An Inspired Chat with Casey Cheuvront of Scottsdale

We recently had the chance to connect with Casey Cheuvront and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Casey, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Coffee, breakfast (or not), cat feeding and watering (this is NOT optional), clearing the dishwasher and whatnot, perusing/returning emails, monitoring socials and posting where required and/or managing the several FB groups I help admin.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My favorite shoes are hiking boots.

For years I’ve explored the wildernesses of the Southwest, hiking, backpacking, hang gliding and mountain biking – interacting with our wild places up close and in person. This has profoundly influenced my work. I believe we are incomplete without a connection to and appreciation of the natural world, and that we should cherish and protect it.

To honor that end, I create impressionist/realist oil paintings for those who love the Southwest landscape and wildlife, so that my collectors can share in that spiritual relationship. I want to promote deeper respect and connection with our vanishing wild places and the creatures that call them home.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was absolutely a creative kid. My first real showing’s primary work was a striking red-on-white abstract. Unfortunately, as it was executed with Love-That-Red nail polish on our apartment’s white walls, reviews were mixed.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Many. Working in the arts is difficult and draining sometimes. Success does not come easy and is often fleeting. Maintaining the Zen connection is a challenge when you are struggling to meet basic life needs, or working at a “regular” job, or managing a family/relationship/health issues.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
That artists are born and not made, and that “everyone is an artist!” This simply is not true. Not every artist rolled out of the cradle able to draw/paint/sculpt/whatever, and not all kids are good at art – though I have met very few who didn’t have fun with it! Working in the arts is still work – at least on a professional level – and requires dedication, discipline, and adherence to good work practices and a clear focus on both short and long term goals. A lot of folks think “ART” is a sweet trip to la-la land where all your creative dreams come true. I see things on the socials like “art is what you say it is” and “everyone is creative” but it isn’t, and we aren’t all like that, and that’s 100% ok. I’ll never be a good CPA but I’m not upset about it. If someone is REALLY into being creative, you won’t be able to stop them, any more than you could stop a die-hard scientist from exploring their passions. The difference is how willing they are to stick t it and what they are willing to give up, or put in, to get to where they want to be. And not every creative person wants to monetize their creativity; that’s 100% ok too. If, however, you want to really learn and grow in a particular art form, whatever that is, there will be some effort involved, maybe a LOT of effort involved, and though you may garner a lot of personal satisfaction, and a certain level of mastery, there still is no guarantee that you’ll “make it” in the real world. I’ll end this with a quote from one of my favorite authors: “If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.”― Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I am actively TRYING to stop doing a few things:
Stop worrying about failing
Stop working only on what you know will sell
Stop wasting time! There’s not that much of it to begin with – I am trying to be more protective of my time and focus on things that are more important to me.

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