We were lucky to catch up with Hunter Ash recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hunter , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

My family spent a lot of our free time making our own fun at home, and in the outdoors. I grew up in Colorado, in the most fun-loving house. My parents encouraged us to try new things, do our best and enjoy simple joys in life and in nature. My sister and I grew up making mudslides in the dirt, drawing chalk cities in the driveway, getting paint on the kitchen table and making finger paint murals on the walls of our garage. My parents were hard-working but encouraged us not to take life too seriously. My mom had her own business and was extremely hard-working, but when we spent time together she was completely present – always coming up with new games to play or crafts to work on. I’m so grateful that my mom cared more about having fun and making memories than keeping the walls white or the kitchen looking clean. She was my biggest role model and my best friend. Growing up, nothing was too weird or off base for my parents to at least consider helping us try to accomplish. For example, we had always wanted a zip line, so in middle school my dad built one in our front yard. It was a big eye sore considering the end of the zip line involved being thrust into the large inflatable inner-tube that hung on a post from a carabiner at the entrance of the yard. It stayed up for years.

My parents encouraged us to dream, built us up to believe we could do anything we put our minds to and made space for us to be creative. I’m forever grateful for their unending support. When I was nearing the end of my freshman year of college, I was struggling in school, unhappy with my major and didn’t know what to do. My dad suggested that I look into art programs instead of sticking it out in the pre-med biology track I was clearly hating. That was the start of my art career and my mom and dad have both been my biggest cheerleaders and the core of my support system ever since. Thanks to my parents, I have always felt supported to try to pursue my wildest dreams. I never felt I was going it alone and I couldn’t do what I do without them. I wish every kid could be so lucky to have parents that fully believe in them.

Hunter , 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 am originally from Basalt, CO. I earned my BFA at Baylor University where I studied Studio Art and fell in love with abstract painting. I’ve always loved art and found it important to have outlets to be creative, but it wasn’t until my senior year of college that I considered pursuing a career in fine art and/or painting. Shortly after college, I moved to Austin and discovered a welcoming community of artists and various creative opportunities. I have been living and working as an abstract painter in Austin, TX since 2018. Growing up in the mountains, I learned to appreciate small joys and simple moments, including many aspects of nature. Through a lifetime of days spent outdoors and close to 6 years evolving as an artist, I’ve honed my ability to pay attention, which I apply to many aspects of my creative practice.

I use painting as a tool to interpret the intricacies of the human experience through abstract narrative. My curiosity has led me to explore many different mediums, although I am mostly known for my oil paintings and poured acrylic or mixed medium paintings on canvas. I have a print shop on my website where I sell locally printed, archival gicleé prints on paper and canvas. I sell original paintings in a local gallery and independently on my website. I also work with various clients on art licensing projects, murals, custom paintings and unique high-quality print projects.

I initially began my painting career by working on commissioned abstract paintings, which allowed me to combine my love for painting and my love for people. With a desire to offer a lens into the process of creating a meaningful painting, I created a questionnaire that helped me understand who my clients were, what their story was, and what they cared about. The process allowed me to get to know people, while letting them into my creative bubble, fostering transparency and building trust in the somewhat daunting task of buying custom art. I found that creating with and for other people was such a joy for me. This is still a main motivation for why I do what I do. My commission process has grown and changed quite a bit, but I still enjoy making custom paintings for my clients.

I am really proud of the way my art has been able to resonate with people and the doors it has opened for relationships and connection. I think people enjoy my art because it is extremely emotive, personal and spiritual. My work is an exploration of the dichotomies in life, showing that beauty and meaning can be found in the tension between things like brokenness and wholeness, chaos and order, abstraction and reality. Faith is a huge factor in not just my inspiration but also in how I execute a painting and I think that impacts people. I enjoy the physicality of painting but my process is also extremely meditative. I hope as my work continues to evolve and grow, I am able to hone and improve my craft daily as well as the ability to make meaningful art.

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

I think people are such a valuable resource! Don’t be afraid to ask questions!!! Find people who do a job you’re curious about and buy them coffee or schedule a phone call and ask to pick their brain! If you need money or are thinking about going back to school, consider trying to find a job where you get paid to learn about a craft or field you’re interested in. Create when you can and take part-time jobs when you have to. Small steps are better than perfect ones and learning takes time. Having an art business means wearing multiple hats and of course you’re not always going to master every single one at once, give yourself grace. There’s so many resources out there and I always wish I knew of more, but here’s what I’ve found helpful/enjoyed:

Books:
– The Artists Way (!!!), Julia Cameron
– War of Art, Steven Pressfield
– Building a Story Brand, Donal Miller

Podcasts:
– Beyond the Studio, Amanda Adams and Nicole Mueller
– Art For Your Ear, Jealous Curator
– Creative Pep Talk, Andy Pizza
– How I built this, Guy Raz

Websites, platforms etc.:
– Callforentry.org – great for various art opportunities & Calls for entry
– Artwork Archive (not necessary, but has a great artist inventory system, blogs and good info)

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think a huge part of being an artist is knowing that your job may likely take on many forms and be prone to evolution. That might be stressful to some people, but to me it’s exciting and keeps me on my toes. I feel like my work and career is constantly changing, hopefully for the better, but sometimes it’s hard to tell when to take a step back or shift gears.

This is a small example, but a couple years ago I was working a part-time job and doing mostly commissioned art, which I love; however, I felt like I was losing touch with my art and getting lost in my side-gig. It took me a while to understand why my heart wasn’t in painting and my work was feeling dry. Turns out painting solely for others was not great for my headspace and made me feel as thought I wasn’t able to explore my craft as much as I would’ve liked. I wasn’t feeling challenged or stimulated. So, I decided to pause my commission orders and focus on making art that explored subjects and ideas that intrigued me and challenged me. It was a risk, it would mean I’d likely make less money that year; plus, I didn’t know if I would risk losing clients in the future if I turned down their inquiries and potential jobs. But I felt it was necessary for my art to thrive and for me to avoid burn out.

It turned out to be a great decision. Pausing commissioned work, although I love it, allowed me to be an artist first and a connector and a business person second. My art began to come to life again. I felt rejuvenated and I was able to be more thoughtful with my commission process when I did open my orders again. I even found that my commission inquiries actually went up after I had announced I was open to accepting them again! The short pause I took in one area was great for long-term success, for my artist brain and for my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hunter-ash.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hunterash.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hunterash.art

Image Credits

Katie Jameson https://www.katiejamesonphoto.com/