Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rodney Lough Jr.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rodney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I left the corporate world in 1995 to pursue my passion. This turned out to be difficult at best though driven by passion became a truly remarkable success story. It took 27 years and multiple galleries across the US to accomplish this. Now with worldwide collectors spanning the globe it all started with a simple notion.
Our Mission: “To enrich people’s lives by bringing my nature based art into every home and office in the World.”
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Tell readers about yourself https://www.rodneyloughjr.com/blog-a-retrospective/2020/1/31/chapter-1
Our Motto: “You could run out of food and die. You could get attacked by a bear and die. You could fall off a cliff and die. Or you could stay home, fall off the couch, and die. How you will be remembered?”
How did you get started
There is a ton of information here: https://www.rodneyloughjr.com/blog-a-retrospective
But this tells the story the best, basically I quit and started over: https://www.rodneyloughjr.com/blog-a-retrospective/2020/1/31/chapter-2
What type of works do you sell?
I specialize in fine art. There are now three of my works in the permanent collection of the Nation Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian. My works are available as limited edition large format framed and loose works. There are also four published books, smaller open edition prints and posters available.
Type of services?
From time to time I offer teaching workshops both in the wilds and in my studio.
What are you most proud of?
Well that’s a big question eh? I’m going to have to take a bit on this one because there are a few things.
I think that this is probably the most important: Being able to bring the beauty of the backcountry, wilderness, National Parks and what I like to call ‘other’ beautiful places back to those who might otherwise never have been able to experience it.
Next: I do not fake anything, when you view my work, what you see, is what I saw. Actually pretty famous for this stance and was published in Popular Photography on this very thing. (https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6425f0dd60bb002e30907e7e/6d758a2d-0959-49c5-97c9-8b97ec619254/The+Implicit+Lie.png) or here for more information (https://www.rodneyloughjr.com/meet-rodney).
The world, under the guise of ‘art’ seems to have forgotten that there is still a difference between truth and lying. I don’t lie about my work. I am a purist who believes that value demands truth.
Next: I followed a path that was significantly different than the one I had initially drawn out for myself. With Degrees in Mathematics and Statistics and an advanced Degree in Statistics the world was my oyster, so to speak. But I was NOT happy. Some call it brave, but I called it a survival instinct. Who leaves a three figure job, 401k, health, dental, stocks, all the perks, at the age of 35 just to pursue their passion of hiking in the wild places of this country? For me, gratefully, it has worked out marvelously.
Next: What I seem to like a whole lot of other people seem to like as well. Let’s be honest here, without the support of my worldwide gigantic collector base I would never have been able to raise 4 amazing children, strengthened my relationship with my wife and nearly 38 years nor grown closer to my father in heaven.
Next: There’s a Wiki on me (Rodney Lough Jr. – Wikipedia), who would have ever thought. And while not everything on those pages is completely accurate (it would be if they would let the ‘horse’ help them, but I’m a ‘biased’ source so that’s out.)
Next: We opened as many as eight galleries across the US at one time. There are only a couple other fellows who have accomplished this.
Next: Received a certificate of appreciation from the United Nations for my efforts surrounding and supporting World Environment Day, was given a LEEDS Gold award for my gallery in Las Vegas – the only gallery in LV to EVER get an award like this.
There is a list a mile long…but I will leave that for the next time. ;-)
What are the main thing you want folks to know about you and your business
That I haven’t let all this go to my head. If we meet face to face I hope to be polite, respectful and genuinely humble. Though I especially like meeting new people out on the trail.
That we strive to meet and exceed our Mission Statement.
That beauty is everywhere, if you slow down enough to see it.
That we want to make other people happy through nature.
That we wish everyone had the opportunity to do what they love to do, because we believe that the World would be a better place for it. More importantly everything would still get done. A bit utopian I know, but maybe we could give it a try?
That shared tolerance between us all & communication over screaming or ignoring one another is a far more productive way of living and leads to a much fuller existence.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
From the very beginning, having had to make my work by hand – in a dark bathroom, I fell in love with the process. That has never left me. While admittedly there have been times when I wish I wasn’t doing all of this work by hand and having been approached many times to have a third party take over, no one has ever been able to do as good a job at it than I have. Even in my industry I have been so recognized. When I was 12 my first foray into making works by hand got me enthralled in the entire process, after all I am a bit of a geek.
As time went by, my skills improved and so did my sales. Eventually I had an 18,000 sqft studio with everything you can imagine for the creation of my works, from loose, to matted, to framed.
For me there is a difference between being an Artist versus just a photographer. Because an Artist must know everything there is to know about the medium that they work in. But a photographer only needs to know how to trip the shutter. Those people then had it off to others, who were not there when the shutter was snapped, to then craft a final product. An Artist knows how to do it all, and in fact does exactly that. To me that adds values and I have found over the years that it does for my collectors as well. There is just something special about knowing that the artist did all the work, that the final piece of work is as they saw it and not interpreted by some person in Timbuktu. As time goes by those that did the work themselves will be far more valuable than those that do not. Furthermore those, especially in landscape photography, that say things like ‘this is how I felt and the experience I wanted to have’ and have completely manufactured something that does not represent the truth, but rather their version of truth, should be considered suspect. IMHO
But I’m a purist who seeks to adhere to the value of having the original artist do the work, and believe it to be more valuable than some mass produced widget. Though, I suppose, time will tell…sure wish Leonardo da Vinci was still around…I would love to hear his take on it all.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
This is perhaps the simplest question thus far. Be respectful, listen to everyone in the room before making a determination, be clear in your reasoning as to why a certain decision is being made and be grateful that you got to hear so many differing voices.
Hopefully you have been put into a management role because you know a fair bit concerning the business area you are in. But that does not mean that you have all the answers. The faster you learn that lesson (setting ego aside) the better manager you will become.
I have always tried to enter a meeting, knowing what ‘I’ think is the best solution to something that is going on. But I have always wanted to hear what others think before sharing my idea, why, because I do not know everything. However if my idea withstands the group, or if it gets altered or completely replaced, it will only be because everyone in the room has a voice. In the end the best possible solution will come out (well at least we all hope it will.)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rodneyloughjr.com
- Instagram: rodneyloughjr
- Youtube: @rodneyloughjr
Image Credits
All images are copyright © Rodney Lough Jr.