Time to discover an artist who is utilizing their vision and perspective to create.
Who are you and what’s your brand?
Jack Ready. I enjoy life as an artist, exploring different mediums and ideas. For the last few years my focus has been in abstract painting, which to me reaches the center of expression.
What about your art platform expresses your uniqueness and individuality?
Abstract painting let’s go of all boundaries of reality and representational art. It gives the freedom to express emotion and feeling in the purest form. The principles of all types of painting are the same: color, composition, form, space, value, etc. I’ve enjoyed abstraction because it removes the idea of a recognizable subject and allows the subject to be the feeling or emotion itself.
What’s your vision for your art and brand?
I like to believe that I am still in the very early stages of my career. I try to paint as much and often as possible, but also recognize that good art takes time and experience. I’m happy with the progress I’ve made but know I have a long way to go.
Beginning to work as an artist you have to balance art and business. I enjoy running a small business, but it is ultimately unsuccessfully without good art behind it. I’ve spent the last few years with a lot of focus on building my brand and setting up a business. I’ve spent the last few months less worried about making art that will sell and getting commissions, and more focused on exploring my artistic ideas. In practice, this means lots of sketches and unsuccessful paintings. But I think it’s necessary to get to the next level. So far, my business and art have grown at a similar speed, which I think is a good balance to have. But I’m cautious to not put too much energy into the business-side at the expense of the art. I believe that if the art is good enough, the business will come.
If you had one piece of advice for aspiring artists what would it be?
Don’t give up. I truly believe that is the key to success. It’s a simple idea, but hard to follow. In college I painted portraits, realistic depictions of my friends that were easy to appreciate the effort and technique that went into them. My favorite professor, Ryan M Reynolds, warned me that at some point I’m going to make art that isn’t as accepted and appreciated. I faced that reality quickly when I switched to abstraction. His advice to continue on with my ideas and never give up is something I often think about.
You don’t have to be the best artist in your class, have the most talent, or the most creative ideas. You just need to keep making art.
What unexpected challenges arose from pursuing your art?
There are tons of talented artists out there and it’s a big challenge to differentiate myself and stand out from the crowd. Creating something original and fresh is always hard. It takes patience and a lot of painting! Learning when to follow one idea or give up on another has been something I continue to work on. Getting more focused-in on specific ideas helps push things to new places.
Intrigued? Find this artist’s collection at http://www.jackready.com.
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