We were lucky to catch up with Charley Robinson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Charley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

My first commission was during my sophomore year of high school, and receiving my first payment for creating art was exhilarating. I commissioned an associate who asked me to create an acrylic portrait of her grandmother, who had recently passed away. As my commissions progressed, not only was the feeling of making money for doing something that I love refreshing but also, I realized that my talents could be utilized to offer someone else happiness and peace. I then understood that the physical and emotional investment I undergo during the process of artistry and the satisfaction that my customer experiences when receiving the product of my labor is a much more valuable transaction than a solely monetary transaction could ever be.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am currently a college student at Rhodes College who is a Memphis native that was specifically raised in the Cordova suburbs by two loving parents. There were two specific ways that my current passions found me: through familial customs/practices and solidarity. My maternal side of the family, more so my mother and grandfather, always had an artistic insight into the world and that cognizance rubbed onto me naturally. Not only did they pass this on to me, but I wasn’t truly able to nurture this skill until I started to impact my everyday life by practicing. Since I was an only child, growing up I had to think of ways to occupy my time so I wouldn’t be bored or lonely, and art just stuck with me. As far as materials, I started with crayons and graphite, and then I smoothly worked my way up to more materials such as colored pencils (my favorite medium today), acrylic paint, oil paint, charcoal, etc. As far as the content I created, I started off with anime characters, celebrities, and OC characters. Today, my brand mostly consists of Afrofuturistic/Afrocentric subjects that either highlight the beauty, heritage, or experience of terrestrial Black people. Also, my work can sometimes highlight the hypothetical Black experience that extends beyond Earth. I would say the breadth of my current work would also make me unique because not only do I challenge the constituents of existence as we know it as humans, but I do so in an inventive manner that is specific to me because I often incorporate philosophical/metaphysical ideas to aid in my creative process. Even though that is my preferred subject, I am not just limited to that. In my free time when I am not making conceptual work, I love to create caricature-styled face studies in colored pencil, and I love to draw DC universe characters as well (Catwoman, The Joker, etc.). To conclude, I would say that I’m most proud of my support systems such as my family and close friends that have cheered me on, and because of that support I am proud of the persistence that I have cultivated through that support to keep striving to be the best artist I can be.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I have had this talk with fellow creatives, and most of us came to the congregate agreement that there is often a disconnect between non-creatives and creatives about art as a career. It is often not taken seriously, and the “starving artist” narrative is pushed upon society to deter creatives from not following their passions and instead end up seeking jobs that closely align with what society believes is a “real” job. Yes, sometimes art as a career can fail if it is not addressed effectively, but that goes for literally any other profession. If you play your cards right, the vast field of art can be rewarding when you incorporate other elements, such as business ethics and hard work. When most people perceive an artist visually, they think of someone painting canvas after canvas, barely able to rub two pennies together, but an artist is so much more than that tired narrative. Artists today are entrepreneurs, animators, designers, curators, tattoo artists, creative directors, etc., who put blood, sweat, and tears into what they do. In the future, I wish that artistic careers will one day attain proportionate respect to other career fields.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

What is really rewarding about being an artist is the freedom and the lack of rules which allow me to express my creativity intrinsically. Of course, it is still a disciplined practice and contains technical rules pertaining to composition and color/temperature agreement that make a piece logically successful as a whole. However, as far as the content, not even the sky’s the limit considering most of my work centers on what’s even beyond that. Also, since art is subjective, it is up to the viewer to decide what my work accomplishes based on their personal perceptions and understandings, which is rewarding for me since there is no quantitative reasoning in what are “correct” or “incorrect” components of an artwork. Funny enough, what’s the most rewarding can also be the most challenging when art block resurfaces; because my work has limitless potential, it can sometimes be hard to solidify a concrete concept.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chacassoo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082840055259
• Other: Tiktok: http://tiktok.com/@chacassooo