We were lucky to catch up with Clint Atkinson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Clint, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Happy? Yes, definitely happy. I’m fortunate to be in my studio seven days a week, usually from before dawn until mid -afternoon. Creating is fulfilling and gives deep meaning to my life, happiness on a deep level. Each day I go straight into the studio, not eating breakfast or making a cup of coffee until I’m there. My wife Patricia is also an artist so we have studios in a shared building.

The question of having a regular job is pretty moot. I’ve always needed to support myself and a day job has always been a part of my life. During my undergrad years and after receiving my MFA I held various social work jobs including therapeutic group home counselor and finally as a children’s protective services caseworker.

The pressures of supporting a family created gaps in my art career, sometimes for long stretches. My first marriage was difficult financially and emotionally and stopped my art career in its tracks. Do I regret giving up my career for years? It’s a meaningless question when faced with trying to hold a marriage together.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I’m an artist, a painter and draftsman. You could say my proclivity if not my career started at age 4 when I remember getting in trouble for a crayon “mural” on my parents’ bedroom wall. They’ve actually been very supportive of my art interests all my life.

Formal training started as a mature student, entering university at age 29 with a psychology major and switching to a fine arts major. I began showing and attracting some attention right out of school, later doing post grad studies and getting my MFA at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

My go to mediums are charcoal and acrylic paint. I often combine the two in my work and apply the paint with spray guns and cans as well as with brushes. I’m a draftsman at heart and spray paints are the best equivalence to drawing I’ve found. I can apply broad areas as well as fine detail and line with a spray gun.

My large scale work is as much as eight to ten feet in height and width. Compositions are figurative with an emphasis on how the marks and gestures are made in creating the overt image. My goal is a work that is engaging both at a distance and up close.

Showing my work is so important. It’s the other half of the art process, to have eyes on the work, to let others experience what I’ve created. Collectors also give meaning and validation through the act of purchasing. Friends will wish you luck in making lots of sales when showing, but it’s the collecting that’s at the heart of the sale, that someone is moved enough to pay hard earned cash. I’ve been fortunate to be in both public and private collections. A gallery purchasing for their permanent collection is so encouraging.

You can see available work on my webpage and my studio is always open to visitors. I’d love to talk and give a tour! The large scale works, especially, need to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.

The next best thing to an actual studio visit is on-line. My website is clintatkinsonart.com and I can be followed on Instagram at clintatkinsonart.

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

We live in a market economy and greater social respect and understanding of the arts would translate to greater economic support for artists in both public and private spheres.

Society needs to respect the arts as a vital part of the enrichment of society as a whole. I think this attitude starts at a very young age and our school systems should enlarge rather than cut back on their arts programs, not only in teaching art techniques, but in art appreciation from a young age. This would lead to a general population much more informed, aware, and appreciative of all the arts.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

The number one resource I would have loved to have had early on is the internet! I think that’s pretty universal. From research to promotion and community the internet has been revolutionary. An artist can be very isolated in the studio and the internet is a vital connection today. Webpages and social media accounts are standard features for artists today that twenty years ago were completely nonexistent.

While in university I started the creative process that I still use to a great degree. I use found photos to create my compositions. In the 80s this meant going through stacks of old magazines to glean, if lucky, two or three useful photos. I made regular trips to the local recycling depot to bring piles of old magazines home.

Today I type a few search terms into the browser and have an avalanche of images to look through. It feels crazy that I managed to create the strong compositions that I did before the internet came into its own. Second to the internet is Photoshop where I can cut, paste, and resize clippings. These are digital dream tools for creating compostional references for my paintings.

Contact Info:

• Website: clintatkinsonart.com
• Instagram: clintatkinsonart
• Youtube: Clint Atkinson

Image Credits
Clint Atkinson