Sheldon Richards
Local Painter & Educator
Sheldon is our Uptown Cafe artist for September 2020. You will be able to check out his art in the cafe til the end of the September or here at the bottom of this blog.
Half the profits made from his art showcased will be donated to the Roadrunner Food Bank.
Continue reading to learn more about Sheldon, his art, thoughts, and our Albuquerque community.
Tell us about you, who you are, and your art.
I am a high school art teacher. I have always enjoyed making art. Teaching is a fairly decent way to earn a regular check while working in art. It is also often quite rewarding and even fun. It also really encourages you to maintain and expand your artistic thinking and skillset. I have developed an increased interest in art as a means of community-building. I'd like to move more towards building the art community in Albuquerque and connecting it to the high school classroom. We have a lot of talented people who grow up here who might be kept in that community if there were support, clearer paths, and ways of moving forward.
My art is about creating work in a space where I feel uncomfortable, but also profoundly comfortable.
I am trying to do interesting things that engage me. It's very selfish. I am trying to play. I don't feel a lot of pressure to be successful or sell work, so things tend to drift with my interests. There is a lot of danger in not having enough cohesion. Most artists want their work to be recognizable. It's also very smart to find things that are working and repeat them. I am by no means making judgement on that. I think it is very smart and I wish that I did it more. I try to ignore pressure to do that. I have a lot more freedom to explore than a lot of people do, so I try to take advantage of that.
What has been the biggest obstacle for you creatively? And the greatest joy?
I think the biggest obstacle to my creativity has probably been other artists. I think that is probably everybody’s. I think everybody would probably draw if they weren't comparing themselves to other people. Doing this inherently limits what we do. There is suddenly a question of if something is good enough, or original enough. Especially when media is so available. I can pop out my phone and make myself feel bad about any aspect of my life at any time. It's neat! It is also good for inspiration and validation. There are beneficial community aspects to it. It can just get out of hand fast.
I am not sure about the greatest joy. It's hard for me to take praise. I have really enjoyed being accepted by other artists, at least to the degree I have. I also really like it when somebody I don't know buys something. That sounds kind of crass, but it is probably the most validating thing. I love selling or giving art to people I know, but there is always some insecurity. Other parts of the relationship might be factoring in. Even when people say complementary things, I am often unsure if they are sincere. A lot of artists are really competitive. You can't always trust them.
What is the last book, album, podcast, movie you’ve read, listened to, or watched that you enjoyed?
I am reading Thus Spake Zarathustra now, mostly because I am in a weird book club. It has been enjoyable in certain ways. There are things I disagree with, so it has been engaging, but there is also a lot of interesting ideas for artists, especially if you want to reaffirm your own brilliance because your art degree came from Dunning-Kruger University.
I have been listening to Run the Jewels 4 and really enjoying that. I also just listened to the Stooges recording at Goose Lake. It is pretty solid and very interesting.
I really enjoy the Judge John Hodgman Podcast (Spotify - Apple Podcasts). I have been trying to develop an acquaintance/friendship with John Hodgman and I am pretty sure I have creeped him out on multiple occasions.
I am not sure on the movie. It is hard to watch movies with a child in the quarantine times. I did start watching The Kids in the Hall again. That has been pretty good.
Where can we find more of your art?
I am probably most active on instagram, @sheldorama. I have a website, sheldonrichards.com. Little Bear on Pennsylvania for a little bit.
Describe what it is you aim to do as an artist, and how you feel it impacts you and your community?
I'd really like to be able to get rid of my work in a way that makes me happy. That's my personal goal. That's mostly about clearing up physical space so I can make more work. Community-wise, I'd really like to figure out how to improve the art community here for local artists. There are a lot of great people here making work. The hard part about teaching high school is that people go away just when they are getting interesting. I think I'd like to build community structures that support artists. There are galleries, spaces, and organizations around here, for sure, but I think they can be intimidating and also neglect fairly large subsets of people.
Anything else you'd like to share?
Sure. A quick thank you to anyone who reads this. I appreciate it. If you are interested in my art, let me know, we can talk about prices on website and instagram stuff. Also, if it isn't too controversial, facism is bad and I don't like it.
Cheers,
Sheldon Richards
IG: @Sheldorama
Art for Sale
Half the profits made from this show will be donated to the Roadrunner Food Bank.
