This weekend I was laying on my bed, contemplating the concepts of art, lazily staring at a painting on my wall. I have a few by this artist, collected by my partner. They’re all muted in palette and range in subject from nude portraits to abstractions of reality. Though I have strayed from the path of studio arts, I know that this artist David Verhoeven has done graphic design for wineries and still stands as an inspiration to me. Yesterday I was thankful to catch some of his time and get a few answer to quench some of my curiosity.

So.. How does one even start to be a self promoted artist? How do you change from hobby to a
career? David told me that in his early teens he stopped doing art for pure enjoyment, studying professionally.

_{[img above: photographed business card that David sent me]
“The word “hobby” infers the pursuit of amusement and perhaps as a young child this applied however, early to mid- teens my interest in art matured. Late teens I was working professionally.”}

                  Though his subjects have always varied, his primary tools have been ink, gouache, and graphite for a while. With these tools, he made his first series “[···]series of frottages from found objects. A series of paintings in gouache, oil, and acrylic on canvas mounted on wood and most recently torn paper (book leaves) collages.”

When I first wanted to interview him, I had recalled various stories about his beginnings as an artist; a young man creating advertisements for companies, doing commissions, selling original art, and I guess I just wanted to know how he got himself out there. He told me it was by word of mouth and development of portfolio that he became well known for this type of work. Though, he said it wasn’t worth the effort he put into it. Nowadays, he relies on promotion through his facebook and from his friends.

I asked David what his favorite art piece was, but he told me he couldn’t pick one, that it
would be like picking a favorite child. I have no such issues with picking a favorite piece, and here is mine. It is titled  Why Must I. I love his colors and concepts, and I find myself trying to make sense of all of his pictures, but as my eyes soften and travel around the picture, I am able to see where the human image lies–David’s most used subject.

[Credit to Img right: David Verhoeven]

I had one final question before leaving, I wanted to know what advice he had for any beginning artist. “Be true to yourself, your inner voice, be vulnerable.” Be vulnerable is probably one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard. Looking at his body of works, with paintings of his ex wife, paintings for his child, and just expressions of his soul; you can see that David puts himself out there to be judged. That’s always a problem I’ve had with my own art, I guard myself too heavily.

Putting a face and a voice to the art on my walls makes me appreciate it a bit more. I also feel a little demystified, remembering that even the artists who inspire me are human. The next time I head downtown, I want to stop in some of the smaller galleries, and see if any artists are like David–trying to find their voice in a world with many artists showing their gifts.

Remember! Support your local artists whenever you can, and reach out to them. You might just be surprised on how they respond.