We were lucky to catch up with Mark McKinney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mark, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
I seem to have a built-in need to make things, and when I look back on my childhood, I was always making things which required some creativity. I liked to read and collect comic books, but I also wanted to make comic books, so I invented my own characters and story lines and then illustrated them. Same with sports cards – I collected baseball cards and bought the same packs of Topps cards that everyone else did, but had the urge to create my own and used pictures from newspapers or magazines to make cards for teams that Topps didn’t cover, such as my local college basketball team. This urge to make things has continued into adulthood with my art.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I studied art history in college with the goal of getting involved in the New York art world after graduation. My first job out of school was with Pace/MacGill Gallery on 57th Street, but I also painted all the time and looked for opportunities to show my work. My experience at the gallery inspired me to pursue a launch of my own gallery, and I had two years where I curated exhibitions and promoted artists via a home gallery one year and a street-level storefront gallery space the second year.
Things were going well, making some sales and gaining exposure, but when I got married and moved into the next stage of life, maintaining a gallery space in addition to an apartment was not possible and I put those activities on the shelf. I went back to school for web design, and for the next 22 years, I built a business building and maintaining websites for clients. However, one side project I did for myself was a website called Artsology, which aimed to engage kids in the arts through free arts games and activities. Over 20 years, Artsology gained a decent following and I started getting offers from potential buyers, and so I decided to sell it. I am coming back full circle to focusing again on my own painting and curating exhibitions of art via a home gallery.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Attention to detail is something that I have always taken pride in, and think has helped me have an edge in my pursuits. Curiosity always has me wondering, looking, investigating, and wanting to learn more. And as far as areas of knowledge, I seem to have constant visual associations with famous art works from art history, I’ll see something and can pinpoint the reference pretty quickly. As far as advice for people who are early in their journey, I think developing a strong attention to detail can help in any endeavor.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
A favorite book which I consider a valuable asset is “Pivot,” by Adam Markel. I’ve had a few pivots in my life, from art world to web design to entrepreneurial pursuits. With topics such as “Let Go,” “Face Your Fear,” “Baby Steps,” and “Resilience,” among others, it gives a lot of encouragement and a road map of sorts for any sort of career or live pivot one might consider.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mckinneyarts.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mckinneyarts/
Image Credits
Photo credits: McKinney Arts
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