We recently connected with Nicholas Cloutman and have shared our conversation below.
Nicholas, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
Things could always be worse! And someone out there is dealing with much greater challenges than most of us. So why not forge ahead with hope and determination? Failure is normally part of a valuable learning process. And success feels so much better when its the product of believing in yourself and your ideas. Optimism is worth a shot.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I formed Cloutman Creative Studio out of a love for fine art photography. From the onset our approach has been different from the model followed by most agencies.
We represent a select group of established and emerging artists with a commitment to developing and maintaining career advancement in all facets of the fine art and commercial worlds. At the same time new and experienced art collectors know us for our tenacity in sourcing archival quality pieces that meet their specific tastes and needs. We have also consulted on a number of creative endeavors including exhibitions, films, and publications.
Included in this feature you will find a sampling of photos by four of the eight artists currently included on our roster, including Gregory Bojorquez, Jim Herrington, Larry Niehues, and Lawrence Schiller. More information is available regarding each artist at our website, along with a closer look at the rest of the artists we work with. Special thanks to Gregory Bojorquez for her recent portrait of Nick Cloutman featured in this article as well.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Ask lots of questions. If you don’t know the answer, don’t pretend you do. While there is a vulnerability to asking questions, it also can gain you powerful knowledge.
2) Get a business degree or study under a professional who can help you navigate the business side of your chosen industry. Artists tend to want to focus mostly on making art, but understanding the mechanics of the business behind the art world, is essential to making good decisions and keeping your career afloat.
3) Never give up! There are days when you will want to collapse (or stay in bed entirely). Allow yourself the grace to reset, so you can come back refreshed and get back at it!
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
The past 12 months have been entirely surreal.
We ended 2024 with a spectacular pop-up exhibition that we produced in collaboration with M Allen Parker in Nashville. The show was called DOUBLE TAKE, which featured photographs by Jim Herrington and Larry Niehues. The exhibition opening was extremely well attended and very well received by the community. I jinxed myself when I left Nashville, saying ‘I’ve got a great feeling about 2025’.
On January 7th the Eaton Fire erupted in Altadena, CA and our world was upended. While neither our family home nor the Cloutman Creative Studio office were burned, we were displaced from both our home and office due to high levels of lead contamination found in the smoke, soot, and ash which contaminated these structures. Many of our friends and neighbors were not so lucky, and lost everything in the fire.
Experiencing such loss, and bouncing from one displacement housing situation to another over the course of the past several months has put what matters in life into serious perspective. Living in the face of adversity has made us grateful for the things we have, and eager to work harder toward a bigger brighter future.
Thankfully our determination has already begun to pay off. This year we produced an editorial shoot for Vanity Fair alongside photographer, Larry Niehues. We’ve also begun work on a new fine art photography book, which shall remain under wraps for the moment. We continue to work with fine art collectors to sources pieces for their collections. And a number of consulting gigs keep rolling in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cloutmancreativestudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloutman_creative_studio/
- Linkedin: httphttps://www.linkedin.com/company/cloutman-creative-studio/?viewAsMember=true
Image Credits
Car Show Girls, National Orange Show, San Bernardino, CA, 1999 © Gregory Bojorquez
Enorio RIP, 5th Street, East L.A. © Gregory Bojorquez
Tuesday Night | Nashville, TN, 2024 © Larry Niehues
Cotton Field, Coahoma County, MS, 2021 © Larry Niehues
Willie Nelson, San Jacinto Mountains, CA, 2004 © Jim Herrington
Sara, Milwaukee, 2008 © Jim Herrington
Palm Desert, No. 1, 1962 © Lawrence Schiller
Marilyn Monroe, 1962 © Lawrence Schiller
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
