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

Paul, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I was very lucky that my parents recognized my interest in art at an early age. They found an artist named Linda Regula who took me on as her student just before my fourth birthday, so I was learning to oil paint while most kids were still drawing with crayons. I am forever grateful for that opportunity and I believe it shaped the rest of my life. I knew from the start that I wanted to be an artist and I never had a backup plan.

The most important skills that Linda nurtured in me were creativity and storytelling. Linda found ways to encourage me to express myself in every project. We would take breaks for story time during which I had to invent a fantastical story on the spot. This narrative would then become the subject of my drawing or painting later that lesson. I learned many drawing and painting techniques along the way too, but without fostering a child’s genuine love of creating, all the technical skills in the world are meaningless.

One of the biggest obstacles to my creative journey as I got older was the repression of my sexuality. I grew up in a small, conservative town in the midwest and attended a Catholic school where it felt like being queer was simply not an option. Even as I entered college (Columbus College of Art and Design), I was still deeply in denial about my identity as a gay man despite my wardrobe of glittery Cher belly shirts (what can I say – denial is a powerful thing!). It is very difficult to create authentic art when you are lying to yourself about who you are. So college was a time for me to learn a lot of useful skills and concepts, but I didn’t really begin applying them in a meaningful way until I graduated and came out of the closet. That was when I finally felt reconnected with my inner child who had stood at the easel twenty years prior and painted without concern for what anyone else might think.

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?

I am an expressive, figurative painter who explores identity, vulnerability, and human nature in my work. I often draw from personal history, experiences, and current events to create paintings that challenge viewers to reach beyond preconceived ideas, especially regarding gender and sexuality. I have been creating work like this for twenty years now, and it’s been remarkable to see (and document) the cultural shifts that have occurred during that time.

My paintings can be controversial because I am not afraid to tackle issues that are important to me, and I have received a lot of backlash over the years for my artistic take on topics such as masculinity, male intimacy, immigration, religion, marriage equality, politics, sexuality, drag culture, and transgender rights. I am most proud of the fact that I have stayed true to myself despite frequent pressure to tone it down in pursuit of more mainstream success. I know that I have missed out on some opportunities because of my commitment to activism and advocacy, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Art has helped me find my community and my voice. And I’ve gotten to display my work all over the world as well as doing commissions for Dolly Parton, Troye Sivan, Global Citizen, Netflix, and Disney – so it all worked out!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Artists are frequently taught to be consistent – find a style that collectors will recognize and just do that. I’ve seen that work for many people, so it’s not necessarily bad advice. But it doesn’t work for me. I’m too all-over-the-place, and denying that would essentially be going back into a different kind of closet. I think it’s important for artists (and everyone) to allow themselves to be multi-dimensional human beings with curiosity and willingness to take risks.

Early in my career, I painted in an almost photorealistic style. Yet the paintings by other artists I connected with most were always more expressive, with gestural marks, juicy brushstrokes, and texture galore. I had a show scheduled at a gallery in Provincetown and decided to challenge myself to make the entire series without using a paintbrush. Instead I used a palette knife and other tools to evoke emotion through the application of paint. That show was called War Paint, and it marked a major turning point in my work.

To this day, I still enjoy trying new things. I like uncertainty and exploration! Two months ago, I invited my friend Briden Schueren, a talented artist and transgender activist, to come visit me for a week and work on a series of collaborative paintings. I had never done anything like that before, and Briden’s work is so different from mine that we had no idea what it would be like. It ended up being a fantastic experience! We swapped paintings every fifteen or twenty minutes, completely giving up control of the process and allowing the paintings to lead us. We ended up making forty two pieces together in that week, and concluded with a pop-up show called Queertopia. Most interestingly, the paintings didn’t end up looking exactly like my style or Briden’s, but something entirely new. We also released a book called Queertopia (available on Amazon) that documents the paintings and process, with the hope of inspiring others to try their own collaborations.

I hope to do more work with Briden and other artists in the future. We can learn so much if we stop seeing other artists as competition and choose to admire and appreciate their uniqueness instead.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being able to spend every day creating art is a reward in itself. I’m so grateful that my career path aligns with my passion and purpose in life!

I also find teaching to be incredibly rewarding. My friend Melissa Forman and I started a business together called Art Makes Us where we offer art classes online and also in-person. An inspiring global community is coming together around this project, representing a wide variety of ages, styles, and experience levels. It is my hope to pass on the inspiration I was so fortunate to receive at a young age from my mentor to anyone who wishes to connect more with their inner artist.

Everyone is capable of creative expression. Helping others find their artistic voice also helps inspire me to continue learning and growing myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://paulrichmondstudio.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/paulyworld
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/paulrichmondstudio
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/paulrichmondstudio
• Other: Queertopia book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPVVJB37 Art Makes Us: http://artmakesus.com