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

Adrian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I was always interested in art. I mostly sketched as a youth. Nothing serious. I took a drawing class in high school but that’s about all of the art education I have had. My older brother and sister are wonderful oil painters so I was exposed to art growing up. In my mid twenties (1988-89) I painted portraits of Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Conners. They turned out pretty good but I didn’t do much after that. I was teaching tennis at the time and got married and had a child. I was the one who stayed home and took care of our child. Because I have fibromyalgia my wife supported us. About 12 years ago I decided to try painting again. My sister suggested that I paint with acrylics. My first efforts were pretty amateurish but I stuck with it. I picked up a few commissions and my skills continued to improve. In 2015 I thought my skills had improved enough where I wanted to display and sell paintings. I stumbled into a small gallery called “Art at the Main”, a co-op gallery located inside the Salt Lake City library. They accepted me and I’ve been there ever since. I am now one of its directors in charge of the physical layout of the gallery among other duties.

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?

My medium is acrylic on canvas or panel. I paint from photographs that either I have taken or someone else has given me. My style is realism and very detailed. I enjoy doing commissions because they are very satisfying and the subjects mean so much to the client. I haven’t limited myself to one topic. I paint still-life, florals, landscapes, portraits, animals, trains, planes and automobiles, etc. Being a part of a co-op gallery is very enjoyable. I get to work with very talented people who take their craft seriously. Getting into the art business is a leap of faith. You hope that people appreciate the hard work you put into each piece but an artist should create for creations sake, not for gain or praise. Your’e putting yourself out there to be judged and scrutinized so you need to have a thick skin and not be too sensitive to criticism. Being able to show your work either in a gallery or a show is a great and humbling gift. One that shouldn’t be taken lightly!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think exposure is the most important aspect if you want to excel in the art world. Word of mouth, doing shows, not being afraid to put yourself out there. Social media is huge now in the art world. My style is a bit different than most artists. I think people are drawn to that. You need to be true to yourself. I’ve thought of trying other types of painting but I always come back to what I’m good at. People appreciate that. They want an Adrian Bangerter original if you’ll pardon the first person reference.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There are times when I’ve taken on a project where initially I think that I have taken on more than I can handle or am over my head skill wise. I was commissioned to do a portrait of a grandfather holding his granddaughter. I had never done a serious portrait before but I dove in and got down to work. Being a realism painter I wanted to get it just right. As I was working on the child’s face I overworked it and the panel started to peel apart. I was frantic and thought I had ruined the piece. I got in touch with the client and told them what had happened but they had faith that I could finish the project. I got some advice on how to repair the panel and somehow it worked! I continued and finish the portrait to the satisfaction of the client. Never give up and keep moving forward!

Contact Info:

• Website: adrianbangerterart.com
• Instagram: adrianbangerterart
• Facebook: adrian bangerter
• Linkedin: adrianbangerterart

Image Credits
Adrian Bangerter