We were lucky to catch up with Presley Goode recently and have shared our conversation below.

Presley, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I give my mom a lot of credit for my early discovery of art. When I was young, she was a decorative painter with her own paint and stencil business. She would bring me, in a car seat, to her projects and I would sit there and watch her paint repeat patterns on people’s walls, floors, and ceilings. As her career evolved into more fine art oil painting on canvas, I became her critique and observed her technique. I’ve always felt most comfortable in the art room or ceramics studio, able to work with my hands and let my creative thoughts take over.

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?

Observant, silly and empathic. These adjectives are how I describe the flow of figures I paint, as well as the path that led me to where I am today. I grew up in Richmond, VA and spent a lot of my childhood outdoors, in my mom’s art studio, and in the kitchen with my dad. While I’ve always been aware of my creativity, I lacked confidence in sharing it with the world until my early twenties. I’ve always felt most comfortable in an art room, letting my hands turn thoughts and feelings into colors, shapes, repetitions, and forms. During the pandemic, I began a morning mediation routine which entailed me drawing large blobs of shapes on paper and slowly, mindfully, filling them in with the stroke of a large marker. Day after day, the forms changed. They got smaller, thinner, and started to form legs, arms, and slowly began resembling the human form. This is how my flowing figure series began. I became fixated on drawing these figures close enough together that they looked almost like a puzzle, but never touching. Every piece I paint is completely unique because the figures are free-handed.

My figure style draws from the strong senses of independence, curiosity, and community that have strung my life together. I have met incredibly special people from summer camp, boarding school, college, working at guest ranches in Wyoming, traveling to Thailand and New Zealand alone, living in DC and New York. Each of these experiences were a leap of faith for me, walking into cabins, classrooms and campuses not knowing anyone. Finding connectedness and bringing my mind to the present is very important to me. That is what I want my art to convey. When you see Presley’s people, the figures floating amongst each other, how fragile our time is together.

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

Being happily surprised by the people my artwork attracts and how they perceive it. It also bring me immense joy when I see my paintings living in someone’s space. Knowing that they chose to look and live with my creation is an incredible feeling.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

“The Body Keeps The Score” by Bessel van der Kolk completely changed the way I treat my mind and body. I majored in psychology and fine art at The University of Denver, so I’m deeply fascinated by the power of our mind and how we interact with one another. This book will make you cry, laugh, search for more information and realize that at the end of the day, the power of our success comes from how we treat ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.presleygoodeart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/presleygoode_art/