We were lucky to catch up with Travis Ivey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Travis , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

The skills we learn for our creative process aren’t always teachable. Many times we have to develop certain skill sets that are specific to our individual creative processes. When you’re working with non-traditional materials, there’s not always a class or teacher that can show you the short cuts like there is in a painting or drawing class.

As a representational painter and mixed-media artist, I have experienced both a mentorship and self-teaching. My mentor didn’t teach me how to paint, but showed me faster more efficient ways to apply paint, as well as how to stretch and prepare linen canvas and other painting supports. It was up to me to apply the techniques I learned and practice them with conviction.

The most important part of learning the craft is to be intentional with the outcome. Even if you’re creating processed-based or non-objective work, I believe intention and being your own worst critic is essential to building a strong craft. You can absolutely love your own work and embrace the “happy accidents,” but be honest about the path you took to get there.

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 from Laramie, WY, I am landscape painter and collage artists, and once in a while I do both at the same time.

I began what I refer to as my “serious” studio practice when I moved out of my parent’s house at 18. I was influenced mostly by artists who transitioned from graffiti art to gallery art and saw for the first time that there were no rules. Artists like Barry McGee and Jean Michel Basquiat were huge influences in my early work, and like them, I discovered using found objects and non-traditional materials were essential to my practice.

In 2004, while attending art school at the University of Wyoming, I decided to do something “radical” (for their program) and began painting Western landscapes. These paintings were based on the contemporary landscape and often represented extractive industries juxtaposed with the pastoral wildness of the West. I didn’t glorify the industries, I just recorded their presence and their often devastating impact.

In 2009 the recession finally caught up with Wyoming and rather than consort with the Western art market, I decided to pursue public art opportunities and revisit my earlier collage work. I feel my work is still very landscape based, but now I’m seeing from different perspectives, both abstract and representational.

Having this flexibility to focus on two different approaches in my practice, has provided me with a lot of creative freedom and afforded me opportunities I wouldn’t of otherwise had. Today, I still paint landscapes; sometimes for money, but mostly for fun.

If you see my landscape paintings you’ll notice that I sign some of them “HANK.” I’ve always had these conflicting feelings about the art I wanted to create, and in order to give myself permission, I came up with the alter ego HANK. I chose the nom de plume back in 2004, because I wanted the two bodies of work to be separate. I felt was my truest expression was in my mixed-media collage, but I had so much passion to paint the western landscape, I had to do both. I equated this to authors having “pen names” to write in different genres. This allowed me the freedom to make more work in a variety of genres without worrying how I others might perceive it.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

In my personal experience, non-creatives often perceive artists as starving, aloof, and anti-social. This is sometimes the case, but not the standard. I personally live a very fulfilling life, and though I don’t own my own home or have a lot of material possessions, I am very wealthy in the time I have and my quality of life.

The hardest part of being a creative that non-creatives don’t understand, is that when you have a regular job you clock-out and ideally don’t have work again until it you clock-in the next day. For artists, we rarely get to clock-out. A dedicated artist is always observing and thinking critically about the world around them, and sorting through a bombardment of inspiration and ideas that may or may not be suitable for a project. So when you hear about artists not working the 9-5, know they are probably working 24/7.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

In short, my goal is to continue to make the most of this wonderful life. Sure, it would be nice to have solid collector base once I reach retirement age, but the objective is to truly enjoy everything I possibly can. I am so very blessed to be able to live the life I’ve been given and I have absolutely no regrets about choosing to be an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.travisivey.com
• Instagram: @travis_aka_hank
• Facebook: Travis Ivey