Today we’d like to introduce you to Hugh Williams.
Hugh, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
After graduating high school, I was lost as to what career path to take so my “career” began as an attendant at a self-serve gas station. After a few weeks on the job I was motivated to search for a better way to make a living so I searched the Yellow Pages for schools and came across the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale. After my scheduled tour of the school I immediately knew I wanted to become a commercial artist and signed up for the next semester. I attended the school for 2 years putting a portfolio together with delusions of grandeur, to become a famous illustrator. But the reality was that my career began as a paste-up artist for a local phone directory. However, a few weeks before I began work at the phone directory, the school’s placement director called to inform me that a recruiter from Hallmark Cards was coming to the school to review portfolios and suggested that I submit mine.
So, on my 3rd day as a paste-up artist at the phone directory, Hallmark Cards called (thankfully) to schedule an interview which led to a position in Hallmark’s process art department. After a year in the process art department and hoping for upward mobility, I scored and flunked an interview with Hallmark’s package design department, wearing a white Saturday Night Fever-like suit and making a dumb remark about the interviewers age. The failure of the interview combined with Midwest winters prompted me to return to the warmth of Florida. My career resumed in Miami working as a graphic designer for 2 television stations and a newspaper with numerous advertising and graphic design awards under my belt. In addition to my digital work, I’ve resumed working with a paintbrush.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I paint “profile pics”. Social media is the inspiration for my “profile pics”, no longer confined to electronic devices but paintings you hang on your wall, all portraits have a square format that are 2 x 2 feet. Most of the paintings are portraits of celebrities, in addition to family and friends. I want the faces to entertain and collectively show various emotions. When visitors enter my living room they’re quite entertained by the paintings, Familiarity of the celebrities creates a connection and the large size and bold colors contribute to the impact. I start the paintings by priming either fiberboard or plywood (the plywood paintings can be hanged outdoors) and use Behr house paint. None of the paints applied are blended together to form tones, each color is pure and butts up to the other to create the total picture.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Random question answer: I could think of a few challenges artists face, one of which is the price of art supplies which are quite expensive, especially if your income depends on art sales. And selling your work is another challenge, especially if you’re just starting out. Winning prizes in art shows and exhibitions can help you achieve credibility and exposure but entry costs add up. Fortunately, there’s venues online to exhibit your work for free. However, exhibiting online has its challenges as well.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Search Just2Creative on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to view the work and sometimes at the Broward Art Guild gallery.
Contact Info:
- Email: hugh@just2creative.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/Just2Creative
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