Today we’d like to introduce you to Caleb Harris.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Well, to be frank, I started off as a loser. I never had a real pathway or vision for my life before college. I simply piggybacked on the coolest trend I saw and spent the rest of that time playing video games. Drawing had always been a hobby for me since I was at least four years old but I never took serious steps toward it. Although when I went to high school everything about that changed, I met more artists who took art seriously and who loved it. Amazing artists with ambition and entrepreneurial understand despite their high schooler status. (Really raised the bar) The experiences I shared with those artists and the things I took from them really awoke a deeper appreciation for the arts in me. It drove me to practice with intent, day by day. I even tried some new mediums out like digital art and scratch art! Even though they didn’t interest me much, the work still paid off. I won art contests and had my work exhibited in college art shows! It was great! Unfortunately, I fell off the wagon the moment high school was over. I was so busy riding on my victories in the last two years of my high school career I didn’t plan for the future. (Not even a little bit) While my peers (and girlfriend) moved on to the next thing I was left behind with community college. I soon reached a point where I just got tired of losing. I soon recognized I had a pattern of failure in my journey that was caused by a consistent disregard for consistency.
This lead to the end of some relationships (romantic and platonic). That space and alone time to myself allowed me to humble myself and invest in professional development. I read books and dating, art, the bible and bible study guide books! I’m not even a fan of reading but after you lose a lot you realize you need help outside yourself. (Well….hopefully, you realize this). I started to really change who I was. In this process is when I started to dabble in the digital arts again. This time I found myself falling in love with that medium! As I continued, I found people who wanted to hire my services to help brand their businesses. I then developed an art business that started at creating business logos and ranges all the way to Woodwork sculpture now. I never imagined myself to be where I am today and if I did I would never see myself to be so happy. I am glad to say I am maximizing my journey and I have met some wonderful artists and people on the way. I have received a lot of opportunities despite where my laziness and carelessness have led me. I still dive deep into the professional development to this day and I believe everyone should. My journey is an ongoing beauty full of mistakes and growth. To be frank, I don’t know if I’ll ever stop losing. But at least I know what winning feels like now.
Please tell us about your art.
I specialize in digital art. So literally paints, pencils, markers but used in electronic drawing software in Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, ArtFlow, PhotoShop, and Illustrator. I take some time to paint (acrylic) and do some woodwork projects as well. In my art, I’m normally not attempting to send a message and if I am the message is never consistent throughout my work. I will say I do have a pattern of working with certain themes. Pop culture, Surreal Animal renderings, and Portraits are usually the go to the subject matter. I make some pop culture references with my art but I am a comic book fan, I love many art styles of comic book artists. Specifically, the American Marvel and DC comic book styles. I hold a great respect for the realistic color and pristine line work the comics have. Portraits are some of my favorite pieces to do! It’s astounding to see how all humans have the same number of facial features, in the same place but they are all so stunningly independent of literally every other face.
To find symmetry within some and to find interesting quirks in others is a very interesting and fun journey. Portraits are dope! Although, if any subject takes the cake it’s definitely surreal animal art. (First things first, I’m a sucker for regular animal art!) I love animals, I watch “Animal Planet” and “Planet Earth” literally for fun and I draw to it! Every creature on this earth has its own set of unique features and superpowers and it’s far too fascinating to me to keep to myself. I could just create normal animal portraits but that’s not the goal. The goal is to make the audience see them as cool, intricate and majestic as I innately know them to be. Ultimately, my art is here for three things; challenge my skill set, provide an experience or to tell a message.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
I know this may sound crazy but grab a day job so you can focus on mastering your craft as best as you possibly can. After that, master it even more! Take the time to work on perfecting what you do and find professional opinions to critique your work. Take those critiques and write them down and directly apply them to your next pieces. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE with 120% effort every time you practice. I stress that stupid heavily because here’s the thing. Nobody wants to buy average. If you have a simple drawing or mediocre concept they can go to the nearest Walmart or Target and keep you out of business. You can’t live on a low-quality hustle. No, No, No, that won’t do! You need to separate yourself from the pack.
It may be tough at the moment to put your dreams on hold, but stick it out and watch how long the success lasts. Take care of your needs and put your wants on the back burner. (What does that mean Caleb?) Live below your means and only use what you need to survive. Learn how to wait and how not to let peers influence your choices. After that, save the rest of that time and WORK ON YOUR CRAFT! Work on your craft until it is so airtight that it turns heads and breaks chains! Work on your craft until your skillset itself is an inspiration! Work on your craft until your name is a brand! Once you have established your skill level amongst people then you leave the 9-5 job because now you have attracted people to YOU! Make yourself so attractive people come to you. I didn’t make his up I was taught this.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Anyone can support my work in almost all social media platforms. Just search “comicaleb” on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. My email in comicaleb@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://comicaleb.wordpress.com/
- Email: comicaleb@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/comicaleb_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comicaleb/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/comicaleb/
Image Credit:
Adesoji Adediji, Caleb M. Harris
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