Meet Terry Campbell | Painter, Maker of Drawings and Prankster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Terry Campbell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Terry, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
So many of the people I went to school with are no longer making art. Living off art sales without compromise is feast or famine. I often wonder if I would be happier using my spare time to just have fun. Art’s a game we play for ourselves. No one cares if you stop. People only seem to care if you’re doing well. I have a painting I have been working on for the past ten years. Each attempt has ended in failure. I will be starting it again for the fifth time after having already invested over a hundred hours into the project. The concept is just too important for me to walk away from. Hopefully the fifth time will be the charm. All projects influence other projects even if some end in failure.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I have been a painter for the last twenty years living in the Denver Metro area. I spend too much time obsessing on details no one will notice. For example, when I create a stretcher for a painting, I have to get it perfect, or I won’t be able to start the painting. My career seemed to be going in the right direction until I went to Grad School at the University at Colorado Boulder. Going to Grad School seemed like the natural progression to help me become a full-time professional artist. That didn’t happen. Even though I graduated in 2016 with 3.933 I almost dropped out my last semester because my paintings looked terrible, and I had no idea how to save face without doing something dramatic. It took years to rebuild my life after grad school. It left me broken. I delivered booze just to get by and my painting suffered for years. I did learn how to fight in grad school but have learned most things aren’t worth fighting about. I also learned the only voice that matters is mine. I’m glad I finished.

The project I’m most proud of is the Gold Hunt. I have created four Alternative Reality Games I call the Gold Hunt. The Gold Hunt is like a scavenger hunt where people solve clues in hopes of finding gold. In the Gold Hunt things get strange quickly. The people that look for the gold become part of the game and create chaos. This is hard to explain but there is a short documentary on my website about the last gold hunt. I hope to do Gold Hunt five in a few years. With each new Gold Hunt I raise the stakes and try to make things stranger and stranger. Putting these Gold hunts together have been some of the best moments of my life. I love hearing stories about people’s adventures on the Gold Hunt. I love drawing and have hundreds of mysterious drawings for sale at affordable prices.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Denver has changed so much in the last ten years all my favorite spots are now gone. My favorite bars that still exist are Nob Hill, Charlie Browns, Celtic Tavern, My Brother’s Bar and PS Lounge. The best people watching in town. If I Could take a friend to my favorite spots in Colorado on a week trip, Day one I would take them to Bishops Castle then spend the night the night in Victory Colorado after doing the scary mine tour. Day two we would camp at the Sand Dunes after having gone to Hooper Hot Springs which has amazing food in the middle of nowhere. Day three we would spend the night at Vallery View Hot Springs the coolest place in Colorado. After soaking in the hot springs we would watch all the bat leave the caves at sunset. Day four we would spend the night in Telluride and get drinks at the Sheridan and ride the gondola at sunset. Day five day we would drive to Mesa Verde and get Mexican food at La Casita de Cortez. Day six we would get a cabin on the lake in the Grand Mesa. Day seven we would spent the night in Dinosaur National Monument a place no ones goes which makes it so special.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I want to Shout out Laura Merage. The founder of Redline. Redline was and still is an amazing program that gave me a place to experiment, meet people and make art. Not sure where I would have been without Redline.

Website: terrycampbellart.com

Instagram: terry_campbell_art

Twitter: @TerryCampbells

Image Credits
All photos taken by Terry Campbell