Issue 1 Artist Spotlight | Charlie J. Meyers
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Charlie!
CJM.: Before the pandemic, I was working as a fashion production manager for an international fashion designer. I am a clutch artisan. Right now I am focusing on building a stronger studio painting practice and improving my health and fitness. In my spare time, I love going to the gym, hiking, and seeing new exhibitions. I am inspired by the artwork of queer painters, storytellers, writers, illustrators, and performance artists. Something people may not know about me is that I received my Masters degree in Montreal, so I speak some French!
C+B: What is one quote that inspires you or informs your work?
CJM: I had a professor once say to me "you can think your way into a different reality." I admire this concept because so often we are limited by our thoughts. When we change the way we think on a core level, it creates a new reality. When we are able to do that, new levels of creativity are reached and trauma is healed. When I was told this in graduate school, I saw it as a fanciful idea. Now as an adult artist living with disabilities, I see it as my core principal of living. It has become the fundamental reason for me to keep going every day, no matter how I physically feel. It is why I make art.
C+B: What are your long-term goals for creating, Charlie?
CJM: My long-term goals for creating are to continuously make bodies of work that are vulnerable, unique, and fearless. I do not want to be contained by expectation, rules, or social media. My goal is total freedom, always.
Charlie J. Meyers
Heavy-Hearted Spectator, digital gouache
(Original artwork © Charlie J. Meyers- NFT here)
Ideal creative retreat: A national park with all meals provided. I would just have to get up, paint, hike, and sleep. Doesn't that sound wonderful?
Currently inspired by: Justin O'Brien @justinliamobrien and Loie Hollowell @loiehollowell. They make the kind of work that lights a fire under my ass and I get jealous (in a good way) and start painting.
Find and support Charlie here: Web: charliejmeyers.com IG: @charliejmeyers
