Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Kathleen Gray Farthing | Artist

I see a painting around every bend. It may be a rhythmic string of telephone poles along the highway, a glowing light falling on an old hay wagon or a breathtaking vista overlooking the ocean—patterns and colors that attract my eye and inspire me to create. These are the qualities I strive to share with my viewers so they can experience the same. I want people to be as awed as I am, as amused, as delighted, as fascinated. That’s the challenge, as well as the pleasure, of painting. As an artist, I feel I am both a kind of story-teller and a historian. Standing on location painting (plein air), I am immersed in a scene, and come to know it in a profound way, documenting a moment in time. That place will never be exactly the same again. Read more>>

smile peso | Artist

I’ve always been attracted to art to since I was a kid. It’s always been a symbiotic relationship. Any medium I could use to express myself I did it. There was this spirit of emotions waiting to be released across paintings, music, and writing. I care deeply about authenticity in art. I want my emotions to be able to connect with others. I want to make people feel again. Art is such a hallucinogenic , it can make people see and feel things , take people to places they’ve never been . Such a power to have, to be able to conjure emotions, reflection, memories, in other people. We must use it responsibly. Read more>>

Latrell Woods | Multimedia Artist

I spend most of my time contemplating and exploring my on conscience. When I started to create consistently I broke from my mind in an unexplainable way, a new peace. Each piece that I finish is like a conversation between my mind and my soul that provides insight forever. A passion grew from this and I understood that it was something I wanted to explore forever, to create, to discover. Read more>>