We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caleb Maxwell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caleb, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

If you want to learn a craft you must first answer to the call of your soul, answer to that thing within you crying out for expression. There is something within you that is beyond you and outside of you, something you cannot understand and couldn’t properly articulate with words. Often the only way to scratch this itch and answer this call is by learning and perfecting a craft until that said itch is scratched and that call answered. There is enough want to be artists, that dream of escaping day to day difficulties by becoming their own boss and selling their own artwork. The artist should never seek compensation for his work, nor glory or praise. The true artist learns his craft during long and frustrating, seemingly unfruitful hours in his dwelling. During this arduous process of perfecting his craft he begins to become one with the process, intimately falling in love with every stage in the journey of perfecting his craft. He is driven by his vision, or by the calling, the voice deep within him that wishes to manifest itself and urges the artist and demands he perfects his craft, so that the vision may live. Basically what im saying, if you dont feel the central call of your being is to be a painter, musician, whatever, then the degree to which you can excel at your craft will be limited to the degree to which you wish to elucidate your inner being or be great. Either way never do it for the money or the worldly glory. Do it because you must.

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.

I work in construction and remodeling. my only public art medium is electronic music. I am also fond of reading writing painting and drawing, i am a collector of goods and experiences. Ive been a snobby aesthete since an infant rejecting nearly every dish my mother served to me, and I’ve cried and complained most of my life because of the intense ugliness brought forth by LED lights. I am known to my girlfriend as a gifted and generous lover, to my friends as an exuberant and multi talented artist, to my family as a son worth having and perhaps a financial burden, and to my God i am his precious child, who is now a wandering orphan taking the scenic route back home. In my own eyes, i am a romantic idealist and a restless dreamer.

I began my artistic career as a 18 year sewing clothes. I moved to los angeles to pursue the dream, i then abandoned that dream for a pursuit of greater meaning. I began by diving into classical literature and artworks of antiquity, i was inspired by the great drama of classical paintings, specifically of the baroque period. The intensity of the painters inspired me, i couldn’t comprehend the clarity and scale of the artists vision. How could one person dedicate so much time to the intricacies of a single panting, the details, the composition, the colors and the often deeply spiritual meanings behind the paintings left me awestruck. My curiosity for great paintings grew as i began studying ancient greco-roman cultures, christianity, and psychology, I believe this curiosity is leading me to my ultimate purpose to know myself and to know God. But after a few years of relentless study, my body was weak and frail, I had invested much time into study and practice replicating great works, learning to draw paint, write, and make borderline unlistenable avant garde music. All of which paid no bills. I was incredibly poor and mentally sick, but then in my studies i was moved by statues, the ideal human body, chiseled into stone. I wanted to become that body. Weightlifting entered my life, iron, sweat, queezy stomachs, pain, a new friend of mine that demanded my best and after every battle fought rewarded me with pride and a spectacular physique.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Artists are the life blood of culture, they live with great emotion and feel things internally. The artist produces works that are reflective of their environment, and their works effect the greater environment. The artwork is often an expression of what is, and whats to come. The artist, the poet and the prophet are all one. To establish a healthy ecosystem between artists and society, everyone of us wether your a banker, a school teacher, a police officer, a nurse whatever, we must eliminate the darkness with in us, we must put aside our love for consumerism and status and our love for archivial raf smimmons and mui mui ss96 blouses, and instead fashion ourselves after the image of the Ideal, rather than participating in the power hierarchy of the animal kingdom, we must be like the lowly servant Christ, the king of kings who washed the feet of the poor, who rejected the animal kingdom by submitting to Gods will to Love at the highest degree.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am off social media, I felt trapped, like i was on a content treadmill that expected me to go faster or else i was washed into eternal oblivion, no one knows my name, my social credit score has been killed, I reject the idea that my artistic spirit is just another commodity, that at its best it can only be another trend that soon vanishes into the ether. I dont want to be a puppet for the market, id rather be poor and silently doing what I love, than hollering on the social media pig sty “look at me look how creative and talented I am, are you people interested in buying my product, you probably dont need because you have everything you could ever have???”

Contact Info:

• Other: For inquiries email [email protected]

Image Credits
The prodigal son returns – Rembrandt Discobolus- statue by myron