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

Christian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I was a President of a company in Nashville Tennessee and the company was sold in 2017. Shortly after the sale, I took my family on vacation to the beach. While there I found a sand dollar and decided to take it back and paint a scene on it. I thought that was pretty cool. When I returned home I went straight to the art supply store and purchased paints, canvases and brushes and began to play around. I quickly fell in love with creating art. I obviously had no idea what In was doing and was self taught. After 2 years of painting a lot, messing up, repainting and attempting to figure things out, I found my style. I am cross between Picasso style and Basquiat. So I would say a mixture of Neo Expressionism and cubism.

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.

My name is Christian Calvin. I go by the artist name 33n. The number 33 is important to me for a few reasons. It is also a very spiritual number that represents creativity. 33 was my football number but more importantly Jesus dies at the age of 33. The first 6 letters of my first name is “Christ.” The “33” represents Christ. The letter “n” is the last letter of my name. So 33n reads Christian. I did not start painting until I was 45-46 years old. I graduated from the University of Tennessee with a broadcasting degree and began working the next week for a furniture company. I started as a truck driver and worked my way all the way up to President of the company. I worked there for over 25 years. The company was sold in 2017 and in 2018 and 2019 I began to start painting. My father painted when I was a child and I remember that so I wanted to try also. I started slow and really had no idea what to do, where to start, how to mix paint or how to even get it on canvas properly. I didnt know about acrylic paint or what brushes to use. The first year or 2 I really just dove in completely and painted and tried different things. After about 2 years I finally came to conclusion that most artists that are in the history books had their own type of style. Picasso with cubism, Pollack with Abstract Expressionism. Basquiat with Neo Expressionism. The list goes on and on with the types or art. My style that I settled on because I was producing my best art was with the mixture of sand, water and acrylic paint and a scraper. I do not use brushes at all. I am not against brushes, I just scrape everything on and that is why my art with always be abstraction and not realism.

For the first few years I was just painting, getting them framed and basically hiding them in our office. I showed some of my work and didnt get much of a response so I just kept my art to myself for the most part. One day the manager of Lexus came to our office for my father to sign for a car. The manager saw my art and loved it. They asked me if they could display my art at the 2 Lexus dealerships in Nashville. This was a big surprise but a big moment in my art career because that built confidence that others wanted to see my art. Lexus is a luxury automobile brand so my art being displayed in the dealership was super exciting. I have over 25 works now displayed at Lexus of Nashville and Lexus of Cool Springs.

The next big thing for my art was a wonderful place called Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center took a chance on me and offered me my own exhibition. This was my first real taste of success as an artist. I had only been painting for just a few short years, figured out a unique style that I only do, and now I am showing my art in a large city and also at a well established Art Center. My exhibit was amazing. We had a great turnout. I was able to show about 20 pieces of art and shared the show with my father and some of his “Calbots” which he make with found parts and build robots. On the last day of my exhibit, Mr. John Block, the Vice President of the largest art gallery in the world, Parkwest Gallery, said he would like to sign me to a contract with their company. This was an absolute dream come true.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Art is a form of therapy and also expression. Many people struggle with this. I am one of those people. I struggle with both at times. The great thing about art is that it can be a way to express things. I am a girl dad of 4 daughters. Women appear in a lot of my art. They are not images of my daughters but they are definitely inspired by my daughters. I get a lot of my ideas from my girls. I have a daughter name Presley that is 21 and in college. I have an 11 year old going into the 6th grade – Chrislynne. I have twins that are 8 years old Sloan and Skye.

I also strive to be the best at whatever I do. I want to be an artist that at the end of my art career people remember my story and it inspires others to follow their dreams and goals. I didnt pick up a brush or a scraper until after the age of 45. I already had a full business career before I even started to learn how to paint. So, whatever anyone out there wants to do or become, not matter what it is, you can do it. If you can think it and speak it, it will happen with commitment and work.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

In my creative journey it would have been nice to know that I like to mix sand and paint and scrape it on. If I would have known that 2 years before I would be 2 years ahead of where I am today. I know it took me 2 years of trial and error, messing up and fixing, getting irritated and learning to get where I am today. It would have been nice if I would have sped that process up. Also I think its important to watch and learn form others. Each artist can learn from other artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.33nArt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/33n_art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christian.calvin/ and https://www.facebook.com/33nart/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/33nart
• Twitter: @33n_art
• Youtube: @33nart

Image Credits
just me