We were lucky to catch up with Alexter Albury recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alexter, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I’ve been drawing and doodling since I was a little boy. I drew on everything that I could get my hands on; paper, cardboard boxes, phone books and so much more. My mom eventually gave me sketchbooks and coloring books to contain my creativity. That’s when I really began to stretch my artistic muscles.
As I got older my art was influenced heavily by animation, science fiction and comic books. I learned a lot of skills through my pursuit of illustration. It taught me hand control, detailed focus, and perspective. To me illustrating is fun and free. So I’ve always enjoyed making up characters and scenes. Watching a lot of anime and cartoons really helped me develop that side of my imagination.
About six years ago I struggled to express my deepest thoughts and feelings through my pencil and pen art. But I had this intense desire to make visual representations of my thoughts and emotions. So I took a chance and purchased some acrylic paint to give it a try. It was so foreign to me but in that first piece I quickly fell in love with the medium. I’ve been painting ever since and learning so much with each piece. I have a lot more to learn, so many techniques and types of acrylics to experiment with. I think the learning process is my favorite part of this new medium.
For many years I was too hesitant to try painting. I relied on my trusted history of pencil and pen art too much to believe that I could actually thrive in another medium. In hindsight I believe that I lost a lot of time in my artistic life by not believing in my talent and my ability to learn new things. But it took certain events in my life to bring me to the realm of painting. I don’t think that timing could’ve changed. I guess I truly began painting when I desperately needed it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As an artist I think there is a fine balance of humility and confidence that makes me the creative that I am. I’m confident in my skill and vision. But I’m humble enough to know that there’s so much more than I need to learn as a person and as an artist. I will never get to a point where I’m no longer hungry for knowledge and growth in my abilities.
One thing that is at the core of who I am as an individual and as an artist is my adherence of being true to myself and my creativity. I think many people make the mistake of chasing down the life, style, and thoughts of others instead of embracing their own. You become lost as a carbon copy and never give yourself a chance to shine in your own light. I have so many ideas and visions in my head of art that I want to create. It’s never ending. I think people who know my work can see that in my art. I sincerely try to paint and draw the thoughts, feelings and dreams that are always with me. Sometimes that comes out as wild comic book style drawings of battling heroes and villains, other times it’s a painting where I expose a personal moment of my emotions and thoughts. In all cases, I’m being true to myself and imagination.
I think that people who are just seeing my art will see how much I love it. I love the expression, power, and joy that I’m able to portray. I like that I’m able to step into different worlds of creativity depending on which medium I choose.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
To me it has to be the way people respond to my art. It’s almost magical how much sharing a part of my mind on paper and canvas can move people. I’ve seen people get so pumped up and excited over my art that it made them want to do specific things in their own lives. I’ve also seen people laugh out loud and even cry because of the way a piece moved them. That’s so beautiful to me. A piece may be heartbreaking to me but to someone else it means something completely different. That’s the power of art. We all have our own interpretations and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve had some of the most meaningful conversations with people as we talked about what inspired my art and how it made them feel. It’s an honor to listen and share those thoughts with them.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I honestly want to be a full time artist. To wake up everyday knowing that I’m free to create without looking at the clock or worrying about getting enough sleep to go to work the next day would make me tremendously happy. But even if I’m never able to be a full time artist I know that I’ll keep creating. My art is a part of me. It’s my voice to the world. I am an artist and I create because I want to express my mind and share it with others. That’s always been my way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexteralbury.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexter.albury
- Twitter: @AlexterAlbury