Meet Steven Allison | Artist & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Allison and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, why did you pursue a creative career?
It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, since I was a kid all I did was draw. The visuals of media enamored me, I wanted to be a storyboard artist for cartoons, I wanted to be a character designer for game companies, and I wanted to make my own graphic novel. As I grew older I tried many different jobs that “made money” I was in sales, customer service, academia, construction, and graphic design. I was never fulfilled, every day felt empty and pointless – I was spending hours every day making someone else money doing something I hated. I was in this cycle until I was about 22 and that’s when I attempted suicide for the second time, first time I was 11, I mixed Benzos and liquor to overdose as peacefully as I thought I could go. But, it didn’t work, I woke up in a pool of dark vomit, feeling sick and could barely move. After that day I decided I needed to make life worth living on my terms.

I decided to be a full-time painter then and there. So I’ve dedicated my life to pursuing that goal since.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is conceptual and full of allegories, my time working in design has made sure that everything I make is easy to read immediately but still full of mystery. I take a lot of inspiration from movements like modernism, surrealism, and expressionism. I actively try to refrain from a lot of the South West art tropes you see in Phoneix, I will paint the desert and cactus sometimes but growing up here I am just tired of it and what it represents. I’m more interested in human emotion and connection, people have always been my focus and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I’m proud to say a lot of people can look at my work and say they haven’t seen anything quite like it, some hate it and some love it – I’m not for everyone, and that’s fine. My work is about climbing out of the pit of darkness that so many people live in, I suffer from depression and know many others do too. The goal of my work is to show my journey into finding reasons to get out of bed and live, I was not happy with any answers I was getting from people around me, movies, media, and social media, they all just made me want to end myself more – literally, I see certain viral videos online or some billionaire talk on tv and my first thought is “If this is the success everyone talks about I am going to hang myself in a closet”. So I look for answers in different religions, philosophies, lifestyles of other cultures, communities, and connections to find that answer, my paintings are visualizations and dissections of that. I want other people who feel like I do to find hope or at least not feel alone.

Today I am still very early in my career, COVID-19 put my plans on hold for those two years and flat-out wrecked other opportunities I had lined up. I graduated from ASU in 2020 (lucky me) with a degree in Fine Arts, I did learn a lot while I was there but the real knowledge came from outside the campus. I interned at an art gallery called Bonner-David located in Old Town in 2018 or 19 – that was my first look into what people actually wanted from art and everything that goes into the business. It was tough to figure out how to appear like I belonged, I grew up with a single mom and 4 siblings and did NOT have the manners or etiquette expected from clients at a high-end gallery. I got to meet artists much farther in their careers and get advice, I also got to see firsthand what gallery owners want – and it sure was not me cause they did not invite me to work there after my internship. I don’t blame them at all, I was very overwhelmed by school and working at Zara at the same time I would sleep in my car to save on gas or because I was too tired to drive home. So I would show up disheveled and looking like I was out all night drinking but it was really just me overworking myself. After that, I worked odd jobs until I landed a sales/design spot at The Marshall Gallery, also in Old Town, where I was probably their least effective salesman ever but I got a crash course in design, the owner used to work in a printing press in Germany so he could notice if a letters kerning was even slightly off. Again I learned a lot and saw many artists come and go, I noticed some patterns in the successful artists and the failing ones and took note of all of them. During ALL of this time, I was making a series of paintings and practicing every day at my studio (bedroom), trying to get as good as the artists I saw on the walls of my work. I spent a minimum of 4 hours a day painting unless there was physically no time between all of my jobs and freelancing. I have been in numerous group shows around Phoenix at places like Mood Room, Modified Gallery, and FOUND:RE – making sales sometimes! There is no better feeling than knowing someone aligns with your work enough to actually spend money on it, its a step in the right direction as far as I am concerned. I have also shown at coffee shops (Cartel was my favorite), restaurants around town, in festivals and fairs, and wherever they let me put work up.

Being tenacious is the key to success if you’re starting as a no-name artist, it is easier if you have connections or your parents know people. My mom is a maid and my dad is in prison so unless they want to try art exposure therapy in Florence Prison I don’t see that helping. You really do have to put yourself out there and just try everything till you find something that works. I look to other creative fields for inspiration on how to do this, such as musicians or comedians – though they’re entertainers, the idea of getting yourself out there and getting known is the goal. I also find a lot of comfort in knowing most of them made no money or had little success for a long time. I am pretty new in the professional art world but I think I’m doing a good ass job considering I get people to even buy my work occasionally. That being said, I’m learning that you have to be strategic with your work and that there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into making a successful painter. Lots of networking and just making yourself know, you have to go out and say ” Hey I’m here and I make cool stuff”. IMpossible for me before, being depressed and anxious, but after getting medicated (3 months strong) it’s made a giant difference. Sharing your story and ideas is almost more important than the actual work, you can make a beautiful piece but you have to explain why people SHOULD care about it.

What I want people to know about my story is that you can make life your own, you don’t have to follow what anyone else says – if you’re like me that makes you LITERALLY want to die. It’s really hard if you don’t have guidance but there is something beautiful in that struggle, every scrape and misstep is a lesson on how to be better. Maybe everyone else already has this figured out and I’m just crazy but getting out of that bottomless pit of despair is possible and that’s what I paint about.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First I’d say ” Don’t come in August”

Say they land on Sunday here is the breakdown:

Sunday:

Take them to Eye Lounge (an art collective I am a part of) to show them one of the last galleries in Phoenix and show them the artists currently showing.

Take them to Tacos Huicho on McDowell for some good not overpriced tacos, if you run a place that serves $4 street tacos you’re dead to me. Its gentrified nonsense and you’re a shyster.

Then go to That Red Hole Mountain by the zoo everyone likes for sun down, I’m bad with names but I know where it is.

Mondy – Friday I have a job so you’re on your own till the suns down, I got shit to do.

But when it’s time to go out I LOVE Espiritu in downtown Mesa, their cocktails are divine. I also like Jerry’s coffee down the street from there to see whatever they have going on.

I would also go to Devils Advocate by ASU to see some open-mic comedians and try to make my friend go up.

We’d eat at YS Mandi for some amazing Gryos or Falafel.

We Could also go to Mijana on Tuesday night for salsa classes they hold there.

Dave n Busters also have swing dance and salsa classes during the week as well.

Scottsdale Fashion Square has movies under the stars, during the right times of year.

Then Friday we would go look at art in Old Town, see the contemporary art museum and then go to the clubs nearby. I like Mint but Casa is fun too.

Next day would be recovery and then I’d take em to the airport.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shout out Mellissa Button at ASU, she was one of my professors and has been instrumental in learning how to get artists opportunities, same with Ted Decker, who is an art dealer and professor as well. Shout Out to Kai Kim at MCC, she was one of the best teachers I’ve had, she was very tough and very fair. I’d like to give recognition to Kraig and the team at Art One in Scottsdale, they were the first gallery I sold out of and the sales there saved my ass more than a few times while I was in college. I thank my Mom for all the work she’s done as a single mother, and my family for encouraging me always. The last and biggest one is my girlfriend Jen, she has continued to push me and challenge how I pursue my career, she has also stayed by my side even when things got tough and never let me give up or do something stupid.

Website: stevenallisart.art

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenallisons/