We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steven Kenny a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Like many emerging artists I struggled financially after leaving art school. I needed to make money and wanted an art-related job. I had studied illustration in school so was hired as a sales representative for an agent that handled commercial illustrators. I learned so many behind-the-scenes lessons that serve me well as an artist today including pricing artwork, negotiating contracts, making presentations, self-promotion, etc. Overall, I gained self-confidence and learned how to present myself professionally.

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

Originally, my plan was to go to school to study forestry, not art. Then one day my father asked if I knew about Cooper Union in NYC which at that time was tuition free. He was hoping to get off the hook financially! I forgot about forestry and applied to three art schools. Cooper Union turned me down so I ended up attending the Rhode Island School of Design and majoring in illustration. Eventually, I had a successful freelance illustration career going but really wanted to be a fine artist. That transition did happen but took 10 years or so.

I’ve always had a deep reverence for nature and this explains my – perhaps misguided – early desire to have a career in forestry. My artwork has always been about the connection between humans and the natural world. I’ve always worked in a surreal style, even as an illustrator. Working this way allows me to visually blend the human figure with natural elements using realism to create believable images of imaginary scenarios. Viewers and collectors are always wonderstruck by my ability to convincingly convey fantastic worlds with a deep sense of mystery, emotion, poignancy, and humor.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One of the hardest lessons to learn was to believe in myself and my artistic journey. Life as an artist never provides guaranties. Artists rarely know from where or when the next check will arrive. I’ve had some lean times but also some very profitable ones. The pendulum of good fortune continually swings. It took a while but eventually I learned to trust that I would survive as long as I kept working and moving forward. Luckily, the lessons I learned earlier as a sales representative gave me valuable tools to help me seek out opportunities and buyers. I never waited for good luck to come to me; I always went after it. I’ve been an artist for 38 years now so I must be doing something right. I guess that’s resilience.

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

I still can’t believe that I have been able to support myself and build a career seemingly by making something out of nothing. Every single day is a brand new adventure. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to decide when, how and why I will spend my time and energy. Additionally, my creative process allows me to know myself better and more fully understand my place in the world. Living the life of an artist can be terrifying and extremely challenging at times but at the end of the day there is nothing else I’d rather be doing on this planet. For me, there’s no greater reward than to be the best I can be and share what I create with others who may derive some amount of pleasure, insight, and hope from it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stevenkenny.com
• Instagram: stevenkennyart
• Facebook: steven.kenny.studio

Image Credits
Steven Kenny