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

Hi Kevin, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I am fifty-seven years old as of this writing. I became a professional creative about seven or eight years ago, give or take. It was about that time that I began sharing my work with the world, and the world, or rather a very tiny portion of the world, started to take some notice. But I have been a creative for as long as I can remember.

At a very early age, I took to drawing. As an only child, with a busy imagination, I would often stay in my room for hours at a time, drawing pictures on pieces of typing paper, and then story boarding them across my bedroom walls, fixing each page with scotch tape, until the room was completely wall papered with my illustrations. Common topics included World War I airplane battles, ski mountains with lifts, skiers, jumps, forests, tunnels, gondolas, and all things alpine. Later on, I began to get a lot of inspiration from Mad Magazine (1970’s), with a special appreciation for a particular character called Don Martin. Don Martin was my muse and a source of a great deal of creative inspiration for me.

Drawing waned a bit in my teens, as I turned my attention to creative writing. I also became interested in journalism and became the editor of my high school newspaper.

When I reached college I stopped drawing and writing. I was too caught up with the pressure of trying to get through the academics, and social aspects of college life and art did not seem st the time like a viable path for me. After college, my parents quickly pressured me to get a “real job” (one with benefits and retirement plans – hooray!) and I did so at the age of 23. I quickly succumbed to corporate stress and did little, if any creative work whatsoever for the foreseeable future.

When my three children were toddlers, I began drawing again, showing them what little I knew and helping them explore their worlds further by making art.

In my mid to late 4o’s when the kids were self sufficient, and work related stress was somewhat less than it had been for me in years past, I began creating again, in ernest. I think, reaching 50, released my creative drive, which had been pushed aside for so long. This coincided with social media and, with my children’s encouragement, I began sharing my work publicly for the first time.

Publishing my artwork on social lead to my first shows at The Great Highway Gallery in San Francisco, and Sawyer Land and Sea Supply in Santa Cruz. My work sold quickly at each show and my career started from there. In 2022 I left my 32 year career in the corporate world, to pursue art full time.

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.

See previous answer for add’l detail.

I draw/illustrate, often digitally or with pen and ink on a variety of mediums. I sell my work as original art, prints and I also adorn found objects with paint, which are also sold as art. I also do a fair amount of commercial graphics and illustrations and have collaborated with brands like Birkenstock, Yeti, Caddis Eyeware and others. I think my years in the business world give me a leg up when talking to brands about projects they have in mind, but in the end its my simple, narrative style of work that seems to get their attention. Being relatively knew to working professionally as a creative, I have been flattered and sometimes astonished to be asked by prominent companies to create imagery for their businesses. I only work with brands that I identify with in some capacity, which has made the collaborations that much more rewarding.

One of of the things I am most proud of, or take the most pride in, is when I hear different people use the same or similar vocabulary to describe my work — that’s when I think, “they get it!” and that makes me happy. Examples include: simple, clever, editorial, wry, witty, at times funny but always with a bit of seriousness….. things like that.

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 my particular story may lend itself to anyone who thinks, “it is too late for me” or “I don’t have the background (art school, etc.)”

I started creating for my own fulfilment. I have always had a need or desire to express myself artistically either with illustration or writing. Though I lacked the courage and vision to embark on an artistic career at a young age, I never stopped feeling creative inside and once I reached a place in my life where I could think and act more freely, the dam broke and the work poured out. I did not set out to become a paid creative, it just unfolded on its own.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to reach people in a personal way. I want my work to say, “it’s alright, I’m vulnerable too”.

That moment when Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown in the Peanuts Comics? That is funny, sad, and very poingent all at the same time. That is the sentiment I strive for in my work.

If I can bring some joy and give people the freedom to look at the darker bits of life with a bit of humor and empathy, I’ve accomplished my mission, generally.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kevin-mirsky.com
• Instagram: @kevin_mirsky
• Facebook: never
• Linkedin: I left LinkedIn behind when I quite my job in 2022
• Twitter: nope
• Youtube: not yet
• Yelp: I hope not
• Soundcloud: no but I do love music