DON’T Give Up on Your Art Dreams with Patrick Williams

Never Been Promoted Podcast with Thomas Helfrich

Patrick Williams shares his journey from self-taught artist to award-winning artist, TEDx speaker, and author. Known for his evocative and historical portraits, Patrick discusses the evolution of his career and the impact of art on his life and the lives of others.

About Patrick Williams:

Patrick Williams is an award-winning artist, TEDx speaker, and author. He began drawing at the age of 10 and taught himself to paint by 15. He graduated from art school and pursued a diverse range of jobs before becoming a full-time artist. Patrick and his wife have also run a nonprofit for the past 24 years, dedicated to supporting the arts.


In this episode, Thomas and Patrick discuss:

• The Journey to Becoming an Artist: Patrick shares his background, starting from his childhood in Omaha, Nebraska, to teaching himself to draw and paint, and eventually attending art school.
• The Decision to Pursue Art Full-Time: Patrick emphasizes the moments and stages that solidified his commitment to becoming an artist, despite the challenges and uncertainties.
• Impact and Inspiration: Patrick discusses the impact of his art, his favorite pieces, including a recent full-figure historical portrait of General George Washington, and the inspirations behind his work.

Key Takeaways:

• Pursue Your Passion

Understanding that following one's passion, even in the face of skepticism and challenges, can lead to a fulfilling and impactful career.

• Self-Teaching and Continuous Learning 

Emphasizing the value of self-teaching and continuous learning in mastering a craft and evolving as an artist.

• Art as a Powerful Medium

Recognizing the power of art to evoke emotions, tell stories, and connect with people on a deep level.

"This is it. I'm not turning back. Nobody else around me is doing anything like this, so it seems special." — Patrick Williams

CONNECT WITH PATRICK WILLIAMS:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-michael-williams/

CONNECT WITH THOMAS:

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/thelfrich | https://twitter.com/nevbeenpromoted Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hovienko | https://www.facebook.com/neverbeenpromoted
Website: https://www.neverbeenpromoted.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neverbeenpromoted/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@neverbeenpromoted
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashelfrich/
Email: t@instantlyrelevant.com
InstantlyRelevant.com

 #Art #Entrepreneurship #SelfTaughtArtist #HistoricalPortraits #PassionInArt 

Transcript

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Welcome back to the Never Been Promoted podcast. Hi. This is your host, Thomas Helfrich. If this is your first time visiting, I hope it's the first of many, and thank you for coming. And if you've been here before, you rock. And, you know, if you've returned, hopefully, you'll you'll come time and time again. We're on a mission and never been promoted to create as many entrepreneurs as we can in the world. I believe the world needs more of them, and I think we should be rethinking how we think about our jobs, careers, the excuses we make, and the things that hold us back. You know? There's a reason the tie is cut on me. Let's cut the tie. Let's use the metaphors in real life. Today, I'm actually gonna join joined by an interesting guest because we've never had somebody like him before. So Patrick Williams, who's an award winning artist, TEDx speaker, and author. Patrick,
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say hello. Hello, everyone. Glad to be here.
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I I'm glad to have you on. I'm that we've never had someone who who leads with art as their thing. Usually, when, you know, I my kids talk about wanting to go to arts something. I'm like, yeah. I know. Please. You you kinda go expensive private, no money after. I've so we're gonna get into that maybe. Sure. Though I think I think that world's changed just a little bit, not quite enough yet, but a little bit. Do you wanna give your backstory a little bit? Sure. Sure. I I grew up in, outside of Omaha, Nebraska,
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and it was we had a small acreage. We had some livestock, and my dad did some planting of crops. And, when I started drawing when I was 10, taught myself and taught myself to paint when I was about 15 or so. Eventually, went to art school, graduated, and did as many artists have done an amazing amount of different jobs, so to speak. But now I'm I'm full time artist, and my wife and I have a nonprofit that we run also for the last 24 years.
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Now I noticed you left off, like, all on that journey. You became a TEDx speaker author. And and what what award did you win for your artistry? So to get to, you know, from that intro, we we skipped all the things we entered. Hey. Hey. Hey. Yeah. I knew we'd come back to it. Alright. So tell tell me what you're so so I'll before we get into that. Yeah. Do you remember the moment when you decided you're gonna become really, like, you knew this didn't matter what your parents said you were gonna become an artist?
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Well, yeah. Yeah. I mean, that came in stages. When I when I started drawing, I knew something was up. And then when I started, I simply just filled up lots and lots of sketch pads, larger and larger sketch pads as I was, in my early early teens. And then I had the the strange idea to actually try to teach myself to paint, and I did well at that. And I thought, hey. This is it. This is I'm not I'm not turning back. You know? Nobody else around me is is doing anything like this. So it seems it seems special, and and I've stuck with it since.
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Did your did your dad at any point go look at Omaha Steaks and go, I had that idea.
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Definitely not. He had hogs.
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So I mean, we get pigs. Omaha pig. Yeah. That Omaha pork. Omaha bacon. I mean, I don't know why that you should've done Omaha bacon and just gotten Maybe. That sounds good to me. I love bacon. So good. We should talk about bacon for an hour. Alright. What's your you know, regardless of what you've gotten awarded for, what's your favorite piece of art you've ever made? Oh, wow. That's a
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often, it's the last one that I've been working on, which is incredibly surprising that it is a full figure portrait art art history portrait historical portrait of general George Washington.
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Interesting. Yeah. What inspired that?
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Well, a friend and I have been contemplating