We recently connected with Alexx Bishop and have shared our conversation below.

Alexx, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I️ am fortunate enough to be able to say I am a full time artist! It has been a long time in the making, and even has involved moving away from creating art before I️ was able to fully embrace it as my full time work.

When I️ was a little kid I️ carried around a sketch book and would constantly be cartooning, tracing, illustrating, and coloring in it. I️ took a drawing class for one semester in seventh grade, and then did not another one until my third year in college. Everything I️ have drawn before and after that is all just the trial and error of self teaching.

In my early twenties I was too busy working and going to school to keep making art, but I fully attribute moving to San Diego in my late twenties in 2017 as what sparked my creativity again. I was so inspired by everything I saw; It was all so aesthetic and begging to be drawn upon for beautiful art. I loved the vibe of the skateboard and surf culture, so I decided to buy a blank skateboard and draw on it one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen: Sunset Cliffs. This led me to the idea of wanting to draw it onto a surfboard one day… but at the time it seemed like a project too big and out of my wheel house. I had never done anything large scale like that before, but I ended up finding a used board on Craig’s List and held onto it, just in case. Most of my day was focused on my job as an account executive, and nights and weekends were spent outside exploring San Diego.

When March of 2020 rolled around and forced so many of us to slow down and pause our normal lives, I️ was finally able to focus my whole day on creating art. I️ was furloughed from my job, so I was lucky to have time on my side. Somehow it caught the eye of many people on Instagram, and the special commission requests started to come in and have yet to slow down!

Two and a half years later and I am lucky enough to never have had to go back to a job like what I was doing before. My creativity soared, my Instagram account has reached over 5,000 people, and I work hard at making artwork as my full time career… Hopefully indefinitely!

There isn’t much I️ would change in my life in general or tried to skip over or “speed up” because every stage was so necessary for my development and growth. I️ feel the same way about art; It took me a long time to get to this point but there was so much learning I️ had to do before I️ got here! I️ had to learn how I️ didn’t want to spend my professional life before I️ understood how much I️ appreciate being a full time artist. My life dream is accomplished, and it all feels like perfect timing!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I️ paint and draw, and am pretty much willing to put that artwork on any kind of surface asked of me! I️ specialize in animals, nature, buildings, landmarks, geometric art, mandalas… pretty much anything but people.

Although the bulk of my business is creating art on custom surfboards, I️ do have a few other options to choose from. Canvases are always available for art collectors who do not have interest in a board, and skateboards, skim boards, and snow boards are good options for collectors who like the idea of artwork on a board but on a smaller scale. I️ have also been asked to paint other surfaces like tables, walls, pianos, etc… I really am open to creating on anything!

For surfboards, there are two options for the art I offer; original pre-made art and custom art. When I️ create the pre-made art, it is born in my head and I bring it to life with whatever design and colors I️ visualize. Typically I️ tend to gravitate towards ocean life and intricate mandalas. I️ get asked about mandalas a lot, probably because you won’t have to look too far into my artwork to see at least one! In Sanskrit, “mandala” means circle and is a symbol for the universe. I love their representation of how everything in our universe is connected and our survival is contingent upon the strength of others around us. They are often used as an aid for meditation, which is exactly what it feels like when I️ am creating them.

I also love to make my art customizable, so I offer surfboards to be completely one of a kind and tailored to the collector. Each hand drawn or hand painted board takes about 30-35 hours. The collectors are able to pick colors for the board and for the artwork, as well as choose the content of the artwork. I️ listen to their story to align myself with their vision, and from there I work to design a one of a kind piece based on what is special and meaningful to them with heavily symbolic art and unique designs. Usually they allow me to run with the details and come up with my own interpretation for the artwork based on what they share.

One of the most common problems I️ hear from art collectors is they want a surfboard but they don’t think it will fit in their homes. Sometimes it’s difficult for them to see the possibilities of where and how the art can be displayed. Without seeing the physical space they have, I️ can usually figure out what will work best for how to display a board. The solution will sometimes require outside of the box thinking such as hanging the boards from the ceiling, making it into a coffee or stand up table, displaying the board on a free standing floor rack, or even shifting from a surfboard to a smaller board such as a skim board or skateboard. Once I am able to help them find a solution for displaying their art, I am then off and running with creating the piece.

What I️ am the most proud of is the fact I️ built a business, a name, respect and trust from strangers, all by working hard during the COVID era. I️ was laid off from my job but that’s when I️ really got to work! During this time at home, I️ would set full work days for myself which would entail talking to collectors to understand their visions, designing their artwork, prepping surfboards, filming progress and taking photos for social media, and the list goes on. I️ am very proud of myself for using this time to build something I️ really believe in and can stand behind as a full time artist and business owner.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I am lucky that so many steps in my artistic process feel rewarding to me, even from the very first step which is obtaining a surfboard. Unless otherwise requested, the surfboards I use are all up cycled. When I first started out, I would get surfboards from people selling them on Craig’s List or I would do a post on Facebook saying I was looking for old boards. Eventually, people in my area would start reaching out to me when they would see discarded boards around San Diego. I have grabbed them from the side of the road, picked them up from alleys, and even gone dumpster diving when people have tried to throw them away. The Ocean Beach Hostel has even given me a handful of used boards in exchange for some artwork!

These old, beat up surfboards have been loved so hard and surfed so much and are on the brink of becoming trash. Although they are no longer water bound or surf—able, they are sealed by me in order to protect the artwork. I love that I am able to take them and revive them and create something beautiful to keep them from ending up in a landfill. The fact they have a second life and now exist just to make art collectors happy makes me feel elated!

It is very rewarding for me to be able to connect with so many people and to have them express what lights them up. To be able to see how open and vulnerable a complete stranger can be with me has been a very beautiful thing for me to experience. I️ love hearing stories from people all over the country and be able to visualize what I️ think would be the best designs for them.

Another extremely rewarding aspect is when I️ finish the art and they see it for the first time. Not when they see a photo or a video of it, but when actually see it in front of them. The Instagram content never does the justice it deserves, because the feedback I️ hear the most is, “It’s so much better it is in person!”

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

Growing up I had this stigma that artists were people who had passed away and became famous for their art after the fact. This is true sometimes, but I had it in my mind it wasn’t possible to just make and sell art and be able to actually live off of that money. I️ thought the concept of art as a career was too big and the industry was too saturated to be my reality.

In the year 2020 when everyone was home (and continued to want to be at home more than ever), I realized what a huge demand there was for beautifying your space. Not just beautifying, but making it special and unique. Nothing that could be bought from Amazon or mass produced, but something made by a real person just for you and your space. I realized that in a time when people were losing their jobs, losing their will to be outside of their homes, losing their sanity…. They looked to art. My business kicked off and picked up momentum because of 2020, which for me was a time when even I was let go from a stable job. Even though there were lots of negative things happening in the world at that time, art became a very positive way to raise the vibration. We do need people to work in offices, run companies, work in restaurants and grocery stores, and so on… but we need artists just as much.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xandiegoart/
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