Meet Dustin Klassen | Fine Artist & Teacher

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

Hi Dustin, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
My wife and I sat together in our home in the woods and decided that after a while of trying for a family that we would stop putting pressure on ourselves. We decided to invest some money into the art business over the next year. I had hit my “aha” moment where my skill had finally reached a place that I had been striving for over ten years. All I needed now was the easel time. She was focused on her career and I was finally focused on my art. Within two months of that decision, our hopes and dreams came true and we found out she was pregnant. My career came to a halt not long after it started. Never had I imagined I would be a stay at home parent but it was what was best for our family with my wife having an expanding career. My studio time essentially went from full time to zero at that point.

I had met so many Mothers throughout my life who had to put their goals and aspirations aside to raise a family, I never thought that it would be my role. We were on the East Coast and the only place we both had family close by was here in the Valley. So my wife sacrificed her position there and took a night shift position to get us back to Phoenix to raise our kiddos around family. During that time there was maybe one or two days a month that I could get in the studio. There was not much balance and progress was slow, but the time with my family was amazing! Fast forward a couple years and we hit the pandemic and also had our second child so studio time stayed minimal but family time was abundant. She then took a weekend position, so she could help get me back into the studio more. Gradually it moved to two days a week, and being able to teach painting every few months. It’s now at three days a week. I am teaching regularly and taking on more students next month. The plan is to be back to full time once our girls are in school in a couple years. So right now the work/family balance is perfect. I have a studio space in the house, so I am able to see my family throughout the day while at work so it’s literally a dream come true!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What I’m most excited about now is co-curating a show called “Home” at the Step Gallery in Downtown Phoenix with Jenni Pirmann. It was a long process and during the middle I was very ill, but Jenni stepped up and really crushed it! I was able to rejoin forces in picking the art and working together to place it. It’s a beautiful show featuring 8 painters whose work is all a bit different from one another, but we are all working in a representational manner. I am really proud of the way it turned out and it was nice to be able to show new work for the first time since my Daughters were born. They got to experience their first art show and my oldest is already talking about “when I am an artist and I have a show..” because of the experience so obviously as a parent, there is not a lot better than that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am such a homebody now that I’m afraid I don’t really get out much! Whenever I have friends in town it’s usually sightseeing and food! Being from the Westside of town, born and raised, I have a few favorite spots but Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol is my all time spot. I grew up on it and take every visitor there!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Matt Dickson of Tempe is someone that really helped me along the way. He teaches both at the New School for the Arts and privately at The Loft Studio. There are times when working on a painting I can still hear his words in my head. I’ll never forget that he gifted me a couple of classes when he knew how tight my money was, but he could see the improvement month to month. Also Daniel Caprario, formerly of Scottsdale Artists School, for hiring me when I graduated from ASU, seeing my potential as an Artist and allowing me to be in that environment to soak up the knowledge!

Website: www.DustinKlassen.com

Instagram: @DJKFineArt