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

Bhat, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

My leap to becoming a full-time artist was an existential crisis brought about when my place of work was bombed in an IRA terrorist attack. It was about one year after I had graduated from Art College. I had studied painting, then, after graduating, got a job at Barclay’s Bank in London. The incident gave me perspective and I realized I was not really creating art like I wanted to. I shuffled my life around and moved back to Ottawa, the city where I grew up. I thought I had a better chance of making my way forward as a painter here. The way my career began made me determined not to take a job, but instead to focus on creating art. It became very important to me to earn money from art, as I needed the art and money to go hand in hand to move forward with my objectives. This, at the time, made me very poor.
When I created art it was something to sell, and when it sold, I pricked up my ears. This kept me in tune with what the public wants, and needs. If it sold, I would make more of it. My approach was compromise. What does the public like to buy that I also like to paint? My paintings were joyful, local, and paid homage to the community and its history.
I have years of experience now. I have a mental library of things I can create that I know will sell that I can always draw upon. I now know that my speciality is architecture, especially Ottawa architecture. I am an Ottawa painter not because I live here,but because I paint Ottawa. Experience taught me this. I don’t think there were any magic shortcuts I could have taken, even knowing what I know today.

Bhat, 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?

I am Bhat Boy. I am an Ottawa painter, not because I am from here, but because I paint Ottawa. My specialty is that I paint architecture, and I have a unique and whimsical way of looking at the world around me. Each of my paintings is a story. When they leave my studio they go out into the world to make people happy. I know every morning when I wake up, that hundreds of other people across the world are also waking up to my paintings I love colour and I see it everywhere in the world around me. My work helps me share my over-exuberance with the world. I can slave for days over my idea so that you, the viewer, can take it in in a single moment. With a gasp of air you can swallow my idea, my emotion, my exuberance, with a single glance.
I have learned from experience what to paint that people love, and want.
I have no illusions about creating a product, something to sell, that is why I rebranded myself as a super-hero not long after graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.
Not fitting in the box is part of my brand. I see things from another perspective. This makes me different from other people, and it gives me strength.
One of the things I am most proud of creating is Art in the Park. I struggled to get started on my own in the beginning, so I created Art in the Park, an opportunity for other artists to find their feet and exhibit so that they can stand up for themselves. I created the event to help myself get on my feet and it has continued on for 30 years as an annual event, helping hundreds of other artists move forward as well as solidifying my own position in the city’s art community.
Painting is my job, not some mystical thing I do my studio. It is just a job, but its a good job, and I am happy to do it.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

One of the things I find most difficult to teach is the power of the subconscious. It is the greatest problem solver that we have, yet so difficult to have a conversation with.

I often have to crunch complex, disparate ideas into a single space, come up with a concept, or just reimagine something that is unimaginably boring. I pride myself on being able to think outside the box, solve problems and create fresh solutions.
I live in a world where everything is possible if you are willing to be open to solutions.

When I have a difficult problem to solve I just tell myself what it is and put it away. Sometimes I paint, sometimes I go for a walk, sometimes I nap. Napping is my favorite. So often I wake up from my nap to find the solution to my problem there, in my inbox, having been patiently worked on by my subconscious while I was asleep. The secret is to look away until your subconsciousness is ready to serve it up.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

To the outside world, I am a successful painter, but I am much more than that. To be a successful artist you have to keep a pot on every hot plate at all times and be prepared for three of them to boil over at once. To survive in the modern world you have to willing to reach outside the immediate confines of your comfort zone. I have to be prepared to organize art shows, hang exhibitions, go to community meetings, teach art classes, speak in public, and throw myself in front of a bus if necessary. What ever it takes for me to make my agenda move forward. Every 8 year old believes they can be an astronaut, but very few 28 year olds believe they will ever go to space.
What happens to us, that we lose this belief in ourselves? As we grow older, we imagine more and more boundaries that prevent us from achieving our dreams, but if you want to succeed, you have to tear away your boundaries and be prepared to go to places and do things without fear.

Contact Info:

• Website: bhatboy.com
• Instagram: bhatboyglebe

Image Credits
All images are by Bhat Boy