We recently connected with Ahmed Cannon and have shared our conversation below.
Ahmed, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is such a powerful & toxic perception of how we artist view ourselves at times. I took 20yrs off as an artist & it was a series of experiences in 2020 besides Covid that brought me back to art. But what I had no idea about was what was to come next! A combination of facing my anxiety, overcoming fear, self doubt, adversity, building my confidence back & allowing myself time to heal, grow & adjust got me to face not only the challenges & feelings of imposter syndrome & made me realize I’m every bit of the person I set out to be this whole time ie…the wizard of oz! Meaning I had everything I needed this whole time to overcome all obstacles, trials & tribulations.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As an artist my ultimate goal is to give the viewer a positive distraction from the craziness in the world. Deliver smiles on faces & allow the viewer to lose themselves in the piece, alleviate stress & give the audience a front row seat to whatever subject matter I’ve decided to focus on in my work…We all provide value & hopefully a service to others! It’s about recognizing your gifts & how they either inspire, resonate or help others. As an artist I truly love painting people. I’m also in the process of adding to my “The Jazz Men” art series which is a series that started out w/ me focusing on jazz members/ musicians in the Count Basie Orchestra but has now grown into not only past jazz greats but now includes certain present day jazz musicians. One in particular being George Benson. My biggest goal as an artist for ‘23 was to hopefully have George Benson see my piece I painted of him called “Neon Dreams”. Well not only did this dream come true at this years 2023 Scottsdale International Jazz Festival, but he was blown away & told me my piece on him was “Awesome” but it gets even better. George said I need to sign your painting! I thought to myself wait a minute did the George Benson just say he wanted to sign my piece? I never asked him as I was all smiles & was seriously on cloud9 just having George give me his blessing on my painting! It was amazing having him acknowledge me & my work! Yes I have his actual signature on my painting of him now!!!
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?
First off great question…As a fine artist there isn’t a road map that one follows for success. But I will start off by saying understanding business & realizing that you have to look at your work like appreciating assets is extremely important. Think of your artwork like a stock broker looks at stocks & bonds. You’re also gonna need opportunities! We as artist don’t always come across opportunities that potentially put us in the right position to succeed or be successful so you’re gonna have to think outside the box & it’s also about the subject matter & how your art resonates with your audience. This is an ongoing process & no matter what even if the journey just doesn’t seem possible or you hit major setbacks or obstacles you have to keep going! It’s like keeping your foot on the gas pedal even when you have no idea where you’re going or what’s in front of you!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Honestly the most important people who played a major role in my success first was my dad who taught me how to draw at 3yrs old. Both my parents were teachers but were also artists. My dad taught history & sociology & my mom was a nursery school & preschool teacher who also made amazing custom jewelry. So I didn’t get my artist eye by chance. My dad unfortunately passed away from Parkinson’s disease in May of 2020 but I know he’s smiling down seeing me pick up where I left off! My Mom has been my rock! She also doesn’t hold back when she knows I need to fix something or continue working on a section or color when it comes to my projects, which gets frustrating but most of the time she is 100% dead on & I need that honesty! As far as my biggest influences as an artist outside of my family are Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Norman Rockwell & Charles White! These 4 artist captivated me from the first time I laid eyes on their work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.providentartistry.com
