Conversations with Richard Ingersoll

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Ingersoll. 

Hi Richard, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have been Drawing since before I can remember and always continued to do so throughout my life. I played music in a few bands and had a solo project as well and thought that was my main creative outlet/calling in my early 20s. During that time, I was living in a DIY house venue off 25th and California called Mouth House. I’ve spoken about this place in a few other interviews, google it, it was beautiful and insane. It was in there though that I really started to develop a deep interest and love for painting. I was pretty average but I knew I could make something happen with it if I kept it up. I painted pretty much every day for years (and still do) and got my start showing work at Red Wolf Gallery in the Santa Fe Art District in Denver via the owner and my good buddy/fellow artist, Cody Kuehl. Over the next few years, I showed in many places and events in and out of Colorado and really started to find my footing on the financial/business side of things during the pandemic ironically. I couldn’t show in galleries and so I started to look for alternative ways to use my skills for income. This led to doing album covers for bands, a book cover for local living comedy legend, Sam Tallent, and allowing myself to work outside of the fine art and gallery world just really brought me a lot of fun projects and expanded my network immensely. I also got lucky in the double-edged sword that is internet land and had some things go viral which also led to a lot of work that I am currently and thankfully buried in today. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The biggest and most unexpected struggle I had was having twin boys in 2016 when I was 25 years old. Their mom didn’t want to be involved so I was left raising them alone when they were 3 months old. There was about a 5-month period between finding out I was going to be a father and starting my journey raising them myself. This was scary at the time because I just started having a few consecutive months where art life was paying my rent and my restaurant job money was purely extra screw-around money. I was showing in 4 places and had a lot going on and I had to pull out of those places I was showing, I had to quit my job, and then, of course, Denver got too expensive and I had to move to Wichita near some family. I pretty much thought all my dreams were crushed and unachievable but it really turned out working on the contrary. I became more constructively critical of my work, worked harder, later into the night, during the boys’ naps, whenever I could. I didn’t have anything else going for me so there wasn’t any room for a Hail Mary mindset with an art career. I just didn’t see any other option other than making art life happen. I would just make day to day goals trying to put myself one step ahead today than I was yesterday and whether that meant finishing a piece, selling a piece, emailing a gallery, networking with another artist, whatever it was, just at least one thing putting me a step further. Now, I’m not so sure I would have the skill set I’ve developed or the small amount of success I’ve found without the challenges of becoming a single father. Also, the integral and inseparable part of my journey that is the support of my amazing friends and family. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think recently I’ve gotten the most recognition for a series of Japanese folklore-inspired pieces that I call my Kaidan series. Kaidan are like mysterious or strange stories and happenings and I’ve been loving learning about old traditional folklore characters and creatures and painting them through this lens. I’ve been inspired by Asian culture since I was a kid and this is always something I’ve wanted to explore and I’m super thankful it’s been received so well so I can continue to do so! I’m also super proud to have been a part of Sam’s book “Running the Light” and doing that book cover. It’s truly an excellent novel and everyone should read it, it’s available everywhere… He’s also got a great special you can watch wherever you rent/buy things online. I’m also very proud to have worked with all the bands I’ve been so fortunate to do album covers for and even more fortunate that’s its led to friendships and continued projects. The most extensive of these projects has been for an artist from the northeast named Nate Bergman. Painting/designing his album and working with his team from velocity and equal vision records was an amazing experience and I learned a ton. That should be out everywhere and on vinyl for everyone to see and listen to late this year/early next year. 

How do you think about luck?
A huge role. Everything you get from birth is kind of the luck of the draw mixed with how you choose to react to what you get. And if we wanna get technical, even the way you react is kind of the luck of how you were brought up and your brain chemistry or whatever. So, I feel extremely lucky and try to remind myself all the time when I feel overwhelmed that it could always be much worse. It’s worth putting thought into that and making use of the luck that’s been given to you and feeling gratitude. I’m thankful for that luck, thankful for the lessons my bad luck has taught me, thankful that bad luck can transform into good luck and I’m lucky that it has. I love the saying “good luck is preparation meeting opportunity” it’s not true across the board but it is a very useful thing to be aware of. Sometimes good or bad luck is what it is regardless of what you’ve done but it’s important to remember the world owes you nothing and not take bad luck as some force frowning on you or good luck as you being chosen or some ego inflated thought like that. Just be gratitude and work hard. 

Contact Info:

• Email: Richraying@gmail.com
• Website: Www.candydeth.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/grave.daisy

Image Credits
Richard Ingersoll