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On today's episode, we sat down with Kyle Stuckey, a full-time impressionistic realist oil painter based in Charleston, South Carolina. He tells us about his unorthodox journey into art, starting in his late teens and eventually becoming immersed in the Putney painters group, which greatly influenced his development. He discusses the challenges and rewards of being a full-time artist, including the need for resilience and the evolving role of social media in marketing. He advises aspiring artists to be dedicated and willing to experiment, while also reminding them of the importance of consistency. He also advises us to nurture relationships with collectors and galleries. Finally, Kyle tells us about his upcoming workshops and an upcoming gallery show featuring his new work!
Kyle's FASO site:
https://kylestuckey.com/
Kyle's Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/stuckey_art
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Transcript:
Kyle Stuckey: 0:00
You're going to have to put in a lot of time, and you're going to have to be resilient. Consistency is, is, I think, is key for any success. You know, if you don't, if you don't show up for the muse, the Muse is going to stop showing up for you. In a sense, get in behind the easel when you can, and do it as much as you can, in whatever phase of life you're in, and then the chances are you're gonna you're gonna be able to do it. Yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 0:28
welcome to the bold brush show where we believe that fortune favors bold brush. My name is Laura Arango Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others were in careers tied to the art world, in order to hear their advice and insights. On today's episode, we sat down with Kyle Stuckey, a full time impressionistic realist oil painter based in Charleston, South Carolina. He tells us about his unorthodox journey into art, starting in his late teens and eventually becoming immersed in the Putney painters group, which greatly influenced his development. He discusses the challenges and rewards of being a full time artist, including the need for resilience and the evolving role of social media in marketing. He advises aspiring artists to be dedicated and willing to experiment, while also reminding them of the importance of consistency, he also advises us to nurture our relationships with collectors and galleries. Finally, Kyle tells us about his upcoming workshops and an upcoming gallery show featuring his new work. Welcome Kyle to the BoldBrush show. How are you today?
Kyle Stuckey: 1:38
I'm doing well. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on I'm excited. Yeah, thanks for
Laura Arango Baier: 1:42
being here. I absolutely love your paintings. I love your portraits, and I love your flowers, the hydrangeas, I can stare at them all day. You have some behind you right now, and my eyes just going over there. For our listeners who should totally check out this video to look at these hydrangeas. Please do because amazing, amazing. Thank you. You're welcome, Poppy. Yes, of course. I'm happy that you're here despite, you know, recovering from a cold, which I really appreciate that you were able to be here. Joys of cold season. Yes, indeed, it's winter, but yeah. So before we dive into your gorgeous work, do you mind telling us a bit about who you are and what you do?
Kyle Stuckey: 2:27
Yeah, I am Kyle Stuckey. I grew up originally in New Hampshire. Then I moved, traveled around a little bit, kind of lived abroad for a little bit, and then was out west for a while, and then eventually ended up settling here in Charleston, South Carolina. We've been here for about almost 10 years with my wife and two little girls, so it's been recent. Last few years been busy and fun, and I'm a full time working artist, oil painter, I guess I paint and consider impressionistic realism, I guess, is kind of how I would explain my style. And that's kind of it in a nutshell. Real quick. Yeah, we're in the studio here. I'm fortunate to have a studio, kind of on property and but still at the house, so it's nice to be able to, like, do dad life and professional artist life, and balance all that and be in and out. So, so very kind of blessed to have that opportunity. Yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 3:30
yeah. That's awesome. And that's awesome that, you know, the one of the perks of, you know, being a full time artist is that you do get more time with family. Even, you know, if you're in the studio for a bit, you're not so far away that you're unreachable, or if something happens, you're not there, which is a really great work.
Kyle Stuckey: 3:47
Yeah, yeah, being able to run your own time frame and schedule is wonderful and sometimes challenging, but, but, yeah, it's, it's definitely got its benefits. Yeah, very fortunate to to be a full time artist, it's kind of sometimes surreal that I think, and that's what I do for work. It's, feels like that's not possible, you know, you shouldn't be doing this, but, um, but it is, and it's wonderful.
Laura Arango Baier: 4:15
Yeah, it is, it is, and it's, you know, it's, it's, you get so much freedom, right, like how we were just saying, you get freedom to be your family. But then also you have that balance of with great freedom comes great responsibility, where, if you, if you, you know, take some time for vacation. Obviously, it is your own responsibility to take care of whatever you know, economics, economic issues can come up because of that, but yeah, I I'm guessing you're on the side of the artist who absolutely does not regret it and loves it every day. No,
Kyle Stuckey: 4:52
don't regret a thing. No, I'm yeah, there's, there's days, I mean, there's, I think there's this illusion, or FASO. Finding this illusion that, like, if you find the job that you love, you'll never work in your daily life. And I feel like that's a little misleading idea, because there's certainly days that I'm burnt out and maybe don't want to get in the studio and paint, but for the most part, it's all good, you know, like when I kind of can reset and realize, like, what I'm doing for work is is quite a privilege, so, but there's certainly days that you kind of have to force yourself in and make it happen, and put the time in and realize it's still a job. You know, even if it's sort of a fantasy job,
Laura Arango Baier: 5:40
I love that. Yeah, it's so true. Because, gosh, being an artist, it's, it's definitely not, you know, up there, and, like, the most difficult jobs in terms of, you know, stress, maybe, unless you're, I mean, I did see that you work with quite a few galleries, and I can only imagine how many shows you have to paint for sometimes, and that can really pile up. Um, but, you know, there's a sense of man. You know, my energy levels today just aren't meeting me where I need to be. So maybe I'll take it a little bit easier, try to get some painting in. Like it's more organic. It's a much more organic way of living compared to the nine to five, yeah, that a lot of people have, so it is a beautiful job to have. Ashley brings me to one of my first questions, yes, when did you decide to follow the path of the artist?
Kyle Stuckey: 6:37
So I kind of took a pretty unorthodox journey, I guess I actually started my first art class was, I believe, my senior year of high school, and I really just needed, like, art credit. And I was like, oh, a friend of the I was homeschooled, actually, and a friend of the family was an artist, and she offered to give me art lessons, and they go towards my credits. And I just kind of was like, well, they'll be easy, and, you know, art class, whatever. So I just kind of went into it, just doing it. And then that's was my first, like, kind of introduction to, I guess, fine art and real representational master work. And fell in love with with the fact that you can create, you know, these beautiful images out of basically colored paint, you know, just mud and brushes. And it was just fun that, like, you could create something out of nothing. And I was pretty good at, like, the early stage. You know, some of the basic stuff came somewhat naturally, I guess. So once, once, I kind of caught the art bug, if you will, which for me, was kind of late. And, like, I wasn't like the six year old that was getting their first painting kid, and would always be drawing and doodling like I was the sports kid. So for me to be in my late teens and really start to dive into art for what I consider later, was sort of strange. But I I started working with my art teacher, which is Lori Woodward Simmons, and she was part of the putty painters. So I was in the right place at the right time. I eventually got to go up there and paint with that group. Originally, it was just kind of every once in a while, and then eventually became a full time member of the Putney painters, and obviously introduced to Richard and Nancy and that whole crew up there. So I kind of got like push forced into, fell into this, like world that people would, you know, would give anything to be a part of. And I kind of just tripped into it in a weird way. So very, very lucky to have that experience, and then having a lot of my family and support behind me. It just like, go for it. Go for that kind of the crazy dream of becoming an artist. So then I just spent the next four or five years really just studying and practicing. And I didn't go to college for art. I just basically worked with the Putney painters and then studied the Masters on my own, and spent more time behind the easel than you'd want to admit, probably, but it's the only way you get better is by doing. And then then slowly started getting into galleries and kind of chipping away at working part time and doing art part time till eventually could be full time. So that's sort of, yeah, kind of a strange journey. I never thought myself as becoming an art you know, when I was thinking, Oh, what do you want to be when you grow up? Artists? Wasn't on the radar until I was like 18. So I. Yeah, kind of strange. Yeah, awesome. And now here I am. It's what, 20 years later, almost, yeah.
Laura Arango Baier: 10:07
Oh, that's so awesome though. Yeah, you really dove into the deep end from the beginning, because, you know, the putney's, Oh, amazing. Yeah, yeah. And I
Kyle Stuckey: 10:17
was, I think, very unaware of kind of what that like, how lucky I was at that time. Looking back, I go, wow, I probably should take a better advantage of that. But, and I did, you know, I went a lot, but it was like, I don't know if I kind of grasped what kind of privilege I was getting sort of handed to at that young age, yeah, and, yeah, getting right into very complex art theory, color theory and edge theory and and just being so there was, I almost like, didn't have the art 101, it was just, like, right into master painting type stuff, which is, Which is cool and fun, yeah, which maybe is what made it stick for me. And I was, it was exciting right from the start. So, yeah, and you saw the potential, you know, being around artists that had careers. So it wasn't like this idea that wasn't obtainable. I was seeing people that we're living full time, working artists and surviving and doing it, which I think is really crucial for especially at a young age, like realizing, like, might be hard, but it's someone else did it. If they can do it, then I guess I could do it, right?
Laura Arango Baier: 11:39
Yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. It's great to have been around such an inspiring group of artists, because oftentimes the narrative that we get, you know, from the media, from our parents, from everywhere, is oh, oh, no, you shouldn't be an artist because you're going to starve. That's a terrible idea. But then there you were surrounded by actual living artists who could actually say, I don't starve. Thank you very much. Yeah, right, yeah, yeah. So that was very inspiring.
Kyle Stuckey: 12:09
It was, yeah. I mean, incredible portion of my life, for sure, yeah. And very critical and kind of for where I am today and the journey that that kind of catapult me into, I guess, yeah, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 12:23
yeah. So I actually, I have a very, it's not a question I sent you, but I have a yeah, very curious thought in my in my head, because I know Richard, obviously, he wrote that Bible on Allah prima that we all, of course, probably all of us own have come across. Yeah, um, did you when you were with them? Did you dive right into plein air, or did you try other exercises beforehand?
Kyle Stuckey: 12:48
Um, I did a little bit before I kind of started being with the putty videos more regularly. I was doing some basic kind of, I guess I started with, like charcoal and and pencil drawing, but pretty much, then dove right into oil paints. And, yeah, I guess for the most part, plein air started pretty early, or painted from what you know, painting from life pretty early, whether still lifes or whatever, or, you know, it put me painted those oftentimes models and or flower setups and stuff like that. So, so, yeah, pretty early on, just that, that approach, like I said, I didn't really have, like, I didn't have this huge, like, background of drawing 101, and, you know, I didn't have, you know, my color theory education really just came from, like, in the moment learning, and then obviously, over the years, I've dove into that more, but, but, you know, it's kind of all just like dumped into this idea of, like, how to create great work and compositions, and Hearing Richard talk about temperature theory and edge, you know, how to change edges and why. And most of it, obviously, was just rolling over my head because I had no idea what's going on. And then, you know, eventually you start kind of chipping away and understanding more and but, yeah, it was all kind of happening at once, because that's the way that that group is. It's just everyone's sort of painting and being there, sort of like it was like the El prima book just sort of being casually spoken in the air, right? It was just all that knowledge was just sort of happening. And sometimes Richard would be sort of teaching or just painting, and you could stand behind him and watch him paint and see how he problem solves and uses the brush. And so it was definitely surreal kind of experience, especially looking back at it, you know, in the moment was just like, oh, this bunch of artists painting. That's fun. But, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Meanwhile, it's like, your question, I realized, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 15:02
good. And, you know, meanwhile you were, you were surrounded by some of the cream of the crop, where a lot of people of today, you know, those are historic figures at this point, and they're definitely gonna go down, down in history, yeah. And, you know, I think the other really great thing about the whole situation too is, you know, you were exposed, you know, happenstance. You were exposed to this, but you were exposed to a lot of wonderful people, and people who had a lot of knowledge as well. Which brings me to wonder who then became some of your greatest influences in your work, and do you find that that has changed over time, or do you still hold the same few of them very close to your
Kyle Stuckey: 15:49
heart? So I think, I mean, obviously Richard is one of the biggest inspirations, being kind of in this presence of learning from his so I think a lot of his painted philosophy is certainly in my work. But like you said, that group was so there's so many amazing artists in that group. And then, not only just like the Putney painter, but the other like guest artists that would come in because, you know, everyone knew Richard and wanted to paint with Richard. So early on, it was obviously like Richard and Nancy, I found that Nancy Guzik would the way that she could sometimes explain things I almost could relate or understand it better. So there's like times that she would explain about whatever it is, and it would just click a little bit easier sometimes. And then earlier on, you know, Dan Gerhardt, Morgan, Weisen, a lot of these, like figurative narrative telling painters that would would use the figure and to kind of tell a story. And that's something that was very attractive to me in the beginning. It's definitely figurative work that first drove, like, my love and passion for art, and then that's that slowly, kind of changed into landscape and still life and a little bit of everything, which, again, falls back on Richard. I mean, Richard was a painter that, you know, he paint anything. It didn't matter. He didn't get stuck that he was a portrait painter or landscape painter. He was, if it, if he wanted to paint it, he painted, and he painted it masterfully. And that's always been certainly like a drive in my career to make sure that if I want to paint it, I I hope that I can paint it well, and I want to not be afraid to kind of at least try and and see what happens, which sometimes makes my body of work a little bit sporadic, but it makes the journey more fun, in my opinion. And then moving forward, I started Jeremy Mann is a is an artist that I really love his work. I don't know. I guess I started seeing his work five, seven years ago and and that's what's kind of spurred out, like, a lot of, like, his cityscapes. I really love that moody and dramatic, a little bit more abstract kind of approach. So this, there's definitely, yeah, there's artists that have got to come in later that I find have adjusted my approach, or at least, like, maybe we'll try different things that, you know, well, what if I try to emulate this or that and and usually, most of that ends up kind of falling away, then I hopefully pick and choose, and then my artwork has its own kind of voice, but it's certainly, it's certainly built On, like kind of the building blocks of of arts throughout the last 20 years of that maybe come with different approaches, but usually all have a very similar they're all kind of teaching the same principles, just just maybe a different approach, or a different voice, or slightly different kind of way to to get there, but I think it's important to like, if you're going to start following artists that you really like, make sure that there there's a similar kind of pattern to because it could be, it could be really confusing. I think there's so many artists, so many brilliant especially now we have so much access to like. I mean, you can access art all over the world, and if everyone's coming from like a really drastically different mindset or approach, that can certainly become like overwhelming, I think, and then you get like scattered and not knowing well which way is the right way to paint or which way is the right way to think about any of the aspects of painting. So I found that as long as like and usually the art that I was drawn to was it was in a similar kind of vein of. Of of a similar approach, and this in a similar outcome, I guess, you know good composition and good value control, and interesting brush work and paintings that really kind of just like move you and so just kind of, I remember Richard said, like, don't, don't, probably butchering his quote, but some to the effect of, you know, don't just study art. Study good art. And that's kind of always stuck with me to make sure that I'm looking and up studying great artists. So I don't know, yeah, no, I love that.
Laura Arango Baier: 20:45
It's very it's it's so fascinating how once you start to try to describe a picture, right? Because a picture is worth 1000 words, it almost feels like this ephemeral, sort of difficult attempt to try to make sense of why an image is the way it is and why it speaks to you, right? So I love hearing, on the one hand, I love your advice on, you know, making sure that maybe the influences that you're looking at have a very similar sort of, um, I guess, like voice, like you said that they have some kind of similar quality. But I also love that you still experiment anyway, and you'll still, you know, branch out and see, you know what? I love, the way Jeremy Mann does these, you know, really broad strokes, probably with a palette knife of some sort, because very textural as well. Yeah, so that's worth trying out. So which brings me to one of the really awesome things that you mentioned just at the beginning, which is that you despite you know, your work being quote, unquote, scattered, right? Which is something that maybe a gallery might care about, because galleries usually like work to be very constant, and, you know, they know what to expect, right? Sure, yeah, but there's value in allowing yourself to paint for the joy of it. Like, how Richard did, right? He's like, Oh, I like that. I'm going to paint it. I don't care, right? And I'm going to do the best. And I feel like I definitely see you following that in your work. Because when I looked at all your portfolio, I could see your voice very distinctly throughout. And it's very wonderful, because there isn't a single you know, subject that I would say, like, oh, I don't really see, you know, like, Kyle's voice in that. Yeah, no, I see very distinct. You're welcome. Yeah,
Kyle Stuckey: 22:41
yeah, it's, I think it's such a that's such a hard balance too, or for me, it has been, and I think will continue to be hard, probably the rest of my life. But is like that, like you said, like practicing or just trying new things and and yet still making sure that you're staying kind of on track and in some sense, and not getting too broken up, but you're not going to grow or learn if you haven't tried something new. In a sense, picked up a different palette knife or a squeegee or roller or something, and mess up a painting, and then, you know, do that enough times, and you'll start maybe figuring out something that you can apply to your work. So, but it's hard to balance that with also being consistent and and like you said, galleries want to have consistency, and they want to know that you're going to be bringing in, you know, work that they can keep selling, because it's it, you know, it's trending with their clients, or whatever that is, and that's a challenge. But I guess every career has its challenges. So just one of them, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 23:56
it is, yeah. And I feel like, you know, like how I said, you know, with your work, you do have a way of painting that I think any gallery would see as very approachable and easy to, you know, to sell, or even easy to incorporate in their in their gallery spaces, because your work has a very nice essence to it that is very it's just beautiful to look at, which makes it, I think, a lot easier for you to, you know, go from subject to subject anyway, at least from my perspective, you're welcome, yeah. Which actually makes me wonder, since you do have multiple interests in terms of subject matter, what is your creative process like? How does it go from like initial idea all the way to finished piece?
Kyle Stuckey: 24:45
So I I work mostly in the studio, and I do a good amount of my work from photo references, especially my landscape, or even a lot of. My figurative or portrait work, you know, I'll do photo shoots with with models, but then work in photo references. So oftentimes, I'll kind of like, I'll run through some, I'll get on my computer and run through my image, you know, an image file that has, whatever it could be, a trip to Paris or, you know, a local when I was at the beach taking photos of the waves or something. And I just kind of like, roll through and just wait for one or several to kind of hit me as like, Oh, that's a painting. Oh, that's a painting. And I look at him at like, a thumbnail size, and I just especially and then when something just strikes like that, I'll kind of put it into a new folder. Then, then I go from it, from that approach like, then I'll say, Okay, does this painting, like, is this really have something? And usually maybe I'll do, like, a little study of it almost, and almost treat it like a plain air. So if it's like a landscape of like, I've got to do an eight by 10, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna give myself like a time frame. I got maybe two hours or less to do a little painting of this image. And if that comes out, that feels like something, that feels spontaneous and and artistic and and still feels like it meets whatever kind of struck me from the beginning. Then I then I tend to turn that into a bigger studio piece, if you will. So that's how I handle like my my working from photo references. But I also work on like several paintings at a time. I'm working probably three or four paintings at a time, because I can get bored, and I can get a little distracted with the P like, especially larger works, I can kind of fall out of love with them, if you will. And I've learned over the years that painting when you're not in love with it is probably not a good approach. You'll either rush through it, or you'll cut corners or something, and you'll end up with a piece that had potential, and you kind of were lazy about it, I guess. So as soon as the painting starts feeling like, you know what, I'm getting tired of this, I put it to the side, I start a new one, and then eventually I'll, I'll, like, come back to that piece and when I'm ready for and I have, like, a clear vision as to how to finish it or what I want to do with it. And for me, that's worked well. And mostly it's just that, it's that, that idea of making sure I'm staying kind of present. If I haven't going to spend the time on a painting and the and the painting is going to spend, you know, give me its if the subject itself is kind of allowing me to paint it, then I want to make sure that I'm doing it justice. And I don't want to rush through the last 20 or 10% of a painting, just because it's almost there and I can get it wrapped up. So I almost, at this point, almost do it like, no matter what, like when it's 80% done, it goes to the side then, then it could, that could be anywhere from a couple days later to revisiting or I've had paintings sit around for months, years, honestly, and then especially ones that I'm working from, you know, from photos obviously get to that if I'm working from life, from all my flower paintings, still lifes, I work from life, but everything else is pretty much from photo references. Outside of I do color studies on, like, plain air, little paintings. But I don't put sale expectation on, like plein air pieces. When I go out, I like to paint with like zero expectation of that painting becoming worthy of anyone seeing, let alone someone bind and if it, if it works, it comes out good. Then, then, you know, then I'll allow it to enter the world, if you will. But I found that by relieving myself of that pressure on location and, you know, to paint something worthy of selling, I usually paint better, and also they, they work for my color studies, for painting bigger studio pieces. So often times I have these little plain air pieces that are kind of trash. They're They're terrible, but there's enough information that I got from them that I can use my photo references and paint these bigger studio pieces, and they actually have high value for me, they're just not necessarily great paintings, or at least in my eyes. I don't know, sometimes people see my little like, Oh, that's a great little piece. It's my study, you know. But yes, thank you. Yeah, there's, I guess that's my approach. Yeah.
Laura Arango Baier: 30:00
Yeah, yeah, sorry, yeah, there's a there's value right for for you in those little pieces, right? Because for you it's like jotting notes, right for like, a bigger like, poem or novel or some sort of short story, right? And obviously, for someone else, it might be like, Oh, my God, this is such a cute little thing you got here. Oh, it's literally just my notes. But, right, great. But again, it's something you do for you.
Kyle Stuckey: 30:29
Yeah, yeah. And I think just that, like the mindset of going into it, not expect it to be good, or needing it to be good, because it can just be the, you know, just the little note for for a greater project, Yeah, seems to be really helpful for for me, at least. And everyone's different has a different process, but that's the one that I find I
Laura Arango Baier: 30:57
relate to your process so much I'm also one of those, it's 80% the novelty wears out, and I just can't look at it anymore, right? Not always with every piece, but definitely I do also have pieces of stitches lay around for months, and then I pick them back up when I feel ready again, which is, it's really interesting, because so many of us are told that you shouldn't do that, that you should do this. You should do that. You should like, you know, suppress your I guess the the way that you naturally work, which for some people, it might be fine, you know, it might be good to discipline yourself into diving into a piece. But I do love that you brought up, that you do find that once you start hitting that 80% and that novelty wears off. You know, you're putting the quality of the work at risk. And I think that's so important to point out, because no matter how hard someone can force themselves to finish a task for the sake of finishing it right, that that just if it doesn't align with making a masterpiece or making it something that you're proud of. Then there's, you know, the risk isn't worth the effort at that point. Yeah, it's so much better to just set it aside and let it simmer the back burner for a little bit and revisit with fresh eyes too. Because sometimes we might look at a painting we're working on and we think, Oh, my God, this is terrible, right? Put it in the back, yeah, and then you look at it again a few months later, and you're like, Oh my gosh. How do I do that?
Kyle Stuckey: 32:28
It's not that bad, yeah, right. There's actually a lot of good things about it, yeah, yeah, kind of very blind to a piece, yeah, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 32:34
yes. You get so hyper focused into it that you start instead. And this is a natural human tendency, you start hyper, focusing on the mistakes, the mistakes, right? Which oftentimes you know, for other viewers, they'll never see that. They'll never see the mistakes, because you only you have the reference at your hands, which is right? So there's also that it's good to have those fresh, objective eyes after little bit of time away from the work for sure. Yeah, it
Kyle Stuckey: 33:06
seems works for me, I guess so. But there's so many ways kind of to the mountain right up the up the mountain is like, and that's something I feel like is so important to like. There's so many different approaches that artists can take, and that's something that I've tried to like whenever I'm kind of chatting with an artist or artist that I've seen work, because see their process and then and see if that aligns with me or not, and and saying kind of true to your self as like, how you operate, because everyone operates a little differently. So you know, if you can bust out a pain in two hours, and it could be done, and you can ship it off, and bold power to you, that's great, and that's, that's what you know, that's for you, but that's never been necessarily my story. So so not to try to, like, force someone else's work in process on yourself, as I think, over the years, I've found, because I would do that in the past, I think, well, if they can do that, I should be able to, like, learn how to do that too, you know, or, which hasn't necessarily worked out, you know, when I did that. So,
Laura Arango Baier: 34:15
yeah, yeah. But that that also goes into that experimentation aspect of, you know, figuring out this career, like figuring out how you work best, and figuring out how to basically make the the work environment for yourself conducive to, you know, to growth, instead of hurting yourself in all of these dumb ways, trying to fit a mold that you think you should fit into, which is funny, because this job, in and of itself, is very much outside the norm. It's outside the box. So I think that's also something that many, many artists struggle with. Is all that freedom
Kyle Stuckey: 34:53
for sure? Yeah, yeah. Freedom could be making every decision and every possibility can be hard. Artists to navigate, because when you have all the options, it's hard to settle in on one of them, right? Yep, yeah, yep.
Laura Arango Baier: 35:06
Decision fatigue at BoldBrush, we inspire artists to inspire the world, because creating art creates magic, and the world is currently in desperate need of magic. BoldBrush provides artists with free art, marketing, creativity and business ideas and information. This show is an example. We also offer written resources, articles and a free monthly art contest open to all visual artists. We believe that fortune favors the bold brush, and if you believe that too, sign up completely free@boldbrushshow.com that's BOLDBRUSH, show.com the BoldBrush show is sponsored by FASO. Now more than ever, it's crucial to have a website when you're an artist, especially if you want to be a professional in your career. Thankfully, with our special link FASO.com/podcast, you can make that come true and also get over 50% off your first year on your artist website. Yes, that's basically the price of 12 lattes in one year, which I think is a really great deal, considering that you get sleek and beautiful website templates that are also mobile, friendly, e commerce, print on demand in certain countries, as well as access to our marketing center that has our brand new art marketing calendar. And the art marketing calendar is something that you won't get with our competitor. The art marketing calendar gives you day by day, step by step, guides on what you should be doing today right now, in order to get your artwork out there and seen by the right eyes so that you can make more sales this year. So if you want to change your life and actually meet your sales goal this year, then start now by going to our special link, FASO.com/podcast, that's FASO.com, forward slash podcast, yeah. And then I kind of, I want to dive in a little bit more on something you mentioned earlier, which is you actually did have a part time job and then eventually tapered it off and became full time artist. What was it like for you to make that jump, and what were some of the challenges that you faced at first? So
Kyle Stuckey: 37:10
I started, let's see. So I in strange I've never actually had, like, a real job. I kind of transferred from Teenage jobs. My dad was in construction and home improvement, so I worked for him through my teens, then in the early 20s. So I kind of went from being able to do what you know, summer job style work, to eventually just adding more and more hours of painting time and and that would go from, you know, so basically working construction full time, and then I'd find hours to paint, and then eventually, you know, knock off a day, and I'm only working four days A week and three days a week, and then probably, well, probably 15 years. So that was probably five or six years of like, probably only painting part time on, you know, on a generous in a generous, uh, amount. And trying to think then. So then I just Yeah, I kept just kind of chiseling away at how, how much painting time I could put in eventually that that shifted over to be able to be full time artist. But it didn't come. I was very willing to sacrifice an awful lot. I actually, for a year, lived above a funeral home because I got free rent. I was like the funeral homes, basically grounds keeper, and I would help them with, you know, different you know, run funerals and things of that. So, like, I was very willing to put myself in pretty un desirable positions because I so I could paint more so I could live this idea of kind of scraping by and and spending more time painting than than work, if you will. And looking back at the time, it didn't seem like much of it like of course, why not free rent like this? This is not strange Now, granted, that was when I was single and didn't have a family. I wouldn't be able to make those sort of choices now, or those sacrifices now. So sacrificing early and spending the time really focusing on on painting and getting better when I had that ability was was pretty crucial. I think I. And then, you know, it is still, it's an up and down world. I think one of the like, the biggest challenges of a living artist or of working full time artists, is it can be so wonderful and so fulfilling at the same time, it can be highly stressful, because it's basically just full of ups and downs. Like the joke, I kind of always talk to my wife about, like, there is no such thing as, like, a steady in our career. It's like, we're either doing well or it's dead, and sales are are dead. It's like, and that seems to be just like the nature of, I don't know. It's some cruel joke the universe plays on the art line or something. So you have to be really resilient and really kind of learn to appreciate the highs and expect the lows without necessarily them driving you into sanity. I And, yeah, so, so for me was it was a slow kind of chip away at at, at the Work, Work art balance. And then I eventually was able to just, just be full time. And it's still, it's still a struggle. The art life is still straight. You know, luckily, I have a very supporting wife. She works, she has a full time job, and she's willing, and has been willing to, like, go through the ups and downs. And I think that's that's a crucial part of being a successful artist, is you got to be ready for kind of a roller coaster ride, and it's wonderful, but, but it's not all easy, you know, especially when there's bills to pay and the kids get sick and the car breaks, you know, the all the life things that happen, like with every other job, but you don't have necessarily that guaranteed income coming in, right? You're, you're, you're depending on people to be so in love with something you created that they're spending their hard earned money on. And it's kind of amazing when I think about it, but it is, it's, it's, it's very cool. So there's nothing quite like it, but it comes with its challenges, for sure,
Laura Arango Baier: 42:27
definitely, definitely, yeah, yeah. And they don't seem to go away either. And I think, yeah. And I think it's, it really brings to mind again, you know, the word organic, right? It's a little bit like, you know, the apple tree gives apples at a certain time, and you gotta wait for it to bloom and do its thing again. But obviously, with the, you know, with the career, it's not quite as long, right? Because maybe the apple truly gives apples once a year, whereas with painting, you know, it might be a couple times a month might be nothing. One month might be a lot the next month. So it truly is a roller coaster, like you said, and you mentioned two things that are actually really important. I'm so glad you brought them up, which are finding every opportunity, especially in the beginning, to live below your means. So I don't know. I would also take up someone's offer to live on top of a funeral home, if it meant it was right, yeah. And then also having that support system. So yeah, family, wife, companion, whoever that is so crucial, because it really does beat you down. I'm pretty sure you've had your moments where you just hold your face with your hands and you're like, Oh my gosh.
Kyle Stuckey: 43:37
What am I doing?
Laura Arango Baier: 43:41
For sure, which actually brings to mind, you know, do you do you find that you have created multiple income streams to try to help you know your job along, and what are some of the avenues that you've pursued to sell your work and also create these other in constraints, yeah.
Kyle Stuckey: 44:02
So I, when I first got started, basically gallery selling was, you know, this, I kind of just got into it, like right after the OE crash, I guess so. So it wasn't, yeah, luckily I didn't get started just before. But so galleries were kind of the direction you went, you know, there we didn't have the options we have today with social media and self selling. I'm sure there's ways to do it, but it would have been harder then. So I used, I got right into just getting into galleries as soon as I could, and as many at this point, I think I'm in five or six. So most the part, I sell through galleries. I do teach workshops a little bit, and I teach some private lessons, things like that. So it's been nice. So I guess I still have like, you know, I'm not just full time painting for myself. Actually teaching is, is not me painting, but it is. It's in the same world, so it doesn't feel much different, which is great, and it's actually been super beneficial. I feel like you learn a lot when you when you teach. So I teach workshops, private lessons, and that's kind of but then, and then, just then, selling my work, and that's it. I never got into selling prints, really, or things of that nature. And and I saw on my my own, a little bit, also through my website, here and there, for the most part, I'd be kind of a gallery selling artist and and that's been, yeah, that's been great so far. And it's a journey. There's a transition that's been happening in the gallery artists world, but trying to navigate that, I guess. But yeah, I guess. Does that answer your question? Yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 46:07
I'm curious about this transition. Would you say it's like the online market transition, or is it more like the AI transition?
Kyle Stuckey: 46:17
Oh, I'm sure there's another one coming. I'm not even ready for but I haven't even dove into the AI world. I tried to, kind of, I don't know, bury my head in the sand on that one. I'm not sure. I'm not sure what that's bringing. But the cat, I think the expectation on artists has changed for so long, you know, artists would paint, and I think most artists that's what they want to do. They want to go in their studio, or out and in the, you know, outside and paint plein air. Or they want to paint the studio, and they want to create work. Now, I think you've always needed to be wear a lot of hats, right? You've always had to be able to market yourself to some degree and organize your life enough to get paintings to galleries. But for so long, I think, you know, galleries handled so much of like the collector find, you know, finding collectors marketing your work and and that has changed a bit with with social media. Now a lot of galleries are expecting you to have a good social media presence and, and that seems great, because we have, like, the ability to connect with our collectors. But there's a little bit of a, like a shift in what an artist is expected to the amount of time we expected to put in, you know, like, yeah, you could spend, you know, how many hours you could spend a day building social media, doing reels or tick tocks, or, you know, whatever, you know, whatever, um, and that's basically just taken away from painting time. And I think we're being, I don't know what the balance is yet, honestly, I'm kind of in this, I'm not sure like how to balance, how much social media do you presence Do you have? How much, how much value does it actually have? And and just creating paintings and having galleries do what they do best, and sell, you know, and selling, um, yeah, and it also runs it to like, a little bit of a confusing world of like, for so long, galleries built client bases, and now artists are also sort of building client bases. So now who's, you know, who gets the rights to art sales, or what is the split on that? Should artists start getting find your fees? The way that gallery to Gallery would work potentially, um, how that works would probably depend on from gallery to gallery and artist art, and I think that's something like working with galleries. You need to really make sure that you're on the same page and and moving forward in the changing world, because it's not what it was 2030, 4050, years ago. It's changing we have I'm finding clients through Instagram, in a sense, and they're finding clients in their ways and but that's taken away from paid to time. And that's navigating that is hard, I think, or for me, it is, and I think it seems to be, you know, I see so often that artists, you know, all sudden, go, go, kind of a while. I'd like on social media, like, oh, where have they been? Yeah, and I do it all the time. I haven't, yeah, I'll, like, forget to post for days or months. And that's a terrible platform for building a thriving social media, right? It's a bad business model. So, yeah, but we burnt out, or I do I get a little burnt out with it? Totally, yeah, because I'm already trying to be creative enough, I think, like, I've tried to create this art and then also be creative. Social Media Creator is like, yeah, it's still creative brain power that you have to be using,
Laura Arango Baier: 50:34
yeah, and it's mental load as well, because yeah, that means that when you're painting, you're also concerned with, oh, I need to have good lighting, and I need to set up my tripod, and I need to have that, and then I have to move this stuff from my SD card into my computer, or if you edit on your phone, oh, like, I have to make sure I have enough room in my phone or in my cloud, or whatever I think it is very I want to say funny, the galleries pay attention to that Now, because, and this is just my opinion. Of course, yes, I think most artists benefit from having social media. But, you know, saying that you need to have social media or social media presence is almost like, you know, any other office job saying you need to have a LinkedIn, yeah, yeah. It makes no sense, yeah. And then also, you know, the galleries themselves. What about their social media? I mean, if they have good social media, they're doing their job, right? They can be the one saying, Hey, we're going to head out to your studio and we're going to take some clips to promote your work. You know, that's another thing that a gallery could do, obviously, like you said, this could be case by case basis, you know, some galleries might be open to that. Some galleries might not. And then at some point, and I had a another guest who mentioned this, it might be worth, you know, renegotiating the percentages right, how much the gallery gets versus how, yeah, especially if you know, you can leverage the fact that, hey, you know, my work sells, and we've had a very good relationship. So I'm thinking we could work this way. And I totally agree. I think social media is so wonderful and so terrible at the same time, it's great. You see other artists, you connect with other people. Maybe galleries find you that way. Buyers find you that way. But then also, it's a lot of mental load. It's a lot of work. And then it doesn't help that the app itself also likes to play around with the algorithm, and that that's just,
Kyle Stuckey: 52:36
it's too much. Yeah, it's a challenging time, for sure. I mean, in any, you know, any life, I guess in just your everyday life, it's a challenging time, but, but from that creative process, yeah, it's, it's definitely shifting and, and, like you said, like the expectation of, or the mental load of, like, you know, if I'm gonna do, I do, like, step by step photos of this new painting, or do I video it? Then all of a sudden, now I'm like, Oh yeah, I better create a good painting. This one better come out. So then now I just, like, reput on that expectation that I so desperately try to avoid. So it's hard, it's hard to kind of navigate that. And I think, I think we're just, it's just because it is all sort of new and, and the galleries in the same boat, like you said, certain galleries are very much kind of adjusted to this new landscape and and how to operate with, with artists and, and there's artists at so much different levels, right? There's artists that spend zero time building social media, and then there's artists that are spending tons of time, and do deserve to get compensated in some, you know, some way for that time, because it's at the end of the day, it's, it's work too, and they're kind of so. So I think it comes down to just basically gallery to artist, very individual relationships. And it seems like, for the most part, just you have to have a good relationship with your gallery owner director, with an open communicate that you kind of are on the same page, whatever that page is. And that can be different from gallery to gallery or artist to artist, but think as long as which before, I think it was a little more cut and dry, like you ship your work to the gallery, they sell it, they send you a check. That's it. But that world has shifted slightly, yeah, and some galleries still do operate that way, but, but yeah, the mental load and but it's all exciting. I mean, it's, it is exciting the opportunity we have, like, I do love being able to connect with clients. And, you know, our paintings are like our little children, like they're they mean so much to us. So, like. To have them kind of sent off and never know where they go or who bought them or why, is kind of sad. So I do love the idea that oftentimes we have this like ability to maybe meet or chat with someone that valued your piece of work as much as you did, because in some way they're connected to you. If a client buys a piece of work, there's something you have in common with them there. You see the world similar in some way, shape or form, because if you connected with your painting and they did, then there's some connection there. And I think it's important for artists to have that ability, which is what's wonderful in our modern world, but, but it comes with its challenges. We'll just, we'll plug away at it, and it'll, it'll change, and we'll kind of settle somewhere, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 55:56
yeah. Yet another hat for the artists to wear. Another
Kyle Stuckey: 55:59
hat to wear. Exactly. Yeah, like
Laura Arango Baier: 56:00
you said earlier, you know, you have to be the means of production. You have to be the sales person. You have to be, you know, all of these things. And then to top it off, you have to be video editor, yeah, photographer, image editor as well. And you have to add all these things to the mix. And thankfully, a lot of us who have, you know, had access to Photoshop from a young age, or know how to handle it, right? You but you know, not everyone can do it. And like you said, there are artists out there who have absolutely no social media presence, and they still work with galleries. And you know, there's, yeah, you know, there's something for everyone, yeah. And since you've had a lot of experience with, you know, this career and all of its difficulties and rewards, I wanted to know, what is a marketing what is something from marketing or business that you wish you knew when you first started out as an artist? What is like the one thing that you find has really like, wish I knew this sooner.
Kyle Stuckey: 57:06
Well, probably consistency, and it's still something we talked about earlier, something I like still chat, you know, it's a challenge for me, but consistency in my work, or at least the work that I'm presenting, from a marketing sense, this is making sure that you're creating sort of a brand, if you will, that's very recognized, whether that's like you or Your work, or this strange kind of combo of the two, and that's not something I do well still, and I think part of it is it's not something that I ever really thought about or like if I was presented with this idea that you make sure that you're creating A consistent brand that's going to last a lifetime, if you will, not that it can't change. You know, have nuances as as you grow and shift. But I think maybe that would come a little easier to me now, because I'm almost trying to learn that now and do it, and it's a little bit of a challenge. So I think consistency in in your work without again, sacrificing, like, the experimental time, like, whether you have to block off time of, like, I'm experimenting now, and I'm working for, you know, the continuation of a successful career that that actually thrives, probably that, I guess, if I, if I kind of told to create a brand, you know, kind of create a vision and a brand and stick to it A little bit a little bit more on track. Maybe, if I got that earlier, I don't know, maybe not. Maybe my personality, maybe it never would have settled, but, but I think it is very important whether I do it well or not. I think it's important. So,
Laura Arango Baier: 59:18
yeah, it's a it's a tough balance, because you do, you know, like you said, there's, there's so much value in experimentation and allowing yourself to explore, and, you know, blocking off time, so that you're allowing yourself to do that without pressure. But then also, yeah, you know, having, you know, allowing yourself to also create a brand, right? Because they feel like some some people, they might put the horse after the carriage, right? The carriage for the horse, and they'll try to make a brand and then build their work around that, which I think would be a mistake. So I also do appreciate that your path has been very organic in allowing yourself to, you know, meander a bit, figure something out, and then now you've. Ended in a very good pathway for yourself, and it's still ongoing, of course. Yeah, path is the journey. Is a destination, as they say. But true, yeah, it's a it's a good idea, though, you know, keeping in mind branding, without it being, you know, the the the device defining thing, because that's always going to change over time. Your your early work is probably totally different from your work now. But, yeah, yeah, interesting, yeah, yeah.
Kyle Stuckey: 1:00:29
I guess I'd probably also say like keeping, keeping better records and track of of it when you can collectors and buyers and students and really like because potentially some of those clients may be clients for life, or, you know, for years to come. And I think like making sure that you're really nurturing those relationships when, when you have access to them. I think that's pretty critical. And that's something again, like I probably, well, I know I could do better at and and I think that would be really helpful for for more successful art careers, you know, really valuing those collectors and realize, like, keep, whether it's send them Christmas cards every year, you know, like, I don't know, there's probably all sorts of smart, clever ways to do that, but I think build, keep building and maintaining that relationship, however, maybe small or it is with with collectors. I think it's something that can really be helpful for for a long, lasting career, yeah, for sure. And yeah, luxury brands
Laura Arango Baier: 1:01:47
do that exactly right? Yeah. May as well be luxury brands, because we're unique, right? We are, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I actually wanted to know, do you have, like, what is the number one advice that you would give to someone who is looking to become a full time artist,
Kyle Stuckey: 1:02:09
you're going to have to put in a lot of time, and you're going to have to be resilient. You're not going to get through an art career without the real high highs and the real low lows kind of we talked about before, but I think that's, I think that's really important for success. You can be winning reward after award and you're thinking, Oh, I like, I made there is, like, said, like, there's no end to the journey, right? Like, there is no top of the mountain in this career. There's just the journey. And you're going to get, like, these beautiful views every once in a while, and then you're going to trip and fall on the rocks. It is what it is. So kind of just being like, I think be prepared for those. And being thick skinned, I think that's like, what also makes it challenging is like this art, like creating art is so like, personal, and so it's so vulnerable, I guess we're creating work that is kind of just like our feelings and expressions of the world that we live in. And at the same time, you have to be thick skinned enough to take rejection and that balance can be a little bit challenging, so be resilient and be hopeful and passionate in your work. I think is you have to do these two things. Gotta be tough and vulnerable at the same time. Yeah, that's from just a feeling sense and work a lot, paint a lot. You can go to many workshops as you want, or read the best books. You could read Richard's book 100 times over, but if you're not trying with the paint brush, it's not going to matter. So, so you just got to, like, dedicate time to the easel, whether that's a half hour day, whatever you got, you know, whatever you can do, but it has to be consistent. Consistency is, is, I think, is key for any success. You know, if you don't, if you don't show up for the muse, the Muse is going to stop showing up for you, in a sense. So getting behind the easel when you can and do it as much as you can in whatever phase of life you're in, and then, and then, the chances are you're gonna, you're gonna be able to do it. Yeah, because it's not impossible by any means. It's just, it's just challenging. Yes. Yes, yeah, but it's worth every it's worth it for sure, yeah,
Laura Arango Baier: 1:05:03
definitely, very beautifully said, yes, thanks. You're welcome, yeah, yeah, lot of very important points in there. And I think it's a very good summary of our entire conversation, basically, which is great. And I actually wanted to know, because I know you do take students, yeah. Do you have any upcoming workshops or any shows or anything that you'd like to promote?
Kyle Stuckey: 1:05:26
Yeah, I so I just put out my 2025, workshop schedule, which is basically based around the Charleston area. So I'm not doing any workshops that are really outside of Charleston, but I have I do a couple one day, little quick workshops, which are always fun, and then have a couple, two day plein air workshops which really kind of revolve around the idea of, like painting plein air, using that plein air experience for studio work, and not necessarily just trying to create a great plein air piece, because that's not, it's not what I do. But plein air paint is certainly part of my process. So I have a couple two day workshops of that nature, and then then I do, I said private lessons, but it's all obviously here in Charleston, and then I just literally getting paintings packed up and ready to go out to JM stringer gallery in Vero Beach, Florida, for a show there. So I got about a dozen or so new work, kind of heading up there or down there, but that's what's on my schedule for, for the foresee future. Yeah, yes.
Laura Arango Baier: 1:06:41
So where can people see more of your work?
Kyle Stuckey: 1:06:45
So Kyle stuckey.com, is my website, and that basically is when it's updated, which is pretty close to it is all the work that I have available at any of the galleries that represent me, and then including studio work, studios full of stuff hanging around. Then my Instagram, which is stuck underscore art, and I guess, Facebook, which I don't use quite as much, but can sometimes see it on Facebook too, yeah. And then gather, then represented by several galleries, which principal gallery here in Charleston, j, m, stringer gallery in Vera beach. Susan Powell, fine art, Madison, Connecticut. Loom gallery West in Phillipsburg, Montana and Highlands Gallery in New Jersey. They have a few paintings, so there's several galleries kind of floating my work around, which I'm privileged and honored to be able to work. They all are wonderful galleries, and they work well with their their artists, and got good relationship. So, yeah, that's it. Yeah, I think that's all.
Laura Arango Baier: 1:08:07
So thank you so much Kyle for being on the show and for, you know, sharing art. You know, such awesome advice on you know, art, and you know all of the career
Kyle Stuckey: 1:08:18
aspects. Thank you. Thank you for having me appreciate it, of course, yeah, great. Thank.
