From a young age I had wanted to be an artist and as I was approaching 21 I was beginning to consider whether or not this would work for me, and whether or not I should go and get a ‘real’ job. My life changed at a party of a friend of mine, who I realized that she was the daughter of one of my favorite artists Peter Max. I had never made the connection before that her Dad was Peter Max, but here I was standing feet away from the great man himself. I stole a couple of moments of his time and he was kind enough to take a look at some of my art on my Facebook page. Since that day Peter has been a great help in getting my career off the ground, and here is how.
Connections
Before meeting Peter I had no clue about agents or managers, I just wanted to make some art that people would like, I wasn’t even interested in making millions of dollars, I just wanted some exposure. Peter put me in touch with a brilliant team who were able to help me to get more gigs and more commissions, which helped me to make enough money to avoid getting that real job.
Tagging On
Peter often says that I made my own luck by seeking him out at the party but the truth is that without his kindness which he showed to me, there is little doubt that I would have ended up being a plumber or something like that. Peter was kind enough to invite me to one of his shows a year later, and he even made some space in his exhibition for me to showcase my own art. I couldn’t believe that this great man had not only helped me to get a foothold in the industry, but that he was now including me on his own exhibitions.
Advice
Throughout the first year of him helping me things went a little crazy and I was really in demand. During this year Peter was absolutely amazing with me in terms of offering advice about the industry and how to manage expectations, as well as how to deliver results without losing my creative edge. Peter had come up the hard way and so he knew only too well about the things I was asking him about, which is why he became such a greta mentor to me.
Inspiration
Peter didn’t just help me to get on in the art world he also inspired me a great deal and we would chat for hours about creative influences and artistic styles. He claims that I helped to reinvigorate his creativity but the truth is that he did far more for me than I could’ve ever done for him and I will be eternally grateful.
It is amazing what life can do for you, and it all started with a friend’s birthday party.