Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tyler Shelton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tyler, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
At first, art was not my full time job, in fact it was very far away from it. In the beginning when I was just discovering art and who I was and what I wanted to say, my aesthetic was all over the place. I knew at the time that it wasn’t going to cut it and that I needed to create more of a cohesive visual story. Creating a style or a cohesive brand image was no easy task and it absolutely couldn’t have been rushed. It seemed like every year the more hours I would put in and the harder I would work and I would get closer and closer to the desired branding that I had been striving for. at this point it had been about 2 years. For the next 2 years I did almost 100% commissions of celebrities, family members, dogs etc. I was very excited because I had started making money butI eventually became very bored with what I had been painting. right around year 5 I had enough money saved up and I took a leap of faith and I quit taking all those commissions and entirely honed in on one aesthetic. No more commissions just because I needed the money. I made a website and started doing only original paintings and selling prints and t shirts. This was a very exciting change of pace, I was inspired again and making even more money than before. I am beyond grateful to be able to do art every day and live comfortably. Everyday is exciting and I wake up every single day feeling like something big is just around the corner.
Tyler, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Tyler Shelton, I am an artist. I was born in Plano, Texas and currently live in Tyler, Texas. My mom is and always has been an art teacher. Me and her spent every summer break doing art projects in some form or fashion so I have been exposed to art since the very beginning. I became somewhat uninterested in art as I got older because I got distracted by friends and sports. I played hockey and we traveled the country several times a year for tournaments so this is where most of my energy went. When I was 17 my world was turned upside down, my brother went off to college, my parents got divorced, my dad was in the hospital or rehab at least twice a month and someone very close to me had attempted suicide. All of these events happened within my senior year of high school. I was completely devastated and suddenly my life had a new perspective. I quit hockey and almost dropped out of school. This is when I rediscovered art. Art to me is about total freedom physically spiritually and mentally. After having almost everything taken away from me, I feel the urge to create something that no one can take, something that is completely mine. My brand is all bout carefree, expression, fun, nostalgia and good times.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
after doing art full time for 5 years there is enough things Ive learned to fill a book. How to build a website, how to utilize the website to the best of its abilities, how to sell prints, where to get prints made, etc.. All of these things come with time and experience. Like accolades earned in a video game or something like that. Ive had to work very hard for these tips and tricks and if I could have sat myself down 5 years ago and explained all these things to myself, There’s no way I would have understood or been able to carry out the information. you simply just have to keep trying and keep a steady effort and level of resilience. Its all trial and error and failure is going to happen but you learn the most from failure. But there’s so much more I haven’t learned yet
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.
one thing that I find myself telling people a lot is that its very easy to get burnt out. creativity, for me at least, is not a constant. its a feeling and emotion and it comes and goes just like every other emotion. like a surfer catching a wave and then waiting for the next one. its hard being self employed and not being able to create something at times because you begin to feel very lazy and that you might be on the wrong path but there’s always that next wave coming and you don’t know what it will bring.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sheltonartcompany.com
- Instagram: sheltonartco
Image Credits
me