We recently connected with Ty McBride and have shared our conversation below.

Ty, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

The best thing my parents did for me was let me be me. They supported me and guided me, but never tried to change me. Having that type of support in my corner makes it easier to go through every aspect of life because I know that I am never alone. Ever since I was a kid, they rarely ever missed a basketball game or an art show or anything else that I was involved in. I knew I could always look around and see a familiar face somewhere. 34 years later, and they’re still there. That unwavering support is what they always do right.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a visual artist who primarily focuses on portraits with a splash of other life elements. I was always a creative kid who did a lot of drawing but I didn’t start seriously painting until I was 25 and I did it as a way to relax. I fell in love with it! I started out using acrylic paints but now I primarily use oil and spray paint. I love using my paintings as a way to show the beauty in people and in culture. I hope that my paintings help people remember those moments in their lives and put smiles on their faces. It’s my only goal to see that smile when they see a painting of a loved one or the excitement in their eyes when they see themselves in my work. I paint what I love and with love. That’s what makes me, me.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is that feeling I get when I step back from a piece at the end, and it all came together the way I expected it to! I spend so many hours looking at the small details that I’m working on that it’s easy to lose site of what the full picture looks like, but that moment when I take that last step back, makes me feel like a kid all over again and my mom is about to put my work on the fridge.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My biggest pivot in life was when I was a second year law school student and realized that I was absolutely miserable there and not meant for the career that I thought I wanted my entire life. I had to figure out if I wanted to suffer it out one more year to finish a degree I knew I wouldn’t use, or leave and feel like a quitter. I decided to leave. It hurt to give up on a dream I had since I was a kid but it made more sense for the adult that I had grown into to find another path.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ty.mcb

Image Credits

Ricky Singh