Today we’d like to introduce you to Tucker Eason.

Tucker, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

I was born and raised in Colorado, and received my BFA from Occidental College while attending classes at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.

In college, I focused on semi-realistic graphite portraiture and abstract installation. After graduation, I moved into my mom’s basement and my started to experiment with oil paints. My canvasses shrunk to fit my new garage-studio, but the work exploded in nuance. I was interested primarily in figure work when I connected with artist Dierdre DeFranceaux in the Bay Area. Less than a month later, I packed up my gear and moved to California to work under her as an assistant.

With little practical experience in the art world was eager to learned how to manage a studio, interface with clients, connect with galleries. I got my first real studio in Oakland and started on working towards a career in the art world. After five years in the Bay, I was hungry for more and seized an opportunity to move to Brooklyn NY.

I have been in New York for almost six years and I am currently working on a series for an upcoming gallery show. From my Bed-Stuy studio I continue to dig into themes of class, identity and work towards the hot white center of what it means to make paintings every day.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

Haha, I wish.

I mean yes and no. I’m lucky because for the most part, I love what I do. There are parts of my job that aren’t my favorite, but as a whole I get to paint every day and the fact that people like my work enough to trade their hard earned money for it says a lot.

I am not a photographer, videographer, social media manager, registrar, archivist, gallery liaison, client manager, or salesman but until I have a team (or at least a few assistants) they are part of the gig.

Most of this job is just longevity. How long can you sacrifice your weekends, free time, social obligations, financial means, and general sanity before you make enough of a living for it to be a full time thing? If you don’t love the thing you are doing, it’s impossible to stay committed to a studio practice.

The studio is my refuge, my haven, and my longest standing relationship. Before I moved to NY I was living out of my truck and the studio was the only thing I didn’t get rid of. It’s a touchstone. That’s not to say it’s always roses, but it is a constant check-in with myself.

I don’t know if that really answered your question though, in terms of bumps in the journey. Pursuing a practice in the arts is a long path and little hiccups along the way are really minor in the long run – even though they may seem monumental at the time.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

What do you do

I’m an oil painter. I focus on the quiet struggle of the working class and the structures built around the blue collar ideal. I was trained as a draftsman, working mostly in realism. As I have grown into oil paint and collage work my focus has drifted to a more expression-based representation. I am a working on separating from “academic” representation and letting go of expectation.

My collage work began as background information for representational paintings and has blossomed into a practice of its own. I find portraits are more interesting when the underpainting is more robust and as I foster that side of my the process, the outcomes continue to surprise me. It is a much more involved and nuanced way of working that has become a much larger part of my paintings.

I am most proud of my production and work ethic. I love making the pieces and letting go of the outcome has been a difficult un-learning that has given me permission to make much more honest and relatable pieces.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?

The most essential characteristic in the limited success I have found is an unwavering dedication to the craft, a borderline delusional belief in my work, and a workhorse mentality that knows no “quit.”

Showing up, day after day is hard and most people don’t have the stomach for it. It isn’t even the quality of the production that matters, but just being in the studio is half the battle. Being a professional is not about inspiration, its about putting in hours and making the pieces. I really believe that “inspiration” is not a thing that will wait around, you have to be standing in front of a canvas with a brush in your hand when it happens or you miss it. It’s like the “flow state” that athletes talk about. It’s super rare, and if you aren’t in the right place, with all the preparation taken care of you’re going to miss the train.

Like I mentioned earlier, the day in and day out is exhausting and relentless and without a “love of the game” at the bottom it’s really not worth it. Fortunately I have an inexhaustible passion for what I do.

I get to paint everyday, how rad is that?

Pricing:

• Prints are roughly $200
• Small Paintings Roughly $1,500
• Large Paintings Roughly $15,000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tuckereason.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/2kreason
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/tuckereasonart
• Other: https://tiktok.com/2kreason

Image Credits

Tucker Eason
Kendra Wood
Leigh Snodgrass