Meet Richard Curtner | Word Collage Artist

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

Hi Richard, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Naturally when you think of an artist, I think “risk taker” is synonymous for this career. The artist is the risk taker starting with the art itself, presenting it to the public with no idea of the reaction or acceptance, The art is a reflection of the artist himself, and thus the artist allows himself to become vulnerable to everyone with eyes. I combined my two loves together visual arts and literary arts to form “word collage.” That was my creative risk. But there were two other risks involved in my career as an artist. In 2003 I jumped in head first to the art festival world doing my first fine art festival in La Quinta, California. I didn’t know that this festival was and has been one of the most prestigious art festivals in the United States. I applied to this festival on a whim, with no expectations and when I was accepted and had a very lucrative first show, I remember thinking, “Wow!, I can do this. I can actually make good money doing this, and I have a market for it!” So the first risk was leaving a weekly consistent reliable paycheck to enter a world where all my income would be based on sales of my art, word collage. You know how much you’d like to make at a show, but a lot of it is out of your hands. There are so many factors, the state of the economy, weather, attendance. or lack of attendance. So this leads to the second major risk which are the shows themselves. Weather can be a major risk or threat to fine art festivals. I have been in 90 mile an hour winds (in which I lost half of my art), rain, snow, hail, and extreme heat. You are exposed to all the natural elements at their worst, but also at their best and most beautiful times. I believe we as fine art festival artists like the gamble, we are gamblers. We bet it all hoping to have a great money making show, but it doesn’t always turn out that way. Fortunately for my unique art and career my wins have been the great vast majority and the losses at a minimum. Risk will always be synonymous with “artist” but the rewards are truly priceless.

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.
As long as I could remember, and as early as I could hold a pencil or hold a paintbrush, I have been an artist. I am and have always known that I wanted and would become a professional artist. I was able to create a combination of my two passions into one art medium. My two passions are visual arts and also the literary arts. With my “word collage” I am able to combine thousands of cut-outs of written text from magazines to form stunning visual images. My art is “visual poetry”. It can be viewed at surface level, but you can also read the parallel story within. I have been using this medium for over 20 years. It sets me apart from other artists because many people are seeing it for the very first time. I have my own niche artwork. My artwork appeals to all but especially people that love words, librarians, teachers, English majors, authors, readers, anyone and everyone that loves the power of the written word, and the mental images that they evoke.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Must dos: Natural beauty- Sedona
Museum- Musical instrument museum phoenix
Best people watching- Tucson
Best little town day trip- Carefree, AZ
best bloody mary- which includes a lobster tail- Lazy Palm Sports Grill Old Litchfield

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
As a fine art festival artist, I have had so many mentors in my 20+ years of doing shows, averaging 30 shows a year. So many that have given me priceless suggestions, advice, and support. One of the most priceless pieces of advice that I received was that my art need to tell a story. I needed to tell a story with each particular creation. Art enthusiasts long for a story. I am reading a book right now that is very fascinating. It is “The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. It helps creatives find inspiration in everything around them.

Website: www.CurtnerArt.com

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/CurtnerArt/100064316671854/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCylK-2ZcM8G8gVUi2_MQ4uQ

Image Credits
Richard Curtner