Art & Life with Gabor Svagrik

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabor Svagrik.

Gabor, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in Hungary. In 1983 at the age of twelve, my family immigrated to the northern suburbs of Illinois. Since Hungary was still under communist rule, my parents decided to leave to give us a better future. My dad was a house painter my mom and accountant. They had to leave everything behind. We arrived with just a few pieces of luggage. I spoke zero English, but with the ESL (English Second Language) program at school, I was speaking pretty well within a year or so. I was interested in imagery at a very early age even before we left Hungary and in high school, I started to draw more and more. After high school at the age of eighteen, I enrolled at the America Academy of Art in Chicago. Studied there for three years then did some freelance illustration but soon I knew that is not what I wanted to do. The painting was what I really enjoyed so I decided to do house painting by day and paint pictures by night which I did for over ten years. I figured to get through the learning of the fine art an early age and knew one day I would be doing it full time.

Just to rewind a bit, I started working with my dad in house painting at the age of fifteen. I worked with him literally every single weekend in high school and through art school. No such things as partying or weekends watching tv. We came with no money as a family, and we need to work for every penny.

I traveled out west from Illinois and always loved the landscape and knew that is where I want to live. In 2002 I made the move and never looked back. In 2004 I was able to make a living from my art. I was teaching and selling paintings through galleries. I got to show in some of the biggest name galleries in our business which was very exciting. Then 2008 came and things got super hard as I know some of you reading this must have been through some tough year after the big crash.

My wife Christine I are go-getters when things get tough, so we opened an art academy named it the Tucson Art Academy in Tucson AZ. Talk about a risky move. This was in 2008 when most businesses were closing. But through the grace of God, it did ok, and we could weather some of the storms. Right around 2010, I started noticing that online learning was getting more popular and thought that we should bring art education that our instructors were teaching in the physical classes and share it online.

I always liked computers and gadgets so I thought this is actually possible but had no clue how we will do it. After some heavy research, I filmed my self and placed our first online art class out int to the wilds of the internet. And I actually had about six sign-ups. This gave us hope that people are willing to take online art classes. So between 2011 and 2018, we put in tremendous hours to build the academy, and our hard work paid off. I basically learned from countless hours of reading and watching videos about online marketing which made a world of difference. Christine’s knowledge of computers and her organization skill where priceless. It really takes dedication, focus, and consistency to be better in andy filed. As the internet continues to evolve, we are always on the watch to see where things are shifting but never compromising the quality of our instructions.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I paint with oils mostly but also use pastels and watercolors. Most of my subjects are the natural landscape. I think I just like being outdoors. My dad took me fishing since I was a little boy and always enjoyed the animals that I saw plus exploring the landscape provided new exploration.

I hope I can open the eyes of others to the beauty that is in front of us. We sometimes need others to show it even though we drive by it every day.

What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I think art should uplift not provoke. It can be thoughtful and unique without being vulgar. We do not need reminders of the ugliness that is out there. There is plenty of that on the news.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I show in Sedona AZ at Rowe Gallery and through my website. Currently, there is a new studio that I am building so collectors can visit and see the originals at my studio once the build is done.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.svagrikfineart.com
• Email: svagrikart@gmial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svagrikart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabor.svagrik

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