Meet Andrew Hem

We recently connected with Andrew Hem and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I think confidence is built with love ones support and belief in you. I struggle all the time with confidence in my work, but having a solid backing in your family lays the foundation to your self esteem. It’s extremely vulnerable to put your work out there in the public. I produce so much and hardly showcase online what I did. It’s because I am so hard on myself and trying hard to push myself to get better. When I was in school I did my homework but told the teacher I didn’t do it cause I wasn’t happy with it. I would actually do 3-4 times the homework but get a bad grade cause I wasn’t happy with my work. In the end I got c’s all the way round, but grades was never a factor for me. I only cared about getting better. Now my confidence is better and I would post stuff online but there is still the student in me that would peak from time to time.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a full time painter. I have 2 kids, one age 4 and one 2. My wife is also a painter and an emergency room doctor. She pushes me everyday to spend more time in the studio and is the perfect critic. Being an artist too she doesn’t shy from giving me her 2 cents. What makes me feel excited in my work is the fact that I still get to do everyday. I’ve been a full time painter for 18 years now. Every day that I still get to work is a blessing. It is harder now to get the same amount of hours in when I wasn’t a parent but there is sometime special about going into the studio after tucking in the kiddos. Right now am working on a 2 person show in Rome. And after that I plan to have a solo in L.A.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I would say work ethics, passion, and the ability to always innovate. I remember when I was younger my and a buddy had this itch, so every other day we would sneak into our local art school and use there facilities to paint. We didn’t have a studio of our own and we figured since the school never closed it was perfect for us. We painted there most days from 10pm – 3am. One day one instructor stayed late and asked us what we were doing there. I told him and he was impressed that non students were working so hard. That set the foundation to my work ethics now. Painting as long as I have so far its so easy to get comfortable. I always have to remind myself to do something different and to think outside the box so I don’t repeat myself. That’s why I think innovating is so important.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I would say go all in on your strengths but have some special time aside when you can to make yourself more rounded. The world is moving at such a fast pace that it probably a smart move to have a plan b. And quite honestly doing something creative other than painting only makes your creativity grow. When I was younger there was no plan b. It was painting or nothing, so I gave my heart and soul into painting. Now that Im older I have an itch for mosaic, stain glass, sculpture and even home remodeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.andrewhem.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewhem