We were lucky to catch up with Rob Stangroom recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Rob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
You reach crossroads in life that, like Robert Frost’s Poem “The Road Not Taken”, offer you a choice – often with varying degrees of risk. My most significant intersection of diverging paths followed the unexpected death of a close friend and the subsequent reflection on my own life. What I ultimately came to was a question of what legacy I wanted to leave those who love me. What do I want to be remembered for – what’s truly important to me?
I’d long been encouraged by family and friends to do something more with my creative side: share it with the at-large world. I resisted the move for years, mostly because I had no formal schooling in art. Virtually every job I had or business I started required my creative abilities – it was almost always the deciding factor. With my friend’s passing, and my ensuing introspection, I realized I wanted to leave people with something of me.
I’m not a stranger to risk: my career path has been a journey of passing through doors of opportunity and not looking back. This door though, was different. To pass through, I’d have to face exposing my inner self in ways I had never done. Accept the risk that I might be ignored for lacking ‘proper’ training and press on anyway. I decided to step into the void.
An interesting thing happens when you set an intention and make a decision like this: the universe conspires to to work with you. It came in the form of a blog post by artist, Noah Bradley, titled “Don’t Go To Art School”. This strengthened my resolve, encouraged me to embrace self-teaching and inspired me to seek out mentors.
Today, I have a studio practice that constantly stretches me and excites my very being! My art has been accepted into a number of juried shows, won various awards and is collected by a growing audience of people resonating with the feelings and memories I express. I’m glad I accepted the risk and made a decision. That’s the key to taking risk – without a decision, a commitment – when the inevitable barriers present themselves it is easy to retreat and not finish the path we choose. I love my path!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started college to be a photographer, but like many young adults experiencing independence for the first time, that goal took flight and was replaced several times before graduating as a marine biologist. My ensuing work path was anything but straight: research scientist, commercial diver, cabinetmaker, web designer, teacher, landscape architect…to name a few. Notably, at each step a door opened to a new opportunity somewhere along the way and I stepped through. What college really prepared me for was applying discipline and a mind open to infinite possibilities.
Because art as a career arrived later for me, art school was out of the question – time and money were not in the cards. So in 2017, I sought out mentors – creative and business-minded people I respected. I committed to doing what they advised. By the end of 2020, I was creating bodies of work that excited me, had honed my social media skills, and was experiencing increased recognition of my work through acceptance in shows and exhibitions.
My work has become more introspective: I’m increasingly curious to explore and express feelings and memories evoked. I’m especially inspired by places I’ve visited, and music often plays a significant role in how I approach my painting surfaces.
I work at stripping away the obvious aspects of a landscape, to reach the heart of what has gripped me about it. I believe in uplifting people and my aim is to elevate them through my paintings – to raise their spirits and desire to know even a seemingly mundane environment in a way that catches their breath and raises their heart rate.
The most important aspect of my practice is that I play! I experiment with media, explore methods and materials – I’m becoming really interested by natural dyes and pigments lately. For me, it’s about living right now, in the moment, and completely. When a person can realize through my own example that it’s never too late to learn – to stretch – and my work touches them in some deep way, then I count that as the best sort of success.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Uplifting a viewer. It can be inspirational, thought provoking or simply beautiful: my goal is to have people feel good about the world around them and themselves.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think a lot of so-called non-creatives shortchange themselves. Creativity is not the exclusive realm of those who go to art school or can draw something more advanced than stick figures. Creativity is about the willingness to experiment – to try new materials and unconventional combinations: don’t confine thinking to what fits in the box. It’s about the willingness to explore possibilities and dare to express thoughts/ideas.
My creative journey has been more about taking risks than anything else. My mantra is “what’ve I got to lose?”. The answer is more often than not, “nothing”. Sure there are bad days, but I learned early on that I can’t stop tomorrow and I believe that today is the worst I’ll ever be at whatever it is I’m doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.robstangroom.com
- Instagram: @robstangroomart
- Facebook: Rob Stangroom Art
Image Credits
Rob Stangroom