Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles R Curley.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I swear, I came into this world with a pencil in my hand. There are tons of photos of me drawing as a kid. My mom was really into making art and she was a driving force for me. I would love to sit down and draw with her, making little funny comics and showing them to people. When I was 6 Disney’s Hercules had just came out. We went to see it in the theaters and the movie captivated me so much that I could not move. I thought it was magic and I knew I wanted to be a part of it someday.
In school I wasn’t the greatest student. I thought it was more important to hang out with my friends playing video games and making people laugh. Sometimes I would make funny comic strips, but art wasn’t really on my mind any more. My parents separated and we moved at the beginning of freshman year of high school. I had to start all over again, which was a blessing in disguise. I cared about my grades more because I did not want to be the stupid kid in class and I drew a lot more to deal with my parents’ divorce and moving to a new home. Learning to channel my emotions into my art work has been really valuable to me as an artist. I would try to make my art come to life by drawing a character then trying to move it by erasing it and drawing it again.
When it got to my senior year I was blindsided with the reality of going out into the real world. I was panicking because I had no idea what I wanted to do. When a scout from the New England Institute of Art came to my school with a reel of animated shorts my dream of making animated films was back so, I applied and got accepted to NEIA for Media Arts and Animation. Being in college was amazing. Surrounded with a bunch of classmates like myself, all goofy and with a deep love of animation and art, allowed me to come out of the shell I didn’t know I was in. It was an amazing family to be a part of. NEIA is where I met my lovely wife Jordyn, she helped me care more about my art and my future. I owe a lot of my success to her. She always pushes me to be better and instilled the idea of constantly improving myself. My only regret is that I did not meet her sooner in my life.
After college I worked as a contractor for Fablevision in Boston, creating assets for iOS games and animations. In 2013 Jordyn and I moved to New York. While there I worked on a Katie Perry spot for MTV and started doing animations, children’s book illustrations and other various freelance jobs. I was still finding my artistic voice. Most of my progress as an artist has been outside of school and re-learning to draw for myself was a step that I wish I had done right after school; because right after school everyone tries to scramble for a job. Some, like me, took on jobs that paid too little and asked too much. The process burns you out and with the added stress of moving often it can make you resent the thing you love to do. Eventually we moved to Portland, ME where we currently reside. I am still doing freelance illustrations and animations but for a more constant money flow I got a job at a gym. When I first started there I would read a chapter of Walt Stanchfield’s Drawn to Life and draw. Every. Single. Day. I have seen my style, technique, and confidence improve. I’m not doing it for a job or my portfolio, I am doing it for me. I have fallen back in love with art.
No journey is ever complete. I still have a long way to go, but I have confidence that I will reach where I want to go and further…
Please tell us about your art.
I am a 2d Designer, Story artist, and Animator. I make illustrations, animations, and my newest endeavor comics. I will always try to breathe as much life into my work as possible so that people may be captivated by my art. When they look at one of my characters or environments I want them to feel an actual emotional response; it’s magic really.
Every 1-2 months I complete a pocket sized sketch book packed with gesture drawings, or cool shapes of buildings, plants, cars, anything! If I see something and I like it, I try to capture it in my sketch book. It took a while for me to find my own opinion of what I find cool and not what I think everyone else thinks is cool. To be an artist is to be a unique combination of your thoughts and experiences. A lot of my art is based around various stories I have floating around in my head. It can be anything from a father and his child to wizard and his dragon to a caveman and his dinosaur. I let my imagination flow freely through the pencil to the paper.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
I define success by how the artist feels about their position in life and the constant strive to improve. Having a successful life as an artist doesn’t mean that you have a job in a studio or world renowned, it means that you accept your level as you are now and you continue to improve for yourself, not because anyone is forcing you to. The characteristic that is necessary to succeed as an artist is confidence. You can tell the difference between a confident artist and a timid artist. The difference between a smooth line and a shaky line.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I am currently finishing up my comic and will have it finished to show it off at MICE this year, which is coming up quick! My Instagram @CharlesRCurley is updated weekly sometimes daily. It’s an online sketchbook with some finished pieces. I welcome anyone to go to the very beginning and look at my growth and journey. Become a follower if you want to experience my journey! For more of an online portfolio you will need to go to my website Charlescurleyart.com
Contact Info:
- Address: South Portland, ME
- Website: Charlescurleyart.com
- Email: Charlescurleyart@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlesrcurley/
Image Credit:
Charles R Curley
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
