Meet Craig Stilwell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Craig Stilwell.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
The unique part of this story is that I knew at a very early age art was going to be a very important part of my life. I fully believe that artistic talent originates from the Heavenly Father, it is without a doubt a “gifting” that is placed in our being.

The question must be asked, how is the gift cultivated? I think when I was young, I took it for granted. It wasn’t until high school that the realization of this marvelous talent began to crystallize and become a continued viable future. Fortunately, I had some great art teachers who saw this gift and encouraged me along the way. I think the one key to a potential artist is that ability to deeply concentrate on the work before them, I think that was the key for me- how you “see” things and that ability to be immersed in the subject.

After two years of attending a local community college, I transferred to the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles (it is now in Pasadena)- that one move changed my whole life. It was ( past tense), a college where working professionals were teaching the classes. There is a tremendous difference between the career teacher and a professional that is working out in the world, needless to say, we were fully prepared. All of the students are put through the “meat grinder” of fully knowing what to expect once they begin their professional career. This schooling provided two important ingredients in any artist, a standard of excellence in the product that you create and the discipline it takes to complete the project, these two key factors are incredibly important. This “work-ethic” has followed me throughout my career and the dividends have been proved worth it.

Out of school, I worked for a Design Studio in San Francisco as a staff illustrator. I moved to the Sacramento area to pursue a freelance illustration business. I continued working as an illustrator until 1990, due to family concerns I moved to Oregon to care for my parents. All during this time I was painting, I know without a doubt painting is a passion- it’s very unique, we artists know this.

So, where do we go from here? I now live in Prescott, Arizona. I am retired but not retired when you are an artist, you never retire. I am concentrating on subjects around the Prescott area, there is so much great subject matter here that an artist will find this area a wonderful source of inspiration. My great desire now is “pay-back” because the Wonderful Lord has blessed me with these gifts, it’s time to invest in the desire of others- creating works of art is still a joy, but ones life must be shared with others as an encouragement and to cultivate another’s gifts.

Please tell us about your art.
OK, My inspiration is from the Prescott area, I am doing scenes right now with wildlife integrated into the story. I love to do Landscape painting, but I found myself integrating wildlife into the painting to promote a better story; after-all the story is everything. If you are going to paint and go through all that work- tell a compelling story!

I only do watercolor, but the type of watercolor breaks all the rules, I paint with them like oils. I do an underpainting that is very dark and then do my middle tones and finally all of the high lights. I know, I know this way of painting with watercolors is completely insane but you CAN paint with watercolors this way! Why do it this way? Well, you get a depth and realism that will rival oils, my whole intent is to give another possibility and dignity to the medium of watercolors. You can enjoy the painting’s that I produce from 10 inches away or 10 feet away, blowing minds is really fun.

Really, the end result of the artwork is to honor creation, the way the Good Lord made things and telling a great story is the prime motivation. Why put all the detail in, well, part of it is the style that I have and my love for accuracy.

Here’s the message to other artist’s- get into paint, I paint 8 hours a day, your devotion to your art will bring great satisfaction to you and improvement will come!

What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
My humble opinion, I will frame this answer according to the greater art community and not so much gallery orientation.

As a whole, our duty as artist’s, especially the more older/mature artists have an obligation to nurture the younger artist. Art should be something that is beautiful, it should edify, it should be a stimulus for great things and not the ordinary.

We need teachers that promote these principals, there is without a doubt, that creating artwork is hard work, finding one’s niche is important. If you are gifted, your gift will make room for you, don’t let the passion die, let it consume you and let the fire in you produce great work!

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I am sorry, I do not have a website. You can contact me through my email address or by phone, by the way, I am looking for gallery representation if you know of a wonderful gallery that sells high-quality representational artwork contact me.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 928- 237-4085
• Email: [email protected]

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