Meet Tyler Swain
This article originally appeared on Canvas Rebel, February 19, 2023
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tyler Swain. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tyler below.
Tyler, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?
The following experience wasn’t actually the 1st dollar that I made as an artist, but it was certainly the most meaningful and the 1st mile stone dollar that I earned. I was just getting my start in the Utah art scene. I was still finishing up my BFA in drawing and painting from Utah State University. I was desperately trying to enter art shows, exhibit my work, basically do anything I could to get my name and work out there. I reached out to a Gallery in Provo, Utah, not far from where I grew up after seeing a couple of really stellar art shows there during their monthly gallery walk. To my surprise, the owner liked my work, and offered me a show there. It was an incredible feeling to finally walk into a real gallery and see my paintings hanging up on the wall. At the opening reception, I got to meet so many people, and I felt like this was such a huge step for me. But the biggest boost of encouragement came later that evening. I was talking to someone who had come into the gallery to see the show, and he mentioned to me that the mark of a true professional artist was when a complete stranger buys your work out of a gallery. At this point in my very early career, I had only sold work to friends and family, so I had to admit the idea of a stranger connecting with my work enough to buy it seemed like a dream come true. Not 10 minutes after I had this conversation, another gentleman walked into the gallery and bought two of my paintings on the spot. This was the moment of ultimate validation. I later connected with this man years into my professional career as an artist, and told him how much those first purchases meant to me And that I never forgot that experience.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in Orem, Utah. I think the mountains surrounding the valley I grew up in as well as the beautiful trees and flower beds my mother always cultivated helped inform my aesthetic at a young age. Even more influential than the physical surroundings though, was the encouragement of my parents to all us kids to always follow our dreams. My dad helped me see from a young age that anyone can make a living doing what they love if they are passionate enough and willing to work hard at it.
Simplicity is something I constantly crave in good artwork and in life. My current series of work is really an ongoing desire to celebrate simple things and discover something beautiful in them. I also am interested in straddling the two worlds of abstraction and realism, as both continue to fascinate me. I like to place carefully rendered subjects in environments that represent spontaneous or chaotic moments. It is the push and pull of the simple, yet carefully rendered subject with the playful, abstracted background that holds my interest again and again. I started my career primarily focused on still-life, but over the years my interests have expanded to include wildlife, including mostly insects and birds. I like to think of my paintings as little moments, captured and celebrated in the way I want them to be remembered.
I am motivated to create for many reasons. On a basic level, I must create to survive literally. If I don’t paint and sell my work, I don’t support my family financially and provide the necessities of life. On a higher level, I must create to survive spiritually. I have been obsessed with the wonder of creation and the act of pouring my labor into something meaningful for as long as I can remember. If I go a day without painting it’s like going without a very important part of my daily ritual and difficult for me to feel totally satisfied. I enter the studio day after day and sink into a new puzzle to solve, a new opportunity to create and it enthralls me.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The biggest challenge I faced was extreme poverty for the first years of my marriage and career. Many artists go through a similar time of struggle, but it is nonetheless a very powerful and terrifying hurtle to overcome. I think the biggest distinguishing factor between the artists who make it and those who give up and pursue something else is those who are willing to be hopelessly poor for a long time and continue regardless and those who aren’t willing to sacrifice to that level.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
There are two main aspects of being a creative that are particularly rewarding. The first is simply experiencing the thrill of creation. It is a long and arduous journey to gain the skills necessary to translate ideas into a well-crafted physical object, but when those skills are finally present it is indeed rewarding. The second is the privilege of being the master of one’s time. I never fit into the mold of clocking in and out for an employer, or showing up at a certain time at a certain place because it’s what I was supposed to do. I probably end up working more than 40 hours most weeks, but it is all on my own steam and nobody is standing over me, so it feels much more freeing. I feel very blessed to be able to create things that are meaningful to me and to be the master of my time.