We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Max Gagnon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Max, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Honestly, yes! I am very much happy as a creative and enjoy the work I do. I get to create what’s in my mind (or a client’s mind) and translate those ideas onto paper, a canvas, or a computer screen. Like any artist, I do have my off days where I may doubt myself and make me question, “is this piece ‘perfect’, or ‘good enough’?” But once I overcome those thoughts, and continue my process, I complete the piece! Then the amount of praise I get afterwards, whether it be in person or online, encourages me greatly. It helps keep my creative passion flowing and coming up with new ideas almost everyday.

Funny thing is, I do still have a “regular” job currently. Yes, I do wish I could say I work full time as an artist, but as of now I currently work a part time job also. Then after my shift I come back home and immediately get back to my art work. While it is a bit of a struggle, it is actually a little refreshing to go out and be with people at my regular job. One, it gives me a break from my art, and time to come up with revisions or new ideas for a piece. It’s also nice to converse with people who may not be artistically gifted or aware. Thus giving me the opportunity to share my services with them and offer any artistic direction they would need for their own small businesses. I love helping people anyway I can with my art.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As far as inspirations, it always feels like an ever growing list of people and things that inspire me and my work. In the beginning, I had numerous cartoons and movies to thank; like early Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon shows. Along with the more under appreciated works of Don Bluth animation. Brad Bird and his phenomenal films like The Iron Giant, and The Incredibles are masterpieces in my opinion. The countless Saturday morning cartoons I’d wake up to like Scooby-Doo, or the Spider-Man animated show. But probably the most prominent was comic books.

Once I started studying comic books and graphic novels, I grew a fondness of not just the stories, but the numerous artists that provided visuals for said stories. Creatives like Mark Bagely, John Romita Sr., Jack Kirby, and so many others, made me want to really pursue my path as an artist. The fact that you could be hired by someone to illustrate their ideas onto a printed page was astounding to me. And to this day I still see a couple newer artists that inspire me and influence my work.

Then as I got older I started falling into more painted works from artists such as N.C. Wyeth, Drew Struzen, and Basil Gogos. They all utilized a similar mindset of both being as detailed as possible with their brush strokes, and also illustrating a story through a single image. It’s an incredible skill to have and I usually try to convey that in either my paintings or illustrations.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I feel like I got lucky in all honesty. Early on I had a few online friends that involved me in group art giveaways that would involve you having to follow every art account that was connected with the giveaway in order to win the online prize. I remember one night, my phone just started blowing up with notifications of new followers! I was like “what’s going on?” By the end of the night I had like what was probably 200 to 500 new people following me on social media. Which needless to say was a little overwhelming but thankfully it involved a lot more eyes noticing my posts and interacting with me. It made me feel seen and made me realize I now have a bigger audience that enjoys my work.

I would say as far keeping yourself noticed and building that audience, just get yourself involved in group activities like that, along with submitting to local gallery shows. As well as posting about your sketches, doodles, and any other work in progress on your pieces. I think audiences like seeing those a bit more than the finished piece because to them it feels real and your seeing the artist work and create something step by step. So quite literally, show your work, and be active with your audience when you can.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I remember in college my professors always said to never stop creating, to always keep your head up and never lose your drive. Because otherwise you’ll be stuck, and not have the motivation to keep working, and create new things for the world to see. In the toughest times that I’ve personally gone through, art has always been there as my creative safety net to springboard me back. I usually try my best to draw something, or think of something creative, everyday. Whether it be writing it down or doodling it in a sketch pad, so I can then expand upon it later. Anything to make me keep thinking and exploring new ideas. Dreams are what motivate a lot of us, as they should. They get us out of dark places that we sometimes feel last a long time. So as long as I keep illustrating and sharing with the world my artwork, I’m able to soldier forth. And keep making the world creatively visual.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mcg-illustration.com
• Instagram: @mcg.illustrates
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-gagnon-56795412a

Image Credits

Profile photo by: Sanico Denaut – www.Sanicodenaut.com (@sunnyd_photo)