We recently connected with Alex Wells and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

The first ever dollar I earned as a creative was way back in 5th grade. It was in the school year of.. 2006..2007..?

Some local businesses offered an opportunity to the school for students to design an advertisement for them, which would be featured in the local news.

I don’t remember the name of the business I picked, but it was a local plumbing business in Bluffton, Ohio. I made the name of their business out of green pipes, and have it the theme of the Super Mario Brothers. Mine was the ad that they chose to feature.

I technically didn’t earn a “dollar,” but I was given candy or something that probably cost a dollar at the time.

It was a cool experience, and it was one of the earliest memories I have of why I fell in love with making art.

Alex, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

First, a little about myself. I’m a 27-year-old artist and photographer from Allen County, and I’ve been living in Columbus, Ohio for nearly 2 years now.

Art, both as a form of escapism and as a release of creativity, has been one of the most consistent things in my life. I knew early on that I wanted to do a creative job. The primary goal has changed over the years, but the one thing I was always adamant about was that I wanted to explore how I could use my creativity to fuel my career path.

In truth, there’s been more misses than hits over the years, but I never once let any of the setbacks stop me from pushing forward. I even had people tell me that I sucked at art, or would never get anywhere in life if I tried pursuing art. And now? I’ve found myself featured in at least one magazine highlighting local creators. It was one of the coolest and affirming moments in my life. It showed me that it wasn’t all a waste of my time and energy.

That having been said, as much as I would want to be, I’m definitely not a full time artist… yet. For now, I’m working a “regular job.” Outside of that, I’ve been offering photography services for the past year, and have been trying my hand at selling my abstract paintings, and I’ve done at least one commission. These are both things I wish I could do more of, but if I had to pick one, I might be tempted to say photography. I love showing people the unique way how I see the world. Being Autistic, having the ability to do exactly that goes such a long way.

The thing I’m most proud of though? When I had the chance recently to appear as a guest artist for my former art teacher, and her class. It was so incredible to be apart of stirring up the creativity of a new generation of artists, and it’s something I hope I have the opportunity to do again.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As I mentioned before, I’ve had my fair share of setbacks on my creative journey. One of the biggest ones was a lack of support.

Growing up, I only had the support of one of my parents, and from the other I had whatever the opposite of support is – if there’s a word for that. If not for my mom, I probably never would have pursued art or any of my other interests, even just as hobbies to do in my spare time.

For as long as I can remember, my dad would tear me down, and tell me that art was a useless skill to have, and he was very adamant that with or without it, I’d never get anywhere in life. There were several occasions that he ruined some of my art projects that I did at home, and some he tore up right in front of me. He wanted me to believe that this talent I had was a curse… and for a while, I did believe.

There was a period of time when I stopped doing anything creative at all. I didn’t release my creativity, or much of anything at the time. I became such an angry kid, and I took it out on people who didn’t deserve it. I didn’t take up a pencil to draw again for another few years, and then that’s when it hit me. The fact that my dad was so utterly wrong about art.. about me. I was an artist, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

I saw the effect that art had on me, and since then, I haven’t let anything or anyone else get in the way of unleashing my creativity. Well, except the occasional video game, but inspiration has to come from somewhere.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Now more than ever, artists need to be paid what they’re worth – especially local artists and creatives. So many talented people fall through the cracks, because of stingy clients, and vast competition.

I believe supporting local creators is the best way to forge and maintain a healthy and thriving ecosystem in the art world, and beyond. Support your local creators, support your friends who create, and if it comes to it, be willing to be someone’s first client. Every great artist and creator in the world started in the same place – with a first client, a first photoshoot, a first acting gig, and so on. Imagine how many great creatives’ journeys were cut short because they didn’t have that first person give them a chance to pursue their dreams.

It is especially important now, in the current climate of the creative world, to support real artists. Real, living, human artists, and the occasional goblin creatives, whom you may find in dark or dimly lit rooms, switching back and forth between multiple activities, extremely focused on one craft, or quite possibly just staring into the abyss that is their pile of unfinished projects while they wonder how many days they’ve gone without drinking water.

Joking aside, it is imperative that we limit the use of apps and AI to that of tools. Using them to replace real artists will only hurt everyone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://renderrush.digital.vistaprint.io/s/4u2sq51yfprx07wp
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/xandersartsythings
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xandersartsythings
• Twitter: https://x.com/X_ArtsyThings?t=I1wQV62w89nORQ7dmKr13Q&s=09
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5IHc3805uRy-nNhCuJSw1g

Image Credits
Alex Wells (Myself), Laura Flynn, Taylor Brady