We were lucky to catch up with Craig Pursley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Craig, appreciate you joining us today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are often hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?
When I worked for a major newspaper in Southern California (1983-2006), I found we had access to virtually everyone’s address. So I began sending drawings to people I admired and asking them to sign them. Over the years, it evolved from WWII aviators to astronauts to Hollywood celebrities to baseball players to musicians and now to artists I admire. Well over 400 in all going back over 40 years. Many were obtained in person too. Some in the collection range from Chuck Yeager, who was the first to break the sound barrier, Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Stewart, Joe DiMaggio, Etta James, Pulitzer-prize winning author, David McCullough, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Everett Raymond Kinstler who painting portraits of seven US Presidents. Recently, it was suggested that a book be made of these and so I am currently enjoying working on this project which should be available by the fall. I can’t believe how fortunate I was to connect and meet so many people and it goes back far enough that most have passed on.
I am also working on a second book about a LOT of crazy things happening to me – I accidentally found my first car after 32 years! I took a photo of my kids in 1984 and across the street was my future wife! I bought a painting and was able to trace its history which included the fact that it was owned a hundred years ago by the owner of our home! And there are many more that are just WAY beyond coincidence.
Craig, 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 have been extremely fortunate in that all my jobs since my first year of college have been art related- illustrator for the US Forest Service, middle school art teacher, police composite artist for a dozen law enforcement agencies including the FBI, newspaper illustrator, Illustrator of the California Angels and three baseball card companies, and finally fine artist in several galleries including one we own in NH.
I think I am most proud of a series I did with the newspaper which was called “Dreamscape.” I would do a drawing of painting, often of a surreal scene and give it a title and a caption. These would be printed in the paper as a contest for readers. I was originally told not to expect much response as normally when readers were asked even to respond with a one word answer, only about 35 would. So I was thrilled when we got over 300 stories submitted to make sense of the picture, title and caption. By the end, we ran a series of 40 of these and got more than 9,000 stories over the years. It was by far the best reader response program in the paper’s history. Also, many were cathartic for the readers (based on accompanying letters) It meant so much that people were able to work through personal issues with these.
I am also extremely proud of the kids I have been mentoring the last 5 years. All gifted and good kids who amaze me continually!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I am so fortunate that I get to do what I love. I saw a recent poll where over 70% of people do not like their job. I love going to work at the easel. So much so that I can’t wait for vacations to be over so that I can get back to work. However, this is not of my own doing. After leaving the newspaper, my wife insisted I should be a fine artist and find galleries. This meant all the pressure was on her with a steady income and benefits, insurance, 402K, etc. And this has gone on for 20 years! She made it possible!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
When I decided to be an art major in college, I just went to the small one my brother has attended. While it was a good school, both that one and the one I later transferred to were almost worthless in terms of my growth as a realist artist. And they were not alone at that time. Nearly every school was so fully involved in Abstract art that there was no guidance for those of us who didn’t want to make abstracts. “Do what you want and we’ll give you a grade.” seemed to be a common phrase all over the country from college art teachers.
Therefore, in my opinion, there are about three generations of lost artists in the country. Those people either gave up or struggled to find their own way. In my case I had to do it by trial and error, learning what worked from looking at the work of people I admired, from books and later workshops and now online videos.
Had I known about the very few colleges that taught what I wanted to learn, I think I would have been better right out of school than I am now, nearly 50 years after.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pursleyart.com
- Instagram: craigpursleyart
- Facebook: Craig Pursley
Image Credits
Photo of me should be credited to Meghan McGovern Hamilton