Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ian Shults. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I guess the start of things was as a kid, my mother was an artist on the side and very poor and single so she encouraged us to draw and paint and do anything that was free to hold our attention while she was working various jobs. My brother and I took to it more than my other siblings and she recognized it and encouraged it, making us clay to sculpt our own toys with and finding us paper and whatever we could play with. I just always did it, spent countless hours drawing all night in my closet with a lamp, making cardboard robots and even movies with broken cameras that never produced an end product. As I got older I was drawing cartoons on book covers and whatever classmates wanted for my lunch money. Those book covers eventually turned me to graffiti and painting under bridges with my skater friends. It was those high school years when I started to discover examples of fine art that were actually really cool to me, it was kind of a revelation because I thought everything had to look like Van Gogh or some boring still life. It made me really want to do that for life, because I always knew I would be an artist but I hadn’t figured out what kind. Finances kept me from being able to go to art school, so I was stuck in some odd jobs, but was still spray painting large pieces and working on my little projects at home for no one to ever see. One day while I was delivering car parts for a dealership I came across some guys that were building a giant styrofoam sculpture in an art studio on a main road, and I thought that was about the coolest thing I had ever seen. They were real adults to me, I had just turned 18, and they were doing it! Their business was creating signs and murals and these large scale styrofoam sculptures that went along with them. I immediately pulled over and got to asking questions and eventually came by with my photos of my secret work under bridges and train trestles and I guess they saw potential, letting me start interning or accepting my free labor until they eventually let me start doing all the sculpture. The business grew and I grew up along with it, and I became a head sculptor and lead designer there with several employees. Our jobs were to make anything anyone dreamed up a reality, so there was a ton for me to learn. I learned basic carpentry, mold making and casting, sign painting, color theory, theatrical scenic painting, bronze sculpture scale up, just all kinds things. It was an invaluable experience and I now I laugh about ever being upset I couldn’t go to art school.

A lot of the skills I learned from older craftsmen there we priceless. The brush handling of sign painters versus the gestural and impressionistic strokes of scenic painters, the color mixing and the importance of color temperature and just all the materials. Even the sculpture experience is super valuable, I always think of everything I’m painting as a dimensional object. It really helps to figure out problems and shadows. You can really pick out when things look off when you think of things dimensionally even if your painting wants to be very flat. I use the carpentry I learned on a regular basis even if its for building canvas stretchers and panels. But I would say the knowledge of materials and the openness to working with new ones with that experience has become one of my most important things those people gave me.

If I could do it again knowing what I know, I think I would have left that job earlier and started off on my own, painting, before I got too comfortable and complacent. The job became a lifestyle and the challenges of fulfilling work became farther and farther between. I think bigger strides can be made in your work when you have that scared energy to draw on and maybe I could have used those young bones to my advantage. But I was an idiot, so there’s really no telling how I could have screwed up had things been different.
I guess the only obstacles in the way of learning now are time and money. Now all the information is out there, I used to get very frustrated because my world was pretty small before the internet. If I couldn’t find answers from those around me I was screwed. But now you can find out anything about anything and especially the complaints people have about anything. As artwork becomes a career it becomes harder and harder to balance experimentation and obligation. There’s always stuff that has to get done and I often find myself leaning on tried and true methods for fear of losing days of progress. Its always something though.

Ian, 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 guess the start of things was as a kid, my mother was an artist on the side and very poor and single so she encouraged us to draw and paint and do anything that was free to hold our attention while she was working various jobs. My brother and I took to it more than my other siblings and she recognized it and encouraged it, making us clay to sculpt our own toys with and finding us paper and whatever we could play with. I just always did it, spent countless hours drawing all night in my closet with a lamp, making cardboard robots and even movies with broken cameras that never produced an end product. As I got older I was drawing cartoons on book covers and whatever classmates wanted for my lunch money. Those book covers eventually turned me to graffiti and painting under bridges with my skater friends. It was those high school years when I started to discover examples of fine art that were actually really cool to me, it was kind of a revelation because I thought everything had to look like Van Gogh or some boring still life. It made me really want to do that for life, because I always knew I would be an artist but I hadn’t figured out what kind. Finances kept me from being able to go to art school, so I was stuck in some odd jobs, but was still spray painting large pieces and working on my little projects at home for no one to ever see. One day while I was delivering car parts for a dealership I came across some guys that were building a giant styrofoam sculpture in an art studio on a main road, and I thought that was about the coolest thing I had ever seen. They were real adults to me, I had just turned 18, and they were doing it! Their business was creating signs and murals and these large scale styrofoam sculptures that went along with them. I immediately pulled over and got to asking questions and eventually came by with my photos of my secret work under bridges and train trestles and I guess they saw potential, letting me start interning or accepting my free labor until they eventually let me start doing all the sculpture. The business grew and I grew up along with it, and I became a head sculptor and lead designer there with several employees. Our jobs were to make anything anyone dreamed up a reality, so there was a ton for me to learn. I learned basic carpentry, mold making and casting, sign painting, color theory, theatrical scenic painting, bronze sculpture scale up, just all kinds things. It was an invaluable experience and I now I laugh about ever being upset I couldn’t go to art school. A lot of the skills I learned from older craftsmen there we priceless. The brush handling of sign painters versus the gestural and impressionistic strokes of scenic painters, the color mixing and the importance of color temperature and just all the materials. Even the sculpture experience is super valuable, I always think of everything I’m painting as a dimensional object. It really helps to figure out problems and shadows. You can really pick out when things look off when you think of things dimensionally even if your painting wants to be very flat. I use the carpentry I learned on a regular basis even if its for building canvas stretchers and panels. But I would say the knowledge of materials and the openness to working with new ones with that experience has become one of my most important things those people gave me.
If I could do it again knowing what I know, I think I would have left that job earlier and started off on my own, painting, before I got too comfortable and complacent. The job became a lifestyle and the challenges of fulfilling work became farther and farther between. I think bigger strides can be made in your work when you have that scared energy to draw on and maybe I could have used those young bones to my advantage. But I was an idiot, so there’s really no telling how I could have screwed up had things been different.
I guess the only obstacles in the way of learning now are time and money. Now all the information is out there, I used to get very frustrated because my world was pretty small before the internet. If I couldn’t find answers from those around me I was screwed. But now you can find out anything about anything and especially the complaints people have about anything. As artwork becomes a career it becomes harder and harder to balance experimentation and obligation. There’s always stuff that has to get done and I often find myself leaning on tried and true methods for fear of losing days of progress. Its always something though.

As a lifelong resident of Austin TX, I’m very proud to have contributed to a large amount of the public art in town. I am also very stoked to have just opened my 8th solo show at Wally Workman Gallery here in Austin. We have had a long and rewarding collaboration and I am very grateful they have supported me all these years. My paintings are figurative with a pop contemporary bend I suppose. I like to focus on people behaving poorly and kind of the awful ways we treat each other. All in a pretty package hopefully. I’ve always had a hard time explaining my work as I think and hope its something better felt than described when at its best. A lot of the work has either a mid century or vintage aesthetic as to capture stories swept under the rug or to emphasize the fact that these things have always been going on. Plus I prefer older fashions to that of today. My work is inspired by everything from pulp novel cover design to movies and everything in between. I use a lot of found photos as reference and collage them in to scenes that hopefully play out in your head.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think some non creatives may struggle with the idea that some creatives don’t have a choice in what path they take. What I mean is that I could see how some let’s say normal people would go to college, maybe if they’re lucky find a subject they find interesting and follow that path into a lucrative career. My experience, as well as others I know, are completely different. Art in whatever form is a compulsion and you kind of have to work backwards into figuring out a way to making a living on it. I never felt like I had a choice in the matter, I would be an artist and that’s how it would be and deal with it. In lean times, when things get tough, its very easy for some to say “hey, get a job, do it, and like it” but for me it was always just adding another job on top of my art job, which is no way to live. I think non creatives may not realize that for some it isn’t about the glory or attention and certainly not the money, but really the absolute need to complete the project. That’s my experience anyway.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFT’s? Stay away! Especially if you don’t understand every bit of it. I think the jury is already in on this, and the world has answered no, but it does just bring to mind how many scams against artists there are out there. I know I’m constantly getting scam NFT offers on social media. We all have to be super vigilant now to anyone offering anything and its a real shame. I think scams targeting artists are especially vile because its already hard enough. We all can use someone like a potential client to lift us up which makes that fall ten times worse when it doesn’t happen or worse. If it sounds too good to be true it is, seems easy, but they’re getting pretty good at what they do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ianshultsart
• Other: https://www.wallyworkmangallery.com/ian-shults.html