We were lucky to catch up with Victor Rigole recently and have shared our conversation below.
Victor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I do wish I could go back in time and continue pursuing my art. While I was in my junior high school days, I took art and found that I was actually very good at sketching and drawing as well as painting. Unfortunately, as I entered high school the option to continue taking art was not available and I became more interested in dating and high school activities, although I did use my artistic ability from time to time in high school. I married very young shortly after high school and life did not permit me to do much of anything with art. Unfortunately, that marriage didn’t last very long and I was soon divorced.
While in the early 80’s I found myself unemployed. I found in the newspaper a local artist was teaching oil painting, so I signed up and took a few lessons. I really enjoyed it and recognized once again a talent I had for painting. My funds were limited and unfortunately it was not economically feasible for me to continue my lessons. Shortly thereafter I joined a high demand religion, remarried, and my life got very busy with the various activities of the church so much so that I really had no free time to pursue any dreams or hobbies. My talent for art and oil painting went into hibernation.
It was January of 2020 just before Covid shuts down the world that my now 3rd wife gave me a gift card to Hobby Lobby and encouraged me to purchase some art supplies and try painting again. As a result, I started painting again. Here we are in 2025, almost 6 years later that I am pursuing my art as a second career having retired from a career in IT, May of 2022.
Because so much time has transpired since I took my first oil painting lessons I have come to realize that I wasted all those years by not continuing to focus on my art. I lost so much valuable time toward developing my talents and starting a new artistic career and profession. In my younger days family and friends did not encourage me to pursue art and would say I needed a “real” job to support a family. If I could go back in time I would not listen to their negativity and would have taken more risks to pursue art as a career.
Victor, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a self-taught artist creating oil paintings of landscapes of the Georgia coastal area as well as painting famous golf courses like Augusta National and Pebble Beach. My passion is to create paintings that speak to the viewer, that give them a sense of being in the presence of the image they are seeing. I began dedicating myself to painting in January of 2020 after being encouraged by my wife to purchase some art supplies and take up painting again after a 40 year hiatus. I take pride in my growth as an artist and the support I have received from my clients. I am an example that anyone can learn to paint or develop their talent as an artist as I returned to painting at age 62. It is never too late to start a new career. While it can be a bit more challenging the older you are, you can still do it.
I created a podcast in April of 2025 called, Artist Stories of Middle Georgia, so I can share the stories of the various talented artist in the middle GA area. There are so many wonderful artists in this area and so many we just don’t know about. That is one of the purposes of my podcast is to share with everyone who they are, the art they create, etc. Another purpose is to help support the artist by sharing how viewers and listeners can purchase their artwork.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to create something out of nothing. In other words, to take a blank white canvas and create a beautiful work of art that speaks to others. Also, it is working through the process of painting or creating. I have learned that the more successful I am as an artist is because I follow my process for painting. When I deviate from that process, the result is not as pleasing or successful.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I would say that I am still building my audience on social media. Does anyone arrive at a point and say they have all the followers they need? I don’t think so and as a result we have to continue to focus some of our time on attracting and keeping folks interested in our content. I look at building an audience as part of the business of art. While most of us love to create because that is what we are passionate about or love to do, we have to devote some of our time on promoting ourselves on social media. As an artist we must set aside time each week to create content and post it to the various platforms we are using to promote our art. It can be just posting photos of our latest painting, or a short reel of our painting process, or even a work in progress with periodic updates.
The advice I would give to someone just starting to use and build their social media presence is to be consistent. You have to post valuable content on a regular basis. But make content that is engaging to your audience. For artists, be sure to include somewhere in the comments about the artwork or reel, how someone can contact you about purchasing your art. Lead them to your website. Encourage them to sign up on your email list so they can receive more information about your art. Tell your story about who you are and why you create what you create. Not every piece of art you create must have a story behind it so if you post a photo of a painting it is okay that there is no story to go along with it. Be yourself, be genuine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.victorrigolefineart.com
- Instagram: victor_rigole_fine_art
- Facebook: Victor Rigole Fine Art
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@ArtistStoriesofMiddleGeorgia http://www.youtube.com/@PaintingwithVictor-p8g
