— The featured artist of the 81st issue of Living the Photo Artistic Life magazine is AWAKE artist Mark Hemstreet. It’s great to be able to interview Mark here on Quill and Camera . . .

Q:  What is your background an artist?

I grew up on a small self-sustaining farm in the middle of nowhere Utah. 

My mother was an oil painter and a photographer.  She would photograph her own landscapes and then paint them. 

I remember her explaining various aspects of photography to me as a young boy. 

She always insisted I be in art classes all year long in school.  And that early exposure to creating art stuck with me.

Q:  What about that has influenced your photo artistry?

So much of our adult habits come from childhood things.  And while drawing and painting in art classes never really did it for me, much later in life I discovered photography and then creating art in Photoshop. 

My mother died when I was a young teenage boy, so looking back maybe it makes a certain kind of sense how some combination of photography and painting came to capture my imagination and have since become so satisfying.

Q:  What got you started in photo artistry?

I stumbled across Photoshop Artistry and the AWAKE training, then sort of sat on it for a long while because Photoshop seemed huge and daunting.  My photography was getting boring, and flat in a sense.  I wanted to learn how to give a boring photo more of a “wow” factor.  Eventually I took the leap . . .

Q:  What inspires your creative work?

When I was little, my mother would take me along when she went shopping.  I loved the book store and craft store best.  At the book stores I discovered art books.  Fantasy and surreal art really caught my attention.  One of the many things I collected was fantasy art books and calendars.  I loved looking and wondering and dreaming.  My art these days is definitely inspired by what I loved as a kid.  Those earliest sources of inspiration inspire me still.

I also have a deep fascination with the human body.  I just love it in all its various shapes and sizes.  This probably stems from my twenty-five years as a massage therapist.

Q:  What does living a photo artistic life mean to you?

Capturing moments in life with photos — because memory is a funny thing.  And then there’s simply creating beautiful and magical pieces of art that make my heart sing.

Q:  How do you approach your work?

I always start with the main subject first.  It needs to grab my attention in some interesting way.  I like to alter the main subject as much as possible before filling in the rest of the canvas, which is what’s next and sometimes the hardest part.  

At times the process flows beautifully.  Other times it takes a lot of work.  I actually love the sometimes tedious process inherent in it all.  It seems as if I fall in love with the piece as I go along then sit back afterwards with more than a little awe at what I just created.

Q:  What’s your next step as an artist?

I think my next step is just to simply keep making art.  The more I make the better I get; and the better I get, the better I feel.  

I suppose someday I wouldn’t mind figuring out how to make some money with my art. For now though I’m quite content just making beautiful art that makes me happy.

Q:  Any advice or tips for aspiring artists?

Just keep making art.  Always.  The more time and attention you give to your craft, the better you get.  It’s that simple.  And of course, when you find mistakes in your work (or identify something in it that doesn’t quite satisfy you), just make a mental note to not do that again and move on.  Get busy on your next piece.

Q:  What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your journey as an artist?

To just love my art for all the reasons I love it and not for the “Likes” on social media.  It’s nice when other people like your art and all, but social media dependence can be kind of emotionally detrimental.  That’s just not what it should be about.