We were lucky to catch up with Jack Schilder recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jack, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I wanted to be an artist ever since I was a little kid. But I ended up pursuing a career in the engineering field. I discovered I needed money to live. So, my art was always more of a hobby than anything else. Now that I have been retired for almost 10 years, I have now become a full-time artist, and loving every minute of it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started with my art at a very young age. When people ask me what I do for a living I tell them I am an artist, even though I have worked in an engineering environment for almost 35 years. I have been retired from my fulltime engineering job for almost 10 years now, and now I am a fulltime artist. I have worked with many mediums in my art career but now and for many years have mostly worked with graphite and charcoal. My art is mostly of a southwestern flavor. I was born in the Netherlands and my childhood years were spent living in Africa. My family moved to the US in 1964 and spent the rest of my growing up years in New Jersey. Finally moved to Arizona in the late 80’s. Now I call Cave Creek AZ my home.
I am also one of the proud owners of “The Finer Arts Gallery” in Cave Creek where we have over 50 very talented local artists. I display my art there and at various other places. I can also be reached on my website www.jackschilderart.com

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

What is very rewarding for me is when people purchase my art or just look at it and say wow that is amazing, and I get the chance to talk to them about it and they ask me questions about the creative process and what made me think of doing it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Big lesson I learned was, I was always trying to create art that was trendy, Now I create what I like to create. I discovered that most people are not looking for trendy but want something unique.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: jackschilderart
• Facebook: jackschilderart
• Other: www.thefinerartsgallery.com

Image Credits
Jack Schilder