We recently connected with Phil Turner and have shared our conversation below.
Phil, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?
The pursuit of painting began early in life. As a child I took art lessons from a great aunt who worked as a graphic artist. She did a great deal to give me the basics of color, composition, and tools. I continued to draw and paint during my teenage years and entered college as a drawing and painting major. The obstacles I faced were two and they came at the end of that first year. One, what will you do with an art degree, and, two, can you earn an income as a painter? This was before the onset of computers and graphic design being a good option for employment. Caving in to parental pressure, I redirected my studies toward journalism and writing.
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 a fine art painter. After the art degree defection in college, I graduated with honors, and immediately got that “good job” in the corporate world as a writer at a newspaper. I advanced in my work, married, and began a family. With all that I kept painting and drawing whenever possible. I’ve always had the heart of a painter and take great pleasure in being in the creative world. Business success continued over the years and I was able to walk away from corporate America and back into the life of painting full time. Painting is serious business for me. I’ve learned much over the past two decades and continue to learn each time I pick up a brush. These twenty years have been a struggle requiring great effort and persistence, fighting back the daily demons that say: “You started too late.” “You don’t have the talent.” “Working as a painter is a waste of time.” My personal mantra is “just keep going.” Even when failure and hopelessness come to call, keep after the desire to create, to paint. I’m proud to say that I have kept going and my skill and abilities have increased. I’ve been in shows, represented in galleries, and had my work collected by a number of well known individuals.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being a creative person is rewarding in the blend of inspiration and hard work. Any mode of creativity requires natural ability, devotion to the craft, and the reality that much of the time you face frustration. It’s enormously satisfying to struggle and push ahead with the results proving to be successful. There is a feeling of completeness and accomplishment each time a piece is finished and the work is good. When someone purchases my work or other creative people (or people in general) express appreciation for what I’ve done, then the satisfaction is multiplied tenfold. Even when an attempted composition does not come together (with time, materials, and emotional energy being sacrificed) there is advancement if one chooses to recognize it. In the worst results there are learnings and opportunities to grow one’s skills and techniques. The trick is … keep going!
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
While this may sound overly simplified, my driving goal is to create honest, well-crafted paintings that can bring the consciousness of beauty forward to a collector or someone simply observing work at a show. This may sound a pretentious or a bit too esoteric, but the reality is that in our culture the concept of beauty is misunderstood if not ignored. As people we often can’t stop the hamster wheel long enough to consider beauty in all its forms. Considering the a creative work for more than face value is important in order to unearth the transient beauty. I’d add that this applies to all forms of creative endeavor from the visual arts to contemporary dance, from literature to stage performance.
Contact Info:
- Website: philturnerart.com