Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Hobbs.
Tyler, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Despite wanting to be an artist, I chose to study Computer Science in college. While working as a programmer, I continued to draw and paint in my spare time. I realized that my art should be connected to programming. I had studied and practiced it for years, and it was a huge part of my life and way of thinking. I began to ask myself: “what would it look like if I wrote a program that created a painting?”
The answer to that was intriguing. My earlier attempts at creating artwork through programming were exciting and promising, despite being a new medium for me. I quickly focused all of my artistic energy there, and have continued on that path for five years. My traditional drawing and painting skills helped to inform my style, and I still utilize those skills in my current work, but programming has opened so many directions I never could have discovered otherwise.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Unsurprisingly, working as an artist is extremely challenging. The artistic challenges alone are tough. You have to learn to trust your intuition, develop the courage to express yourself honestly, pay close attention to your emotions and reactions, tolerate a high rate of failed works, and of course hone and perfect your technical skills. If those were the only challenges of being an artist, it would be a blessing. In reality, you must also invest your (already thin) time into marketing, sales, shipping, framing, printing, taxes, websites, social media, and networking. Without these, you simply can’t turn your art into a business. It requires being a full entrepreneur with your own art as the only product. With that said, the upside of these challenges is that they force you to grow and develop in new directions. Creating art provides an opportunity to work on some of the most important parts of yourself.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a visual artist, and I work primarily through the development of custom algorithms and computer programs. In short, I write programs that generate artwork. I am not the only artist to work this way, but I believe my work is unique for its emotional content. Often, computer generated art is cold and mathematical. I strive to express my feelings and sensations through the work, rather than focusing on its mathematical properties.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I were to start over, I would focus on putting in my hours on a regular, predictable, frequent schedule. Many imagine artwork to be driven by inspiration, and it’s all too easy to fall into that trap as a beginning artist. Rather than waiting for ideas, you have to simply show up at your desk and put in the time. Ideas are surprisingly easy to come by when you do that. I find that the best time to schedule your work is in the early morning or late night. At those times, nobody will bother you or make plans that will interrupt your flow.
Contact Info:
- Website: tylerxhobbs.com
- Email: tyler@tylerxhobbs.com
- Instagram: @tylerxhobbs
- Twitter: @tylerxhobbs
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