We were lucky to catch up with Terry Campbell recently and have shared our conversation below.

Terry , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

Around 2005 I had just finished my undergraduate degree. I was broke and barely scraping by working as part time teacher. I was hungry and trying to show my work anywhere I could in the Denver Metro area. At a group show I met a man by the name of Gordan. To not expose his identity, I will be calling him Gordan. He told me he loved my work and wanted to commission me to create an original work of art at his ranch. I could tell he was loaded by the car he drove up in and he had two much younger attractive dates with him. He really stood out. He must have walked in by accident. He gave me his number and address and we set up a time for me to do the project. He said he would pay me five grand for three days of work and handed me a grand in cash as a deposit. I was trying to play cool but, in my excitement, I didn’t ask what he wanted me to make. At that point the only work Gordon had seen of mine was one painting. A few weeks after our first meeting I drove up to his ranch in the Rocky Mountains. I was given a gate code and a mile marker. I had a feeling I was in the wrong place but shock once my code opened the gate. Once I drove in through the gate, I had a feeling I had a made a big mistake. I had to drive two miles down a dirt road until I reach the biggest house I have ever seen. I knocked on the door and expected to be greeted by lurch but was presently greeted by a smiling Gordon. He took me on a tour of his giant house. He had an art collected that rivaled any museum I had seen. I calmed down and we had a few drinks on the porch. We were having nice time and Gordon said, “Terry, I need you to dig me a portal to hell”. I said, “I brought my paints will I need them?”. He went on to explain a fever dream of some sort and needed an artist to open the gates of hell for him. He told me this would absolve him of all his sins. I was just about to leave then he handed me the other four grand. The only instruction he gave me was to dig for three days straight. I spend the next three days digging a giant hole from morning until dark. I was scared of Gordan and slept outside. He offered me food, but I ate my own. After three days of digging Gordan came to the hole and said I was done. I felt it was 50/50 he would murder me. He said thank you and I could go now. As I walked away, I saw him pull out a letter out of his jacket and throw it in the hole. As I drove away, I saw him with the shovel slowly filling the hole back in. It was one of the wildest times of my life. Just glad I didn’t have to sign an NDA.

Terry , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Terry Campbell I’m an artist that mostly creates paintings and drawings. My paintings tend to be somber while my drawings are fun and silly. If you have a large house that needs a giant mysterious painting, I’m your guy. For the last few years, I have been putting most of my time into my drawings. I have thousands of small drawings ready to ship at a moment’s notice. My drawings make great gifts and are perfect for people looking to collect art without having to spend thousands of dollars on a painting.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’m not a rich man but I have a big art collection. What I love about collecting art is my connection to the people that made it. When you buy one of my pieces you will not only be getting a story but also a small piece of me. Some of my paintings and drawings never make it to completion but I never sell anything I haven’t put my heart and soul into. Buy art, keep it and protect it!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

About ten years ago I was going through a really hard time, and nothing came easy. I couldn’t find joy in anything I did. I got an email out of the blue asking if a painting I created was still available for sell. I really needed the money and was praying it wasn’t a scam. It turned out to be my lucky day and it wasn’t a scam. We settled on a price, but the buyer said he needed the painting before his cocktail party on Friday. I had no idea what to say and heard the words come out of my mouth “my mover can do it but it’s going be like three grand to get that done by Friday”. The buyer said no problem I will wire you the money now. About an hour later I saw the money show up in my bank account and almost had a heart attack. The problem was it was the middle of winter, and I didn’t have a shipping guy. I couldn’t believe those words came out of my mouth. I was trying to be cool and shot myself in my foot. In a moment of panic, I decided to wrap the giant painting in many layers of plastic and tie it to the top of my Subaru and drive it myself. I had to drive slowly and got honked at a lot. The funny part was I was happy it was snowing so I didn’t have to drive to fast but every time the wind hit my car the painting acted like a sail. After twelve hours of hell my car broke down about 30 minutes outside of Montrose. I waited all night and into the morning trying to get help. My phone was dead and so was my car. After six hours of waiting a guy delivering mattresses pulled over and asked if I needed a ride. I asked him where he was going, and he said Telluride. We threw the painting in the delivery truck, and he dropped me and painting off at the buyer’s giant home. The buyer asked why the truck left. I told him he had to go do another delivery, but I could install the painting. I was able to get the painting up in thirty minutes and walked back to town. I ended up taking a bus back to Denver and abandoned my car on the side of the road. I was so happy I felt like I had gotten away robbery. To this day I have no idea what happened to that car, but it was on it’s last leg anyway. The weirdest part was seven years late Someone mailed me a photo of my car somewhere in the desert with no explanation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://terrycampbellart.com
• Instagram: terry_campbell_art
• Twitter: @TerryCampbells