require surgery or a cast, just a brace. So I immediately asked him (much to my wife’s dismay) how soon can I get back to the studio. He responded “as soon as you want!” I was back the next week, and I’m certainly not going to tell you it didn’t hurt like heck. Actually a little more than that, and for quite a while. First day, I think I took 13 steps, that’s what my phone tells me. But the Dr. told me the more I work it the better off I’d be. So that next week I started “Myself as a Still Life” – bad joke – but thought it would be good to walk back and forth to a mirror to paint myself for my healing. I decided to eliminate the brace, but did include the spilled paint can and the brush I was holding. Looking back at that year, believe it or not there wasn’t even a dent in my production. But yes, it hurt. I try and walk 5 miles a day now, and feel better than ever.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think the biggest thing that baffles my non artist friends about my career is how I can live within this sink or swim scenario. Most people have a paycheck, health care, and maybe even profit sharing. An artist never knows how much they are going to make each month. It’s blind faith that someone will see my painting and want to live with it. Maybe that is oversimplifying, and what that means though is that I honor every opportunity. People always talk about what was your biggest break, or what made it for you. Actually its thousands of little steps, it’s not one magazine, or newspaper, or gallery, or social media site, or collector, or museum that makes you – rather all of the above and more. So when CanvasRebel asks if I’m interested, sure! It’s a pet peeve of mine when I hear struggling artists say how “lucky” I am because I’ve made my “luck” happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.robertcjackson.com
- Instagram: @robertcjackson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.c.jackson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTWKqMSDq0Z4eImWcdi4QZQ
Image Credits
Photo credits Luke Jackson (myself in studio) Drew Wiedemann (artwork)