by Kathy Corey

I had the pleasure to interview award-winning artist, Farley Lewis about his life as an artist, his artistic path through mural painting, and his advice to artists on following their passion. Farley has an upcoming two-day workshop, Poetic Landscapes with Farley Lewis at the Galleries at Heartland Art Club, on Friday, August 12, 2022, and Saturday, August 13, 2022.

Background

Farley earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Missouri State University in 1985. For fifteen years he ran a sign shop and graphic design studio and did occasional commissioned paintings and murals on the side. From 1998 to 2017 Farley served on staff as a pastor, still doing art and murals on the side, including some mural work for Bass Pro Shops. In 2018 he quit his job to pursue a full-time career as a fine artist, He has traveled the world painting the places he has visited all over the globe. You can find his murals in South Africa, Israel, Mexico, and Canada.

What does being an artist mean to you?

Being an artist means learning to see the world through eyes of wonder. Like a child, an artist sees with fresh eyes, beholding beauty in the dandelion, enjoying the way the seeds fly away when you blow on that circle-of-seeds-on-a-stem. Watching a robin hunt for worms never gets old if we don’t lose our wonder. We all see what we look for. The critic looks for flaws, the philosopher looks for answers, but the artist looks for beauty. The artist sees what others miss, that all of nature is aflame with glory and beauty. To see it is refreshing, but to capture that beauty so others can see it – that is divine. An artist has many roles in society, but for me, helping others awake to the wonder of our world is surely one of them.

This is how the great artists and poets have lived: They never lost their wonder. Rembrandt said, “Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God.” The prophet Isaiah said, “The whole earth is full of His glory.” Beholding the glory that permeates this world changes us. That is my job as an artist: Help others see – and be awakened by – beauty. Help them see, through my art, what I saw when I slowed down and gazed on the world with reverence and wonder. And if gazing on beauty changes us, then perhaps my art could change the world and make it a better place.

When did you begin painting murals, and what originally inspired you to pursue that path?

I painted my first mural at age 20, and shortly afterward began to paint sets for a local theatre, which I did pro bono for ten years, to develop my ability to paint large scale. I wanted to do fine art (I was majoring in it), and I liked the idea and the challenge of working big, so murals seemed an obvious choice. Since that time, I’ve painted large ones (139’ x 19’ is my biggest so far), and I’ve painted them all over the world, including many different states, and countries like South Africa, Canada, Mexico, and Israel.

What is your recommendation for artists who are starting to pursue their passion?

My top three suggestions:

  1. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. In other words, if you want to be an award-winning, full-time artist, decide that is who you really are. Then ask yourself, “As an award-winning artist, how should I use my time today?” Develop the habits of a successful artist before you become one. Success follows good habits, and habits follow how you see yourself, so seeing yourself as a successful artist causes you to adopt the habits of a successful artist, like consistent time in the studio and constantly learning from others.

  2. Focus on producing consistent art, not on being original, creative, or trying to develop your own style. Those things happen naturally along the way, as you pursue developing your skills as an artist. Your style follows naturally from what draws you, what you like to paint, how you like to paint. Nobody is completely original – every artist is a mash-up of all the artists they have admired and studied and copied from in the past. If being a “self-taught artist” means you aren’t learning from others, that’s a painfully slow way to improve. Someone once said, “Creativity is forgetting where you saw it.” I like that.

  3. Get your work in front of people. Post it weekly on social media, join an artist co-op or painting club, enter contests – do things that get your art exposed to others. This takes guts, but it pays big dividends. The encouragement you receive inspires you to continue to create. The feedback from professionals and art contest judges can be invaluable. And the discipline to continually post or exhibit new work helps you develop the studio habits that lead to success.

Poetic Landscapes with Farley Lewis
Friday, August 12, 2022, – Saturday, August 13, 2022
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Galleries at Heartland Art Club