We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Graham Bishop a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Graham thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I often question how I’ve gotten to a place of living solely off of doing creative work, but it makes sense considering how outlandish the practice is where I grew up (Northern VA). The classic cookie-cutter archetype of a 4 year degree and subsequently suburbanite career was engrained in me, so it’s taken years to unlearn that, and grow to create my own mindset towards risk taking and manifesting what I truly want. Before moving to Los Angeles, I would have “dreams” of being a musician or filmmaker in California, but it always seemed more of a distant daydream that would never come to fruition. Once I moved to LA and began my creative pursuit, I struggled to balance part time work and artistic motivation. I slowly learned that I was conditioned in restricting my creative endeavors, prioritizing weekly work agendas instead that barely provided me a living to pursue the life I desired. I was also waiting for a false artistic “motivation” to form itself, when really I wasn’t feeding the drive to manifest my intentions. Over years of trial and error, I’ve eventually gotten to place of understanding the impact of setting intentions and working hard enough to see them through, even if it requires a good wait.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I love to create stories with others in a way that creates some kind of change (mental, emotional, etc) . There is nothing more fulfilling than capturing a moment in time, or a scene that can last forever, and then making a positive impact from that collaborative creation. Currently, my main medium of story-telling has been through Cinematography and Directing. Having a main background in music and love for vintage media, most of my portfolio consists of musical artists with a narrative edge and colorful filmic tone, inspired by the pop culture I’ve grown to love.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think the best fuel for other artists in the industry, especially coming from someone who’s never had much, is giving authentic time and validation. Whether it’s listening to a friend’s new demo, or giving true constructive feedback on a project, it’s important to try and see the vision that the artist is creating. Sharing experiences in itself is a fundamental act of human nature, and allowing someone to see into your world of creation can be the most vulnerable side of that spectrum.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I’m still here!
Contact Info:
- Website: grahamshp.com
- Instagram: @grahamshandprint