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

Alright, Paul thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Being a self-employed artist suits my freewheeling lifestyle. As a prime example, my wife and I relocated to Costa Rica last year. Something that would likely not have been possible with a more traditional job. There is a wonderful sense of freedom in how I spend my time and what I choose to birth into the world.

I earned my degree in graphic designer/commercial art and out of college went to work for a book publishing company. Within a few years I decided to go freelance, and ultimately moved into fine art. So, it’s been 30 years since I had any kind of regular job. I did work as a real estate agent for a few years. But that was a creative endeavor as well, in that I bought old adobe properties in Santa Fe, NM and artistically fixed them up.

As I recall, a regular paycheck was kind of a nice benefit of a standard job, but I would not trade what I have now for anything.

Paul, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a painter of magic realism imagery. I work in oils either on wood panel and canvas, and my works range from one or two feet across to 13 feet for my largest painting.

My elevator pitch, when people ask what I paint, is that I paint dreams. I strive to capture that realistic yet fantastic feeling that we experience in the dream state. It’s a world that looks and feels so real that we don’t question it when a girl floats by, or animals dressed as humans occupy a scene. My works delve deep into metaphysics, psychology and human nature. I use animals and objects metaphorically and symbolically to share a message or explore an idea. I am also a writer and many of my visual works inspire poems and vice versa.

My art has been licensed for multiple products such as greeting cards, calendars and wooden puzzles. My originals and limited edition reproductions are collected around the world and in many corporate collections, such as Stanford Hospital, staterooms on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and in movie and TV sets for NBC, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros.

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?

At my exhibits, people regularly come up to me and say things like, “I can’t draw or paint”, or “I wish I was creative, but I’m just not”. The truth is that every single one of us is just as creative as the other. Even the most seemingly non-creative life was still created by that individual. It was a series of choices and expressions of their inner nature that led them to build the life and stories that they are now living. The only difference with me or a writer or musician, is that we have chosen to spend our time learning an “artistic” craft, one that allows our inner worlds and visions to be birthed into the world in a form we call art, and can be marketed and sold.

And yet I know many people that do not produce a product in the form of visual art or music or prose, but are creative simply in the way that they uniquely interact with others. Their lives are works of art just as much as one of my paintings. So, no one gets to cop out by saying they are not creative.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Well, picking up on my previous thought – for me it is having created something that lives on in the world independent of me. A painting or poem that was birthed from my innermost being. The offspring of my emotions, musings and desires.

Like one of my children, I can sit back and observe and marvel at how it came to be. And knowing it gives others pleasure is equally gratifying. I have something to say to the world, and art gives me a unique platform to do so that is flavored with the essence of my soul. For me it does not get any more fulfilling than that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://paulbondart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulbondart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulBondFineArt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDpPDw342BdVV-GwE5VauFw

Image Credits
All images copyright Paul Bond