Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matthew Rucker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Matthew thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

At the risk of sounding cliche, the best investment I’ve ever made (and continue to make) is in myself. Ironically, I learned this lesson from trying to get artists grants. The formula for writing a grant is a simple one: this is where I am, this is where I want to be, these are the tools/resources I need to get there.
One day, while writing a grant, I looked at the list of tools and resources I’d written down. On a whim, I prioritized the list and found that the essentials weren’t too difficult to attain on my own. I decided then that, instead of relying on the hope of others funding my dreams, I’d knuckle down and do it myself. It worked, and I felt better knowing I’d done it on my own. To this day I still invest in the equipment, supplies, information, and people who will carry my career further. Sometimes it takes a while, and sometimes it’s expensive, but it’s always paid for itself and then some.

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 an artist. I create original oil paintings that embrace simplicity, tranquility, and joy. Our world is filled with noise and stress and things clamoring for our attention. My paintings are a counter to that chaos. Using a style I created called hyperminimalism (a combination of hyper-realism and minimalism) my paintings feature a single small focal point (usually an animal) on a large area of ambient space. This gives the viewer just one thing to look at, which makes it easier to connect with both the individual subject, and the painting as a whole.
The paintings in this series (Balance) invite the viewer to relax, breathe, and find a moment of calm in our otherwise busy lives.

I offer original paintings, 11″ x 14″ photo prints, and archival fine art prints of almost any size.
My work can be found online at matthewrucker.com, and at my gallery in the Northrup King Building in Northeast Minneapolis – 1500 Jackson street NE, #154, Minneapolis, MN 55413

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

That if I make great art and “get myself out there” I’ll get “discovered” and my career will be set.

I used to believe so many art world myths:
Make good art and someone else, especially art galleries, will sell your art for you.
All you have to do is get a show in New York, and you’ll be rich and famous.
Just paint what you want and people will buy it.
Just paint what you want and an art dealer will love it and work tirelessly to sell everything you create.
That an artist’s job is to create art and that’s it.

The more successful I became, the more I saw how wrong all of that was. There are no short cuts. There is no quick or easy path to take. It takes a stupid amount of both hard and smart work to succeed as an artist.
There are some (very few) examples of a young artist selling their work for millions, but you’d have better odds winning the lottery than that happening to you.

Plant seeds in good soil; nurture, water, and feed them. Get in the dirt to pull weeds and keeps pests away. It’s hard, dirty, sweaty work, but you’ll reap what you sew.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For the majority of my time as an artist, my work was all over the place. I dabbled in painting, photography, interior design, fashion design, furniture, poetry, and more. I didn’t know how much damage that was doing to my career. Even after I chose to focus exclusively on painting, I still didn’t create work in series. My paintings were all over the place. I did portraits, and animal art, surrealism, impressionism. No one could follow my path, because I wasn’t on one. I was scattered and unfocused.
My girlfriend at the time (she’s now my wife and full time business manager) eventually convinced me to focus my work into a single series. That has made all the difference. I’m happier with my work, I’m far more successful, and even as I improve and make subtle changes in my work, my collectors know what to expect, and that their investment is sound.

Contact Info:

• Website: matthewrucker.com
• Instagram: matthewruckerart
• Facebook: matthewruckerart