We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Don Kobasky. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Don below.

Don , 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?

I walked away from a thriving career as a 13 year full time tattooist, going so far as to literally give away all my equipment and supplies, including a very expensive dentist chair, all so I had no possible retreat should my painting career stammer or fail.
I was graced by God with a divine “download”, where one afternoon I was instructed to start painting, coupled with an odd surge of sudden knowledge…in other words, I was suddenly infused with both the instruction to pursue this new endeavor coupled with base knowledge, a know-how which prior to this divine encounter I knew nothing. I then accumulated a series of paintings and began applying to galleries and art shows, meeting only angry faces and complete rejection.
Faced with said rejections, it dawned on me to simply organize my own showings at places where there were prequalified potential customers: yacht clubs, tennis clubs, golf clubs and country clubs, all of which are ubiquitous here in Tampa Bay region of Florida. I would organize mini art shows during evenings when there was copious foot traffic at these clubs, evenings where dinner events or jazz nights were already scheduled. Every club manager I approached said, “ Gee, no one has ever approached us before to do that, it’s a great idea.” Simply put, this unique strategy rocket-launched my full time painting career out of the gate as many collectors began purchasing and then subsequently commissioning me to do custom pieces for their homes and offices.
Since then, my career snowballed to point where I rarely do any club shows and am booked sometimes months in advance with collectors from around the nation ( and Canada) who seek me out to create one-of-kind large scale paintings for them. Many are collectors who over the years have met me in person, and many have taken notice of my work on social media, thus resulting in long distance relationships facilitated by Fed Ex shipping.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have followed my heart and God’s instructions to become an artist who can successfully render any subject in any style on any size canvas. The fact I can paint wildlife one week while then being commissioned to do a large pop art piece the next is what has allowed me to never be in financial recession. Interestingly, I’ve been given bad advice , purposefully, by local art community people who suggested I should simply find a niche subject and then focus on that one thing. Utter nonsense! This advice was given to sabotage, not increase my career!
Not only can one learn and grow from a great painter, one can learn just as much from a lazy failure, too. I once heard a somewhat well known painter lazily declare his completed painting for a customer was “ good enough” when I suggested a number of improvements…” good enough”…that phrase haunted me and exemplified why, ultimately, that very same artist appeared at my door one early evening, asking for food money.
If one can dedicate one’s life to anything, that laser-like focus will result in success. I have also made it a point to be ultra-communicative with customers who hire me to complete a custom painting and never fail to finish and deliver the work on time. I have a stellar reputation for being a man of my word and my goal is to leave my customers desiring even more custom works.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During the early years of my career, I was met with 100% rejection from every art show and gallery I applied to. It seemed the people behind these organizations were appalled by meticulous workmanship, but eager to promote their friends, despite any mediocrity which screamed from those folk’s canvases. I explained how my career started by bypassing these events by structuring my own one man shows at Florida country clubs; however, upon moving to St. Petersburg from Port Richey, I found no harm in trying to meet and mingle with local art folks in my new town…more angry faces and snobby cliques of the mediocre.
There were come-as-you-are live painting events around St. Petersburg where artists show up with easels and works in progress, painting in front of large crowds of art fans and interested pedestrians . Upon arriving, I noticed some, not all, of the other artists felt threatened by the attention my works were receiving from passerbys, sparking a verbal campaign of demonic narcissism against me, my good name, and reputation. One of the so-called “leaders” of the entire movement was visibly annoyed at these events upon my arrival, enraged that any attention would be diverted from him. His rantings and public accusations maligning my personal character were fabricated out of thin air, yet his influence on others caused many to believe his lies. So yes, I have faced unjust aspersions spewed from the mouths of wicked people, hellbent on seeing me socially marginalized. To a great extent, this person, who recruited others to perpetuate my marginalization, was actually successful, causing a few galleries I later applied to to tell me “ no thanks”, as they, too, fell under this web of lies.
More interesting, this very same person, as I previously mentioned, came to my door seeking food money since he was a failure, despite claiming success to his cult followers. The Bible instructs us to feed your enemy, which I did.
Despite an organized campaign, I never caved in and simply continued my mission to be the best detail-oriented painter in the region. The cream will always rise topside, so any efforts of negativity towards me will always fail.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to leave behind a visual legacy where someone yet-unborn will gaze at one of my hanging paintings and be in awe, perhaps silently saying to themselves, “ Whoever this Kobasky guy was, he really cared about his task!”
Another aspect of my mission is to always improve. Ergo, there are times I step away from a work for a day or two, returning with fresh eyes to ascertain if there is absolutely any room for any improvement, no matter how nuanced, before finally signing my name to the work.
My final goal is to accumulate more money in order to continue my work with the growing population of homeless here in my region. For last five years I have been feeding and clothing homeless to best of my limited financial abilities, so indeed I make no secret of my want of more success and, subsequently, more funds so that can give and provide to the needy on a grander scale as each year progresses. That said, more funds can only flow in if I continue and fine-tune the path I am currently on, creating works that stand out from what some call my “ competition”. Any artsy fartsy painter who says they are not money-driven is either a trust fund baby or a liar.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.Kobasky.com
• Facebook: Don Kobasky

Image Credits

All photos by me.