Talent is a myth. Anyone can learn to draw. Anyone can learn to paint. If you decide you want to be an artist and are dedicated to practicing, you will get better and better.
“I am passionate about art, enjoy the act of creation, and hope to help people who view my artwork appreciate the beauty already around them. Too many people stumble through life without enjoying nature. Art is a form of communication and it is as important what you say as to how you say it.
I am an optimist at heart and I choose to use my art to talk about beauty. Since nature provides the inspiration for art, I enjoy painting en Plein air so that I can be out in nature and incorporate all the senses into my paintings and better communicate an experience of the place. When I do paint from photographs, I am able to incorporate all the information I have observed from direct experience about color and light into my paintings.
My portraits are informed by the thousands
of life drawings I have done. For me, art is a way to communicate a direct
experience in a way that words cannot.”
1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
I am a full-time professional artist living in South Africa with my wife and baby boy. I have multiple degrees, including art and graphic design, and I don't think an artist should ever be done studying. I began doing graphic design while in school to pay the bills and ended up having a successful career before I finished college.
Years later, I realized that it was only the drawing aspect of design
that really excited me, so I made the decision to switch to full-time fine art.
I paint in pastel, acrylic, and watercolor. I love drawing and I paint all
kinds of subjects.
Earlier in my art journey, I painted 10 hours a day for 6 days a week. I did this for about 5 years. I would paint and forget to eat or use the bathroom or stretch. At the end of a painting session, all these things would hit me at once, but while painting I was in another world.
During this period, I especially focused on
honing my skills. If a technique or medium was challenging, I would focus on
that rather than doing what I was already good at.
For several years I
taught regular art classes. Teaching helped me learn to put what felt intuitive
by then into words so I could help others learn. I have benefitted so much from
some great teachers and colleagues, as well as the masters from art history,
that I have a duty to pass on what I have learned. I enjoy helping others learn
to love art and get joy from it too. I couldn't continue teaching and painting
for so many hours at the same time, so now I only teach a few students and do
workshops mostly when I travel.
2. When did you decide you wanted to be an artist?
When I was around 7
years old a teacher told me I could never be an artist. A few days later a
fellow student told me the same thing. I decided to prove them wrong and
started teaching myself to draw. I won the school art contest but found myself
still drawing in class. I had developed an appreciation for art history and
comic books, which led to me deciding to study art and eventually to my career
as an artist.
Talent is a myth. Anyone can learn to draw. Anyone can learn to paint. If you decide you want to be an artist and are dedicated to practicing, you will get better and better.
Drawing and painting are forms of visual communication and are a lot like learning to read and write. Everyone agrees that you can learn literacy, but learning to write doesn't mean you will become a great author. It takes dedication and a love for writing. The same is true of art. Anyone can learn the skills, but what they do with those skills depends on their own dedication, personality, and tastes.
3. Is it a financially stable career?
That is a bit like
asking if chocolate is healthy. I don't eat it for the health benefits :)
Art is definitely not the most financially stable career, but I did not choose art because it makes the most money. I made much more money in graphic design, but I wasn't as happy as I am now. I chose art because I love drawing and painting. I have been very fortunate to have some great collectors and opportunities that have led to my making a living as an artist.
There are months when I don't have any sales,
and months when I have great sales. You never know what each month will bring,
so I am careful to keep my expenses low and set aside money for lean months
when I have a good month.
It seems that most
of the artists who get wealthy from their art are more focused on marketing
than creating anything of value. Many of the paintings selling for millions of
dollars I wouldn't want if they were free. I would rather paint what I want,
how I want, and add beauty to the world than create rubbish for profit.
Art has brought me many new friends, experiences and travel, thousands of hours of happiness, and a purpose. These things can't be measured in money. I don't measure success by my bank account, but by how happy my life is. I don't believe in working a job you hate to pay for things you don't really need in the hopes that one day you will be able to fully enjoy life. What I do with my life is more important to me than what I earn in my life.
4. Who is your favorite painter/artist and why?
There are so many! We are so fortunate to live in a time with so many incredible artists painting. Contemporary Realism has quickly become the dominant style of painting today and has picked up the torch from the masters of hundreds of years of artistic progression.
Some institutions still hold on to the recent dark ages of art, but the light has broken through and the second renaissance is going on now. David Kassan, Anthony Waichulis, Andrew Tischler, James Gurney, and so many others are doing amazing things right now.
It is an honor to be among friends and peers pushing art forward. From art history, there are so many masters that I look up to like Caravaggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Shishkin, Bierstadt, and more. I could never pick just one artist.
5. What is your inspiration for creating art?
Nature and light.
Whether it is a landscape or wildlife or people, natural forms interest me.
There are some great artists who paint architectural and urban scenes, but that
isn't what I am usually drawn to paint. I paint en Plein air whenever possible
so that I can soak in fresh inspiration from nature.
For me, it is
usually the lighting that makes something worth painting. Even the most mundane
scene can be made dramatic with interesting lighting. An interesting object becomes
boring to me under flat lighting. I am also in love with color and find it hard
to work in black and white lately. I just keep thinking of how much better it
would be in color! Color is a result of light, so I look for effects that I
can do that utilize both.
6. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring artists?
Draw and paint from life whenever possible. Photos are okay but should be a last resort for reference. You get so much more out of working from life. Your art will improve faster, it will be more realistic, you'll learn what photos get wrong and be able to adjust when you work from photos, you'll meet people, your art will have more meaning, and it will be more exciting.
Get out and Plein air painting. Set up a still life. Paint a portrait of a friend or a self-portrait using a mirror. Join an urban sketching group. Find a life drawing group that gets models regularly. Just paint a lot and pay close attention to what you see.
Drawing from life also makes you a better painter. Mechanical reproduction
such as tracing or gridding slows your artistic growth and weakens your drawing
and painting skills, so don't form those bad habits. Make a practice of drawing
regularly and you will see a big difference in your art.
7. Which is your favorite book and why?
I have read thousands of books. I could not pick just one book. I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction. One of my fiction favorites since childhood remains “Watership Down”, by Richard Adams. It is a great adventure story with memorable characters and I always liked rabbits. I find Malcolm Gladwell's non-fiction books fascinating because they make you view topics from a new perspective and question assumptions. James Gurney's “Color & Light” is an excellent art resource.
I read Janson's “History Of Art” many times when I was younger and art history is something everyone should study. I was even fortunate enough to take art history classes from Janson in college. I am finishing up a book on pastel painting that I plan to publish in 2022 and I hope it will add to the knowledge of art and help inspire other artists.
Interviewed by- Yashika Khanna
Artist’s Bio
Christopher Reid is an internationally recognized artist that paints everything from portraits to landscapes to wildlife. Chris paints in pastel, acrylic, watercolor, and charcoal. His style has been described as “contemporary realism with an emphasis on color and depth.”
Chris was born in Discovery, Transvaal, South Africa. He studied art at the Savannah College of Art & Design and now lives in Hermanus, South Africa with his wife and baby boy.
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