We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Terry Chacon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Terry, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My husband has been in sales and marketing for 50 years and has taught me so much which has helped me as a professional artist. Be consistent, follow through, don’t be afraid to try new things. As a professional artist working in sculpture and oil painting either in the studio or on location, I developed a brand and kept adding to that brand over the years. As the world changes so do your tactics and creations. Always improve your work by learning new techniques, talking to other artist that you admire and looking back on those who paved the way. I always tell others who ask my opinion on selling art that you have to market your art 75% of the time and work on your art 25% of the time. When you slack off the sales slack off. Marketing your creations on the internet with social media has given us a great tool to reach people around the world interested in what we do as artist.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Having bred the Afghan Hound for over 40 years, which in itself is artistry in motion I was always interested in sculpting them. Years ago I took some art classes as I wanted to learn to paint them. From that I became interested in selling my art. One thing led to another, hence learning new ways to create what you love. I never thought of myself as a landscape painter but I wanted to paint my dogs in landscapes. I found some workshops in the Henry Hensche style of painting and classes to add landscapes to my dog portraits and this in turn gave me two more outlets. One, painting dog show scenes and painting on location. En Plein Aire a French term for painting on location has become a favorite of mine. I love traveling to beautiful destinations and have painted in many countries (England, South Africa, Australia, Iceland, Mexico, Canada) and around the United States specializing in Southwest locations of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Moab, And not to forget about my favorite Catalina Island and the pacific Coast of Laguna, Santa Barbara, Carmel and Mendocino. From land to sea so to speak.
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?
Find a subject that you love. As you can see from what I have written, how one thing led to another. I was always interested in creating and never realized at the time where it would lead. But I feel one tool that we have is the internet, there is so much out there to learn. It takes time. If I read or see something that I think I may be interested in I go to YouTube and oh my goodness you can find anything to help you either get started or after looking into it, you may decide it isn’t right for you. Find an artist that you love their work, see if they give workshops or classes. Take those classes, it will be the best money you spend.
As an artist, I continue to learn, continue to try new things and push myself to keep working. In Jan. And Sept. a company called Strada Easel has a 30 day challenge on FB. I have done this many times. Painting everyday really advances your work and gets rid of the bad influences you may have picked up and didn’t realize. The company gives away five easels at the end of the challenge through a drawing of the artist who complete the challenge. I have not won an easel but I am a winner in my work that I complete during the month.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Oh Boy, I have to give my mother credit for my creativity. When I work on things that I know came from her I feel her presence. She passed away 35 years ago but I can still see her sitting at the table painting her ceramics, dipping the brush in water to clean them and checking the kiln to see if the cone has turned so she could turn it off. Anytime I had an idea she could figure it out. She, like me, did so many different things. I do wish I had paid more attention to some things like knitting and crocheting.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.terrydchacon.com
- Facebook: Terry Chacon
