We were lucky to catch up with Phillip Conner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Phillip, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I always loved creating, and yet I struggled for decades to ever classify myself as an artist. I felt to make such a claim one had to have reached certain achievements, whether it be local or national recognition or financial independence with sales from ones art. So I had for the longest time never created with the purpose of it being a career or business. It was not until recently with major changes in my life that I started to create and make my art more available. I think ultimately time allowed me to mature and figure out what I really wanted to create, and what my art was suppose to be.

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 have from a young child enjoyed creating and looked up to those who could translate images, emotions, and feelings onto canvas. I can say from a very young age I wanted to create, draw, paint and take what I was seeing around me and put it onto paper. I remember as a student studying about fauvism and finding the movement and its contributors, with the likes of Henri Matisse, fascinating with their “middle finger” to the establishment and critics attitude. I feel that it was once again studying about these controversial artist influenced my art I create today. Art has always been important, but it was 7 years ago with the need to make drastic changes in me and my loves life, that I once again began painting with a madness that led me to finding the style of art that I create today. It is my vibrant, intense colors that many will say draws them to my art. I will use the intense colors found in aerosol spray paints as my base that sets the tone for my art. I like the juxtapose of the frantic, messy graffiti energy that comes with aerosol paints with the more detailed, controlled bush strokes that comes with fine art. fusing these two drastically different forms of art have been the motivation for me to keep trying and create more art.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I find this question to be very interesting and a difficult one to answer, so I will try. Local, organic, community artist need to have attention brought to them, not by critics or big galleries, because these establishments in my opinion are broken and out of touch with the majority of people. But instead each of use are held responsible for a thriving art scene in our own community, whether it be a small rural community or a busy city scene. Artist need to feel the support from fellow artist as well as their community. We as individuals need to stop buying those stupid prints from big retailer stores or online stores to decorate our homes. I am so frustrated to see so many people decorating theirs homes and offices with these fake “art pieces,” void of any personality, uniqueness, and individuality. I can guarantee that with the same amount of effort, time and money it took for you to search for lame art at Target, you could have found a local artist with a very interesting, amazing piece of art that will fit your needs perfectly and along with that, help an artist to continue to do what they are passionate about, but also as a buyer you have art that can become a conversation piece that comes with a unique story and history.

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

Due to circumstance in my wife’s life we had to return back to a small rural community we left years ago and never thought we would ever be part of again. Yet this change in our circumstances has led to a very interesting direction with my art. I am very proud to be part of the art community in my home town. It is a privilege to create murals for business owners and have my art become part of the fabric of our community. It is very rewarding to see all forms of art become more prominent in our community and to say that I was helpful in nurturing this and being involved in its evolution and growth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: pcgallerynstudio
• Facebook: PC Conner
• Other: Zugallery.com