We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lucas Farlow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lucas, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
Besides as a little kid, dreaming of being an artist, I believe the first time I thought about making my creativity into a professional career was sometime in early 2016. I had taken an acrylic painting class at a local art studio to get out and more interactive in social settings. I attended many lessons there over about a year. It was not my first time using acrylic paint on canvas, I did have some prior experience in college. Something felt cathartic when I was painting in that class and it seemed people liked my paintings. Maybe I could make this into a lucrative livelihood? That was an amazing feeling. It felt like it was my purpose.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
In today’s art world, being a full time artist doesn’t mean only painting and selling pieces. It’s marketing, social media, and social settings like joining art districts, being a member and hosting and attending art shows. Just because I do not spend my weeks at a nine-to-five job in an office or store, does not mean I am not doing something tough, important or meaningful. Many people think the only thing I do is put paint in canvas all day and do nothing else. I need to find new ideas and inspiration for paintings, new locations for displaying my art and keeping up my creator presence on social media. Not to mention buying the art supplies and other materials needed to continue making art. Also, dealing with slow or stagnant art sales and the uncertainty is frustrating and scary sometimes. Being a full time artist is far from the definition of “steady and reliable income”.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
There are many rewards to being an artist. I am extremely grateful I get to do something I love. It is gratifying to know that something I poured my emotions, thoughts and effort into is hanging up in special places in homes and business worldwide. I get to express some things that might not be as easy to convey using words or another medium. In my paintings those emotions and meanings might be interpreted differently to the viewer than my personal meaning and that’s ok and exciting. Art is subjective and the way someone interprets and enjoys or doesn’t enjoy a piece of art is good. Knowing that one viewer of my art gets individual experience, they’re own feelings and emotions that are different than the next person.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crayonbreaking.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crayonbreakingart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crayonbreakingart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@crayonbreakingart