Episode 004 - Rick Wright

In this episode, I welcome Rick Wright! Rick is an arts educator, and a fine artist based out of Kansas City, whose work has been exhibited all across the midwest and beyond. He shares about the journey that led him to become a professional artist.

Get in touch with Rick Wright: http://www.rickwrightart.com/ | www.facebook.com/rickwrightart | www.instagram.com/rickwrightart 

Arteza: Arteza makes art supplies affordable to creators with every budget. Art is about the journey. They provide the tools – you steer the way. Click here and use promo code PB8PROMO for 8% off your entire order!

Artfully Told links: www.facebook.com/artfullytold | www.artfullytold.podbean.com | elevateartskc@gmail.com

Schedule your interview with Artfully Told! https://calendly.com/artfullytold/podcast-interview

 

Intro & Outro Music Credits:

Bad Ideas (distressed) by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3412-bad-ideas-distressed-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

SHOW NOTES:

 

Episode 004 - Rick Wright

Lindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.

[00:00:06] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.

[00:00:12] Roman: All I can do is put my part out into the world.

[00:00:15] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.

[00:00:23] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experience as so, so beautiful.

[00:00:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Hello! Welcome back to Artfully Told. Thank you so much for joining us. My name is Lindsey and I am absolutely delighted to have Rick Wright join us today.

[00:00:45] He is a fine artist. His work is really, really exceptional and he is awesome.  I'm just so excited to hear from him today. And so thank you so much, Rick, for, for being a part of this. I really appreciate it.

[00:00:59] Rick Wright: Oh, awesome. Thanks for inviting me. I really wish I could record what you just said there. And I, I should have it on my voicemail or something so that I can play it back to people.

[00:01:08] Lindsey Dinneen: There you go.

[00:01:10] Rick Wright: No--it's, it's it's great to hear your voice. And, I know we've spoken before and, and I've had a chance to, observe, you and, and your dance troupe and get inspired for my own work. So thanks for having me here.

[00:01:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, no, it's absolutely my pleasure. Thank you. And so I would love if you would just be willing to share a little bit about yourself with our listeners and kind of maybe what art you mostly gravitate to or whatever you want.

[00:01:40] Rick Wright: Sure. I guess-- I'll guess we'll back up and talk about how I kind of approached my art career.  I was, I was probably that kid in your elementary school or junior high, that was always doodling little characatures of people. I was a little bit of a class clown, but I was also a pretty small kid. So, I always tended to interject myself into things with a little bit of humor. So I was always drawing characatures of friends and whatnot, and my  journals and on the margins of my papers and everything. So, you know, I kind of progressed through high school knowing that, gosh, I really enjoy, these art classes. I, I'd like to have a career doing something that I enjoy. I kind of grew up with, with a father that was a real blue collar working class guy,  not well-educated, but--but creative in his, in his own way. He was really into building cars and motorcycles and doing custom fabrication of sorts outside of his day job. So I would, I would see him working, you know, eight, 10, 12 hour days, and then he'd come home and work in his garage and, and build stuff. So, even though my passion for artwork was a little different media than his; I think I got a lot of creativity from him.

[00:02:59]When it was time to choose a path for my postsecondary education, I decided I, I'd go into an illustration program at the University of Kansas, partly because, you know, I knew that I loved art and I wanted to have a job that involved art. And to me, the--probably the only thing I, I was familiar with was, okay--I could be a commercial artist, and so I sort of blindly went into that track. But I, I enjoyed my coursework and I learned a lot, but I, I did realize once I finished my undergrad, like, gosh, okay. Now where do I go get a job?

[00:03:40] And, and to my surprise, it was like, well, there are not a lot of, full time, sort of, nine-to-five jobs in illustration, which is what I wanted to do. I didn't, I didn't really go in the path of graphic design. Although a lot of my classmates would kind of dual major, graphics is not something that really interested me. So I, I stuck with the illustration path and, and then, as I graduated, I'm like, gosh, you know, those full time illustration jobs don't really exist, aside from maybe the few that were lucky to work at like a Hallmark Cards or something like that.

[00:04:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Sure.

[00:04:14] Rick Wright: So, and, and I kind of bounced around a little bit, just trying to figure out, you know, what, what my path was going to look like. And quite honestly, I was probably the personality that I, I liked the structure of having a full time position.  I didn't know the first thing about how do I make ends meet as a freelance artist? You know, you do a, a magazine editorial here and then, maybe a CD or album cover for someone else or t-shirt designs or, or cards.

[00:04:44] And, those were all jobs, all different jobs, but you had to string a whole bunch of them together just to make ends meet. So, yeah, I didn't really know the first thing about how to make that career happen. And I kind of stumbled around for awhile before I ultimately, kind of, took a job. Oh, I was, you know, mid twenties at the time, working at an alternative high school as a paraprofessional of all things, totally unrelated to my, my own interest in art, but I always had a desire to, kind of, work with young people. But, this was more, just a job so I could pay some bills and figure out what I'm going to do next. But I, I really started to enjoy that direction and it got me working with young people-- sort of inspired me to go back to school and pursue an art education path as well. So I did that as a graduate student, became certified to teach and began a teaching career for a number of years. You know, that was something that, it did allow me a little bit of, arts and working with youth at the same time.

[00:05:51] But the creative side of things I was missing out personally. And I think I would spend a lot of time developing lesson plans and focusing on my students, but I was less focused on myself. So that was for about seven years before I realized, gosh, you know what, I'm doing all of this and it's great, don't get me wrong. But I wasn't pursuing my own passions and decided I wanted to step away from teaching full time to kind of pursue my own professional art interests. And, and that's what I did.

[00:06:23] Move up to present day. Once I stepped aside from teaching allowed me to focus more on my, my personal work, which allowed me to sort of pick up where I left off during my undergrad years. You know, I spent a lot of time in drawing and painting courses, and I, and I think one of the things that I really loved about that were the figure drawing or figure painting classes that I had and gesture drawing and, working from life was, was really inspiring to me. So I sort of picked that up again and, you know, I think initially I, I would work a lot off the figure doing quick gestural paintings.

[00:07:04] And a lot of them were sort of classically nude poses or not, not very dynamic in nature. They are more like figures studies. I didn't necessarily know where I was going with that. I just knew that I, I like, I like this. I want to keep doing it and what I didn't know is, okay, how does this then evolve into generating a career in the arts. I'm just doing what I like to do.

[00:07:31] Lindsey Dinneen: Right.

[00:07:32]Rick Wright: I guess in my mindset, previously I was thinking, gosh, you know, you gotta get a job and do what someone else tells you to do in order to make a living. And then here I am just painting because I like it. And not understanding that, you know what--that's, that's okay. That, that is a path in its own. And, and, the more that I, the more that I did it, I started a form of direction for my work and a body of work that was, was cohesive. So, you know, like I said, it, they started off as more just gestural, quick paintings-- of, you know, more formally posed figures. And I finally got to a point where I felt like, gosh, I had, I have enough work here.

[00:08:17] What can I do to get it shown in the community? And I, I was lucky enough to develop a relationship with a small nonprofit gallery in Kansas City at the time. And proceeds from that gallery went to support a cause that I was passionate about too. So I, I showed a number of paintings in that space and had some success moving some pieces, allow me to do more work. So I think my work started to evolve and, and then I began taking it on the road to some juried art festivals, which, was a real roller coaster ride for, for awhile. I didn't know what to expect. I, you know, I think anybody that jumps into that is kind of in the same boat, you know, you don't know what you, you don't know what you don't know.

[00:09:06] So it took me awhile to learn that. I think my first first show I entered, I had like 12 paintings and they were reasonably large. They're like 30 by 40 inch pieces. And a lot of them were, typical nudes that I had been doing over the last several years, and the first, my first show was in Texas, which is a pretty conservative area. And I'm showing up at this art show with all these nude paintings. I had, I had people that loved them.

[00:09:36] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh course.

[00:09:37] Rick Wright: And thank goodness, and then I had a number of people walking by, and it was not necessarily the most receptive audience. So I know I had, I had some shows where I, I sold several pieces and did very well. Then I had some that I just couldn't seem to sell anything. It opened my eyes to maybe the business of the art world. As well, I had started to move in a direction where I, I liked where the work was going. And then I felt I was starting to feel comfortable putting it out there.

[00:10:12] Maybe after that first show or two, I wasn't super excited, but I felt like the work could speak for itself. And if someone liked it, great. If they didn't, that's their prerogative too. I mean, at least it generates a response, but you know, I started to learn a lot about the business of being an artist and what you gotta do to make ends meet without, without watering down your work, I guess, or without catering your work just to the audience.

[00:10:43] And, you know, I think that made me think about some things like the scale of my work. Like I said, the first few shows I did the pieces were all fairly large, 30 by 40 inches. And I think they were well priced, but I think they were priced well out of someone's reach that might have an interest in my work, but was just not in a position where they could spend a lot of money on a large piece, and they would like something smaller. So I, I felt like I learned that I needed to diversify my offerings out there. You know, maybe I can do some smaller works or, maybe I'll make prints of some pieces.

[00:11:24] Lindsey Dinneen: Sure. So, I'm just curious, you, you mentioned talking about the price point, which I think is a big thing, because like you said, everyone has kind of different budgets and, and I love the way that you adapted to that. You know, you didn't just say, "Well, it's not for everyone," but you thought about ways that, you know, you could make it a little bit more accessible to someone who, who just doesn't have the same budget. So I love that, but I'm curious: how, how do you price your art? Because I know that's a thing that a lot of artists struggle with, is putting a value to, you know, essentially your lifetime of experience, which is, which has led you to this, and then of course, the hours and hours you put into creating it, like, how do you go about that?

[00:12:11] Rick Wright: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I wish there was an idiot's guide to it. I think it's probably something that every visual artist I've run into has had the same problem with. And, oh gosh. I think I prob--I probably undervalued myself for a number of years. You could ask my wife now, and she could still say you still do that because, you know, I grew up within a certain economic class with, you know, a blue collar family and not a lot of means. So just because I can create something, I just, I have a hard time thinking that I should put this big, old price tag on it.

[00:12:52] So, the first time that I had a show that I had to price my work, I just kind of like, I thought, gosh, you know, how many, how many hours do I think it took me to do this? And what, what is my time worth? I probably didn't think too much about the materials I had in it. And I certainly didn't think about, gosh, you know, I've gone to school for four, six, eight years, training myself how to do this. I didn't, I didn't value that in my initial price points, but as I've, as I've moved on over the years, you know, you're absolutely right--like full disclosure--I'm 46 right now, and seriously, working in the arts for, you know, over 20 years. So, you know, that that experience should have some value and it should impact the price of your work.

[00:13:44]So certainly the work that I was doing at age 22 is much different then than it is now. You know, I, I feel like I can command a little bit of a premium for my experience, but I was, I was talking with one of my former illustration professors a few weeks ago and I, I was saying, gosh, you know, there have been periods in my career where, I've just not done any fresh paintings for months at a time. And even there was a stent for maybe a couple years--I just, I just wasn't really, inspired to do some new, fresh work, but I still feel like when I did pick the brush back up, I had grown as an artist, partly because of my life experience and my perspective that I could, I could reflect back on my own work and realize, gosh, this is what I was doing then, and I've grown as a person. And even though I may not have physically been using a brush more to grow, I could translate my personal growth onto a canvas after that amount of time. So I felt like my new, my newer work, you know, after that hiatus was better, even though I hadn't necessarily been practicing it so much.

[00:15:00]Lindsey Dinneen: So I know for you, in particular, one of the things that I personally admire so much about your art-- I love the fact that you highlight other artists in your work in other art forms--I've seen dancers and aerialists...

[00:15:14] Rick Wright: Yeah. Well, I think, you know, my, my work has really been focused on the figure and, you know, I, as I spoke before, you know, those figures are very static initially, but I I've, I've really become inspired by a lot of performers that have a lot of physicality involved in the work that they do. And, you know, those may, may be, dancers, whether it's jazz or pop or ballet or salsa. I don't especially have a great knowledge of dance, but I do have of the human form and I, and I see what those performers are doing with their bodies and being impressed by the physicality of, of what they're pulling off in such a graceful way that, you know. That's, that's inspired me to create a sense of movement and strength and grace and beauty, and my forms, I think a little bit of my work is art imitating art, and I classify my models or performers as artists themselves. And I just, I want to capture what they do in my own way, right, in my media, I try, I'm trying to get my work to be more collaborative with other artists that are doing things that I don't do.  So I think there's, there's a kind of a strength in numbers, you know, all, all of us creatives have to stick together in some ways. So, I'm inspired by those performing artists that are doing something that I, I can't do.

[00:16:52] Lindsey Dinneen: Sure. Well, and you know, ditto, you know, it was the same for us. So looking at your work going, "Oh my gosh, it's amazing. And I can't do it, but I love to look," you know, I love appreciating it.

[00:17:04] Rick Wright: Yeah. Well, and it's, it's allowed me to have conversations too, that I'm fairly ignorant of some of the minutia that's involved in years of training one's body to perform like that. So, you know, I can have conversations with people about, gosh, you know, what, what is it you're doing here?And, and dancers make shapes with their bodies. And, you know, so I, I'm curious about the shapes that they're making and how does that impact the shapes and the forms that I'm trying to develop on a canvas as well?

[00:17:42] There's a balloon artist here in Kansas City who is pretty amazing visually. And I've had the opportunity to photograph her at some various venues. And I'm just amazed by the things she's able to do with balloons, you know, and, and, and creating them into, to outfits and the things that she does with them. It's so it's, it's really visually inspiring to me. And I'd love to see that translated onto a canvas. So, I've started a conversation and dialogue there, so that's just where the direction my work's gone.

[00:18:14] And I gotta say, it's not, it's not something that I, I sought out. It just started to evolve and you know, I'm, and I'm not trying to drive it in a particular direction. I want it to go wherever it goes and that's difficult. I mean, I think we all would like to know with some certainty what the future holds, and I think part of being an artist is just kind of embracing the journey and going where it takes you. You know, on one hand, you've got to have a plan, but your plan also needs to be flexible enough that it can go wherever it needs to.

[00:18:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Well, I have to say on behalf of a dancer, and I'm pretty sure this would go to other movement based art forms as well that you've captured, I have to say personally that one of the things that I so appreciate about your particular work-- when you paint dancers and aerialists and other types of moving-based performers, is that you are very diligent about capturing it correctly. And what I mean by that is we've just observed over the years-- like in a lot of our work, there's a, maybe you could call it  a more whimsical or abstract approach, and sometimes as a dancer, you look at it and you go, "Well, that's not actually how that works or we can't physically make that shape because that's not how our, you know, and so I've always really appreciated your attention to detail. And so when you do choose to paint, somebody like that, that you understand, like the body mechanics behind that, so thank you on behalf of all the dancers for that.

[00:19:56] Rick Wright: Well, that's a huge compliment coming from a performer like yourself because I really enjoy it when another artist can see my work and appreciate something that maybe just the casual observer doesn't pick up on. So I like to work in a way that is thoughtful and intelligent, what I'm trying to do. And, so I appreciate that you see things in my work of dancers that I guess I just, I appreciate knowing that I'm doing something right there.

[00:20:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, you definitely are. Well, I have a couple of questions that I like to ask my guests, if that's okay with you.

[00:20:38] Rick Wright: Sure. Absolutely.

[00:20:39] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. So first of all, how do you personally define art or what is art to you?

[00:20:46] Rick Wright: You know, I, I, I feel like to me, you know, it, it's an outlet and an exploration first and foremost, and I think if we're lucky it becomes an end product, but I don't know that that is necessarily the most important. I think there is, there is value in the exploration that, that just happens with all things creative, whether it's dance or it's paint or it's clay. It's about communicating, it's, it's communicating with different materials or in different ways than the verbal or auditory that we're used to. I, I think it's, you know, it's a little bit of your, your soul, you know, uncovering your soul, whether you realize it or not. I think it's about just exposing your, your true self.

[00:21:42] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that and I really appreciate what you said, and I haven't heard this yet is, that the, the end product doesn't necessarily matter. That there's a lot of value even in the process. I think that that is incredibly insightful and something to really take to heart because you're right. I mean, it's, it's wonderful when something emerges from it that you go, "Oh yeah, I like that. I'm proud of that." But you know, there's still value in that creation process, regardless of where it goes.

[00:22:16]Rick Wright: Right. And what, and when something emerges and you're like, you're, you're proud of that. And it may have emerged in a different direction than you intended, and then, but you gotta be able to recognize, gosh, this, this is different, but I like what's happening there. And I think being able to have the flexibility to see that, you know, allow the journey to happen and go where it may.  And the reality is you've got to practice, you've got to fail, and it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what those failures look like, but you learn from those mistakes and you grow from them.

[00:22:49] Lindsey Dinneen: I'm going to misquote it because I don't remember exactly, but I remember an artist talking about how at the beginning you have to get used to the fact that a lot of what you make-- especially if you're trying to make a career out of art-- isn't going to be good. It just isn't because you just don't have the experience that a more mature artist has, and so his point was just keep creating, creating, creating, because you'll get there. Be patient for that journey because it takes time and it's okay if you don't like everything you produce, that's not the end goal here.

[00:23:25] Rick Wright: Yeah, absolutely. And, and I gotta tell myself that all the time, you know, I'm looking for that end goal from time to time. And you gotta tell yourself to back off on it and just let the work happen and grow.

[00:23:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Right.

[00:23:41] Rick Wright: On the business end of things, like I've got to do this, and then this number of shows and I have to sell this many pieces, but the more important thing that I just gotta tell myself is just go to your studio and paint, yeah, I think more, more, more.

[00:23:59] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. So, what do you think is the most important role of an artist?

[00:24:03] Rick Wright: You know, I think there's some responsibilities that the artists have. I think honesty and, personal, personal perspectives. I think there's things that happen in this world that we need artists, creatives, performers to react to, to communicate about, guide, challenge. I think that's one of the more important jobs right now. There are brilliant, passionate artists out there that are that are making a difference. And I think that's super important. And I'll be honest that I don't necessarily think my own work  is challenging any norms in society, per se, but I think those that are out there doing that really have my, my respect and I, I value that we all have a duty just to be honest with ourselves and you don't have to put up a front, you know, just be, be the person you are, do the work that you want to do and put it out there.

[00:25:05] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, don't be afraid. And I don't want to gloss over that because that's a hard one.

[00:25:08]Rick Wright:  You can choose how much of yourself to put out there. I mean maybe you're a little bit conservative by nature and that's fine, but you know, just those, those little, little pieces of truth are, are valuable.

[00:25:20]Lindsey Dinneen: Okay! And then my last question, and I can define it a little bit, but so the question is, do you think art should be inclusive or exclusive? And those words can mean a few different things. So I'll just define them how I'm intending. So, exclusive referring to, the artist kind of creates something, puts it out in the world and the audience or the viewer or whatever doesn't necessarily have context for it. So they might not know even necessarily, like, the title of the piece, or what inspired it, or, you know, et cetera--versus inclusive, meaning the artist gives that context. So maybe it's what inspired them, or what the piece is about-- does that make sense?

[00:26:07] Rick Wright: Yeah. Yeah. Well, so I mean, I think there's some, I think there's some value in both. What I value within my own work is--so someone who finds a piece that they, they fall in love with it for their own reasons, whether they knew the artist's intention or not. I mean, I think there's value in having a conversation with a piece that's on their own terms and not necessarily, "What was the artist's intention or what's the title of this?" Or, or "Why was it made or, or what is it about?" I mean, I think I like that anybody can have a conversation on their own terms with a particular piece and find what they, how they react to it. And, I get it. If somebody looks at, one of my painting's like, "I don't get it, I'm done with it. And I'm just going to walk away."

[00:26:57] I mean, that's their own terms as well, and I felt that way too about walking through an art museum and, encountering some pieces like, you know, I just don't get it. There's a little plaque on the wall. It tells me a little bit, but you know what, ultimately, not so much interested, but I've also found there have been pieces like that. And then I've had some interaction with someone else or an art history class, or I've educated myself about it further. And then I'm like, you know, I, I really didn't like this so much to start off with, but now that I have the backstory, I find it more intriguing. Maybe it's, maybe it's not the aesthetic that I was looking for, but I have a better appreciation of it.

[00:27:38] So,  I think there's value in both inclusivity and exclusivity.  I am a big, advocate of art being all inclusive and whatever that looks like. So I think everybody can have a reaction to pieces.  I'm not really great about communicating about my own work. So if someone else can find something that they love about it, then that's important to me because I'm not always certain what it is that I really like about a particular piece that I'm putting out there. It's, you know, it just, it happened and it's there and it's, it's up to someone else to decide how they want to react to it.

[00:28:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Well, thank you again, just so much, Rick, for joining us today. And if there's anyone who wants to maybe check out your work or get in contact with you, is there a way that they can do that?

[00:28:34] Rick Wright: Sure, so I have a presence on social media, whether it's Instagram or Facebook, it's Rick Wright Art. Wright is W R I G H T. I also have a website, rickwrightart.com. So feel free to check me out there, click on some links, shoot me a message or something. I try to exhibit, you know, locally around Kansas City and regionally as well. So, and I'm always, I'm always happy to talk shop with other people, other creatives in the community as well.

[00:29:02] Lindsey Dinneen: Perfect. Thank you. Yeah, definitely at the very least take some time to check out his artwork because it is beautiful. And I just want to say, Rick, you know, again, personally, I've gotten to see some of your artwork and experience it. And I just, I just want to say thank you for being an artist and sharing your art. I truly believe that when you're brave enough to do so, you, you make the world a better, more beautiful place. And so I just want to say thank you, for sharing what you do and what you love with the world. I know I appreciate it.

[00:29:38] Rick Wright: Oh, well, thank you very much. It was a pleasure to be here today and, and I, I value what you do and I look forward to us crossing paths again and putting our art out there in the community.

[00:29:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. Well, thanks everyone so much for tuning in today, and we will catch you next time.

[00:29:59] If you have a story to share with us, we would love that so much. And I hope your day has been Artfully Told.

[00:30:10] Hey, Artfully Told listeners. I'm excited to share with you a little bit about one of my very favorite resources for artists. It's a website called Arteza. They have incredible products, but what makes this company really unique is that they have supplies that are affordable to creators with every budget. So whether you're just starting out, or dabbli n g , or you do have that budget available to you, they do have options for every budget level. They provide the tools, but you steer the way. Literally you can access hundreds of thousands of high quality, unique products through their website. And right now they are offering a promo code to receive 8% off of any purchase and you can access the link and the promo code in my comments and show notes.