We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sherman Khan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sherman thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Three years ago, I found myself having a lot of free time. During that time I decided to revisit my creative hobbies and explore them more in depth. I was already pursuing photography, but it didn’t fulfill my artistic desire to create more in a way that truly expressed my emotions. That’s when I started painting, and it clicked like magic!
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’m a self-taught artist originally from the Philippines now living in Chicago, continuing to add to my passion of abstract art and am currently represented by Celestial Art Curation, located in Hinsdale, Illinois. Rather than keeping my art to myself or friends and family, I wanted to share with the world the endless and unique expressions I had to give on canvas. I slowly started selling my artwork online through different sources and began working with clients to paint their ideas to life with my own twist. The main goal of my art is never to state the obvious of what I am thinking, but instead to splash and brush my feelings into a sort of tool that provokes the emotions of others, which they can then come to their own conclusions and ideas about my work. A great example of this is when I was given an opportunity to display one of my pieces called “Hope” at a plant shop called Goot Roots where a couple who actually happened to be on the verge of divorce, told me they felt like my painting was for them, reigniting their bond and reminded them of why they loved each other. The best thing about my art isn’t when it’s sold, but when it brings me new opportunities to pursue and the journey of growth it takes me on. With each painting I make, I feel like I reach a new epiphany in life. I’m always excited to meet and work with new clients, and with each new submission, starts a blank canvas to hold and bring their imagination into reality.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I think one of the greatest gifts I receive from my work is seeing my art through someone else’s eyes, listening to someone express how the painting makes them feel, what shapes or pictures they can pick out. Through each person’s thoughts, I gain a new experience and perspective which is always the best part of creating. My Art always seems to lead me to new places, people and possibilities I never expected.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My hope is always to inspire others to never give up, to chase their passions no matter how much the world may seem to be against them. Like many I’ve been through my own personal struggles, but art has always encouraged me to keep going. Another personal push factor for me is when I asked my little sister what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she replied that she wanted to be like me, an artist. Since then, I’ve never wanted to let her down, to show her that despite society’s definition of what success looks like, she can always succeed in whatever path she chooses to take as long as she keeps faith in herself. I feel that is what creativity is all about, it is not something that can be fit into a box of what society calls perfect, but it is something meant to defy all expectations we may have. Creativity is chaos of expression, it’s never perfect but it makes you feel something and that is successful enough to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shermankhan.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/shermankhan.art
- Other: tiktok.com/@shermankhanart