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

Hi Paul, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My parents were born and raised in East Texas, but I was raised all over the country due to my dad’s job. It was an interested experience taking a Southern accent and small town ethics to such places as Rhode Island and downtown Los Angeles. This broad exposure to various cultures and people has really helped me personally and in the gallery business find commonalities with people I meet personally and in business. While I never really have a “hometown” to go back to, I would not change a thing!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Nothing tells you how little you knew when you started a business than the passing of time! The year I graduated from college in 1992, my father and I started importing fine art from the former Soviet Union and selling it in Scottsdale. For many years, I was in healthcare sales and simultaneously sold Russian art on a wholesale level. We eventually opened a retail art gallery in 2002 and have had it ever since.

I am most proud that we have survived and thrived after nearly 30 years in the fine art business. It has taken years of education, trial and errors and improved business practices to get where we are. Several times during the recession we had to borrow money to keep the gallery going–lots of anxiety and worries. We kept our commitment to a high level of customer service and fostered an easy-going experience for our clients (not that common in the gallery business.) We survived and thrived.

Like all businesses, I constantly have to analyze the trends in the art world and make inventory changes to stay relevant. Many galleries (and businesses in general) fail to do so and suffer because of inaction. We have made a concerted effort to attract the right kind of artists for today’s market, and it has worked.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It has been a long time since I could answer this question with any kind of excitement. Personally, I would take them down to a Thursday night ArtWalk in the Scottsdale Arts District and maybe grab a couple of pre-ArtWalk drinks at any number of Old Town restaurants.

Fun for me might include a little off-roading, bank fishing on the Salt River and a round of golf. I do think the Musical Instrument Museum in North Scottsdale is worthwhile visit.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In any family business, you have to give a shout out to your family members. Even though my father and I started the art business together after graduating from college in 1992, I was kid. Clearly, I was lucky to have parents who had the life experience and financial credit to start such a business.

On an even closer level, I cannot stress what a blessing it has been to have had a supporting wife through the whole process who has always been a steadily employed, benefit rich nurse. Her employment and hard work certainly brought us through hard times in the recession and eased the fear of owning a business. She deserves a lot of the credit.

Website: www.paulscottgallery.com

Instagram: @paulscottgallery

Facebook: Paul Scott Gallery

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