We were lucky to catch up with Stephen Hinton recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Getting the green light for my first solo exhibition has been the most meaningful project of my artistic career thus far. As with most artists, we all dream about a solo exhibition one day so when I got mine, my concentration and focus went into overdrive because I wanted to do the absolute best I could.

The body of work focuses on my teeneage obsession with magazines and print media. I grew up as the last generation before the internet was a household thing, and as such got all my pop culture from magazines. The artwork in this body of work also serves as a bit of nostalgia to the 90’s.

The end result was this being my favorite body of work to date. The work is currently on display at Ford Gallery PDX until the end December 2024, otherwise, please visit my website ArtXPrincegnarls.com to view the artwork.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in Chapel Hill , North Carolina, and having been obssed with drawing my whole life I found my only option after high school was to attend an art school. I attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco CA with a focus on traditional illustration. From there, I continued to hone my skills and rolling myself into the local art scene in San Francisco, having taken part in several exhibitions over the years. In 2021, I moved to Portland Or, where my career has really taken off. I am a member of the Urban Art Network and help with organizing and setting up First Thursdays in the Pearl, and I am currently represented by Salem On The Edge gallery in Salem Or.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I love the conversations I have about my work with others, and hearing how they connect with the work, which often times, are for reasons completely different from my own. The real connections the conversations bring is very rewarding, as well as the genuine reactions (whether good or bad.)

How did you build your audience on social media?

I don’t have a huge following. I’m currently around 2800 followers on instagram and that took me a while to build to. I’m also not that concerned with how big a follower count is because I know how superficial the internet can be. With that said, I think a lot of people forget the “social” aspect of social media and just try to treat it as a popularity contest. On the road to get to where I am now on social media I answer every question asked, give real genuine responses and actully engage with the people talking about my artwork. I feel people want to know they are actually engaging with the artist, and not just getting cookie cutter responses.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artxprincegnarls.com
• Instagram: @princegnarls

Image Credits

@lancetakesphotos

@velazqed