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

Chris, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When I was a little kid, I used to doodle on all of my notes and papers in class. I would get in trouble I doodled so much. I used to fill the backs of tests that I finished early with drawings, and none of them were very good. But all of them were creative. I always loved the feeling of being able to create something from nothing. I’d always be inventing characters, and little stories in my head. By the time I was 7 years old I had invented a little comic character and would come up with creative ways for him to meet his demise at the hands of nature. It was a fun little exploration of creative talent.

Then, I was diagnosed with a learning disorder at the age of 7 years old. I would be put onto harmful medicines and synthetic amphetamines for the next 20 years. During that time I had expressed over and over my desire to be an artist and creative to my parents, friends, anyone who would listen. But I had no confidence in my skills. My parents constantly would nay-say and belittle my chosen career path with the all-too-familiar line ” Why don’t you get a degree in something real?” or “you need a real job.” This line devastates artists in their young formative years. It led to me, in my first year of graphic design at university, to change my major to finance.

I struggled through the horribly boring, and dreadfully soul-sucking classes as hard as I could. I just thought to myself “this is what real work is. Everyone must feel this way.” Finally, I graduated and began working as a bartender at 19 years old. I didn’t pick up a pencil or brush for 10 more years.

Cut to 2019, the start of the pandemic. I am 30 years old, and my creative soul inside is literally clawing at my mind to escape and create something, anything! “Please just let me create!” it felt like my soul was begging me. So, I went and purchased a few paint supplies and watercolor paints. Nothing fancy, just a crap set from Ross or T.J. Maxx. I made a few pet portraits with absolutely ZERO experience with a paintbrush. I just let my intuition guide me. They were snapped up faster than I could paint them. I made one commission, my very first commission as an artist. I was commissioned to draw a landscape view of a town for a stranger’s DND campaign. That person paid me $160 for a watercolor painting of a small seaside port town surrounded by cliffs. I was ecstatic. I had just made money, real money painting a blank piece of paper with my imagination!

From that moment on I knew this is what I wanted to do all day, every day. I wanted to paint and be a painter. I wanted to live off of my creativity and be paid to do so. Here I am only 4 short years later and I have made thousands of improvements to my paintings, and thousands of dollars to support myself! It hasn’t been an easy journey, but I urge you young artists to continue to listen to your creative soul. Don’t let anyone stop you because they can’t!

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 didn’t mean to get into painting. I have just always had this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I should be painting. Something pulling at me to hold a brush, and make emotions visible on the canvas to anyone who would look at them. My goal in painting landscapes and lush natural scenes is to connect the viewer with the intense emotional experiences that I have when I step into nature. I believe that all people feel this to some degree, or are capable of connecting with the Earth on a very deep, human level. We are after all, all creatures of this planet.

I aim to solve the issue of forgetting our love for the world, and perhaps helping people remember what real, natural beauty feels like. It feels like a breath of fresh, cool air on a crisp spring morning, Birds wildly chirping around you, nipping at the buds on the trees. Or the smell of fresh snowfall, and the beauty and immense silence of a snow covered mountain. All of these feelings can be channeled into a painting and shared with everyone. I think what sets me apart is I haven’t forgotten what it’s like to love the trees, and the birds. I still remember what it feels like to wonder at nature, and be lost in its’ mysteries. I want to share that with anyone that can see my paintings, and I yearn to be part of something larger than myself.

I am incredibly proud of the work I have put into honing my ability to paint complex landscapes with as few brushstrokes as possible. Some of my landscapes are simply one giant brushstroke that has never left the page. I try to mix colors as well as values together to achieve a sense of true magical wonder at something so simple as the sun rising over a small hill. I absolutely love painting, and I hope that my followers and collectors can feel the warmth of that sun as it fills their beloved artwork.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

If there is one book I have to recommend, it is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This book changed my life in less than 3 months. It has been a absolute boon to my artistic self, my inner healing, and my ability to be an artist. I begin to question my motives, my raison d’etre if you will from reading this book. I finished countless projects and finished writing almost half a novel of thoughts and hopes just by following Julia’s practice steps. I was commissioned several times, and have been entered into several gallery showings just from the practice in this book. This was all only in 90 days! The Artist’s Way covers philosophy of self as an artist. Allowing the reader to accept that they are, and always have been, a creative being.

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

The most important lesson that I ever had to unlearn is that Talent = Skill. What I mean to say is natural-born talent only gets you to a certain point. Talent = Skill is absolutely, unequivocally false. It is my belief that Practice = Skill. Sure, talent gets you to a point, but after that if you don’t practice, you don’t go any further. Someone with no talent, can absolutely out-practice and surpass someone with natural talent that doesn’t practice. If you want to be good at something, you have to start by being really, really bad. And that’s OK! That’s how people learn, and become great.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Chrispotts.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrispottsart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrispottsart

Image Credits
Image credits – Chris Potts