We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nolan Flynn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Nolan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I often wish I had started sooner. As an artist, writer, teacher, and creative, I’ve worn many hats, but it’s taken time to get here. I began working at 14, detasseling corn for Pioneer in southwest Michigan. From there, I became a cricket farmer in high school, then moved through a long list of roles: receptionist, medical assistant, house painter, ICD technician, and hospital employee. Through all of it, I painted at night—quietly building a practice, nurturing long-term goals, and dreaming of something more.
I was determined to avoid debt, which meant working through high school, all of undergrad, and then taking on two jobs after graduation. It took me three years to save enough money, energy, and courage to finally apply to graduate school. Looking back, I wish I’d just taken the student loans. If I had, I might have moved more directly into the life I wanted: four years of undergrad followed by grad school, without the detours.
There’s a certain kind of pride in hard work, but also a lingering sense that I spent too much time in jobs that didn’t serve my deeper goals. I was lucky in some ways as I wasn’t tied down by a serious relationship, so I kept my head down and pushed forward. During grad school, I worked and taught, continuing to balance creative drive with financial survival.
When I finally graduated, I was 31 not old, but I felt the weight of time. Still, I emerged clear eyed and optimistic, more grounded in who I was and where I wanted to go.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Nolan Flynn, and I’m originally from Kalamazoo, a small town in Southwest Michigan. I was raised by two public school teachers; my dad taught English and history, and my mom was a middle school art teacher. Our home was filled with creativity, conversation, and a strong work ethic. From a young age, my brother and I were taught to take pride in our efforts, to respect others, and to treat our work as a reflection of our character.
I started working early detasseling corn at 14, later managing crews and tractors in the fields. In high school, I worked as a cricket farmer in 110 degree rooms full of stainless steel bins stacked with crickets. It was hard, strange work, but it shaped me. Art was always a part of my life, and while I wasn’t the strongest student, I found clarity and confidence in drawing and creating. That passion led to scholarships at Western Michigan University, where I first aimed for graphic design, but ultimately found my voice in painting.
After undergrad, I opened a downtown studio at the Park Trades Center and showed work monthly while working full-time as a medical assistant and later as an ICD technician. I was painting bright, salable portraiture colorful images of women, and while the work sold out, it felt increasingly shallow. I wanted more. At 22, after surviving a severe health crisis that included West Nile virus, spinal meningitis, and a major car accident, I spent nearly a year in rehab. That experience changed my perspective. I realized I needed to stop spending the best hours of my life on work that didn’t fulfill me.
I applied to graduate school and was offered a spot at the University of Utah, moving to Salt Lake City sight unseen. There, I was finally able to commit myself fully to my craft painting every day, sleeping on a studio couch when needed, and later teaching as an adjunct professor. It was a transformative period. I moved away from slick commercial work and began exploring abstraction, narrative, and provisional mark making. Influenced by artists like Cy Twombly, Basquiat, Jeanne-Claude Christo, and Michael Krebber, I embraced unfinished gestures, urgency, and process as core elements of my practice.
Today, I create abstract, mixed-media paintings that explore memory, perception, and the spaces between clarity and ambiguity. My work often incorporates unconventional materials like Crayola markers, airbrush, laser etching, and oil paint pushing at the edges of what painting can be. I’m drawn to the ephemeral, to the tension between intention and spontaneity. I’ve exhibited nationally and internationally, and my work is held in the Utah state collection as well as museums in Sofia, Bulgaria.
What sets me apart is a commitment to honesty in the studio. I’m not chasing perfection; I’m chasing presence; those fragile, in-between moments that feel alive on the surface. I offer collectors and viewers something raw, layered, and deeply felt: not just paintings, but a visual record of how things come together and fall apart. I also bring this same spirit into the classroom, where I teach high school painting, ceramics, and drawing in Tooele, Utah. Teaching keeps me grounded and reminds me why this work matters, to stay curious, generous, and engaged with the world around me.
I’m most proud of having built a life that balances art and education, resilience and risk. Whether through exhibiting, teaching, or placing work in private collections and mountain homes, my aim is to make work that resonates and work that invites people to stop, look closely, and feel something real.
Have you ever had to pivot?
After high school, I knew I wanted to pursue something creative, but I wasn’t entirely sure what that would look like. With help from counselors and a lot of research, I initially aimed for a career in graphic design. At the time, it seemed like the perfect blend of creativity and stability working in design firms, solving visual problems for clients, and using color, composition, and form to communicate ideas in ways that went beyond words. It felt exciting, sleek, and achievable, especially coming from a small town in Michigan.
I applied to the graphic design program at Western Michigan University twice. I didn’t get in either time, not because I lacked drive, but because my work may not have aligned with the clarity or consistency they were looking for. And that’s okay. I held on to the idea of becoming my own boss, building a creative life through design, but after the second rejection, I had to take a hard look at what I really wanted.
That was a pivotal moment. I realized that what I valued most wasn’t necessarily the commercial structure of design, it was the act of inspiring others, the freedom of painting, and the ability to use visual language to connect more deeply with people. I wanted to help others find their voice through art, just as I was trying to find mine. I decided not to pursue an art education degree at that time I was already five years into undergrad and working multiple jobs to stay debt-free. Instead, I doubled down on painting and made a plan: I’d get my terminal degree later on, and enter the teaching profession through the back door, by becoming a professor.
That plan eventually worked. After earning my MFA from the University of Utah, I taught as an adjunct professor and now teach part-time at a public high school. It’s been one of the most fulfilling parts of my journey. I get to share not just technical skills but also the ethics and meaning behind creative work. I get to use painting as a form of communication and connection. The pivot wasn’t part of the original dream, but I truly believe it was the right path. It brought me closer to the kind of purpose I was really looking for.
How did you build your audience on social media?
How I built my audience on social media and advice for anyone starting out:
It’s not easy. It’s time consuming, and it can feel a little unnatural at times. But the most important thing I’ve learned is that you have to be real. Vulnerability connects. I think people are tired of overly polished, highly edited content those images that feel manufactured in Blender or Photoshop with carefully curated perfection. That might work for some, and there’s an audience for it, sure. But I’ve found that what people really want is someone they can relate to. They want to see someone trying. Someone honest. Someone who doesn’t already have everything figured out.
What I’ve noticed is that consistency matters more than perfection. Even if you think a post is “garbage” or not fully formed, showing up regularly creates a rhythm. People start to follow not just the work, but the person behind it. That includes your paintings, sure but also your process, your setbacks, your living space, your awkward experiments. Social media becomes more meaningful when it reflects a full picture of who you are: your lifestyle, your challenges, your wins.
To me, art isn’t just the finished piece it’s the mess, the momentum, the doubts, the discipline. That’s the story I try to share. Because we all want to feel something. We want to be reminded we’re not alone in struggling or figuring things out. When you only post the highlight reel, it becomes harder to maintain. People sense the distance. But if you show up as a whole person flawed, persistent, and honest; there’s room for connection. There’s room for growth.
Another big part of building a presence is engaging with others, not just throwing likes or heart emojis at their posts, but actually commenting, asking questions, and being curious about what others are doing. Community building is mutual. Send messages. Write thoughtful comments. Show up to events. Respond. Participate. Your audience is also your peer group, and investing in them will bring that energy back to you.
That said, one of the hard truths about being an artist today is that you’re not just making work, you’re doing everything. You’re your own marketing director, photographer, writer, communicator, secretary, scheduler. It’s exhausting, and social media can feel like a job in itself. But even a small, real post can have an impact. It might resonate with someone, and that’s what makes it worthwhile.
My advice? Create a schedule that’s sustainable. Don’t chase trends chase connection. And above all, be real. That’s what people can relate to. That’s what lasts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nolanflynnart.com
- Instagram: @flynnone
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-flynn-801b8590
