Today we’d like to introduce you to Preston Craig.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I had an aunt, who was a professional artist, and she took an early interest in me, providing me with art materials, books, etc. I only saw her a couple of times a year but she would ship me packages a few times a year, that contained supplies and instructions. As i got older, my mom, recognizing my creative side, paid for an art correspondence course for me, despite the objections from my dad. I continued my art training in high school and then after graduating, attended a local university, where I majored in Graphic Design and Illustration. After graduating, I bounced around from one job to another because of the local economy at the time. I left the area for job opportunities in Atlanta but that proved unsuccessful. After returning to my home town, I eventually landed a job as an Illustrator for SeaGrant, a NOAA subsidized program at LSU and spent most of my time there creating ocean themed illustrations for an oceanography course that was going to be taught at the college. At the same time, I was exhibiting my paintings at a few galleries in the area and since i always had an interest in comic books and science fiction, i got involved in attending and participating in science fiction conventions. That led me to want to broaden my horizons. Not seeing any real future as a creative in LA. and after befriending a few folks from CA that I had met a few times at conventions, I decided to move to CA and leave my SeaGrant job. My move to CA was fairly easy but getting situated there was not and I struggled for a few years. Even though i was exhibiting some of my work at local venues in L.A. and had some of my art published in a magazine called Fantasy Artists Network, I was not making many sales and jobs were scarce. Eventually, a friend helped me get a job as an illustrator for an engineering firm located in a small town in the Mojave desert. I don’t like the desert, having grown up in a greener environ, but the job provided me with some stability and I endured desert living for about a year and a half. After reporting the company I worked for to OSHA for health violations, I moved back to L.A. and shared an apartment with a friend, whom I had known since my college days. Not long after returning to L.A., I secured a job as a computer graphic artist. A new technology had been created which allowed the artist to create artwork graphics using a computer system called Genigraphics. The artwork was turned into slides which were then used in multimedia slide presentations for various companies and corporations. I worked there for a year and a half, then got an offer to work for McDonnel-Douglas West, an aerospace firm, I was there for 6 months, when i got an offer to work for a company named Data Dias, in Oslo, Norway, using the same system I had been trained on. I convinced a fellow CG artist, to go with me and we worked in Norway and Denmark for about a year. I learned to cross country ski two weeks after I got there. My time there was quite an adventure and was my first time outside of the U.S. I fell in love but once my contract was completed, I had to leave. She was unable to join me and so i spent two months traveling alone around Europe, visiting many of the sites I had studied in Art History class. Upon returning to the states, I worked as a freelance CG artist,fell in love again and continued to create and exhibit my art. The love didn’t work out and as I had landed another CG job in London, England, I left the states again. I lived there for a year and a half, My time there was fairly uneventful but I did enjoy my time in London and even managed to have a small exhibit of some work I had created while living there. After my contract was completed, unable to find further employment there, I again spent two months traveling around Great Britain and returning to Europe for further exploration. After returning to the states. computer technology had advanced a good deal while I was gone and a new system was leading the way, namely Apple and the PC. I worked briefly on both but found it became more and more difficult to get those freelance positions. During that time, I had also joined a few artist groups, which led me to becoming a manager of an art gallery space in N. Hollywood. It didn’t pay a lot but it kept me afloat as I continued to exhibit my work. Above the gallery was located a small, 99 seat live theater group and one day they asked if I’d be interested in creating a backdrop/set design for one of their productions. Upon approval of the design, I began work on the large 12′ x 16′ backdrops. The theatrical production was a success and I garnered a Set Design award from the Valley Theater League. Wanting to increase my income, I kept perusing the employment section of the newspaper. I came upon an ad for a backdrop artist and/or large format artist. I applied, showed them pics of the backdrops I had created for the little theater and was hired to work on the interior space of the Paris Casino in Las Vegas. The money was good and I learned a whole new skill. Because of that, they hired me to work on a new construction under development in Tokyo, Japan. The work in Japan was intense, working on a 60,000 sq. ft. shopping center and as part of the 6 artist crew, we had very little time off. However, when we did, we would go explore the environs of Tokyo. Being 6’4″ tall, I got a lot of attention. I was only in Tokyo for about 8 months but during that time I got to take a side trip to S. Korea, explore Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and, on my own, Hokkaido. After the job was completed, I returned to L.A. and then a couple of months later when the shopping center, Venus Fort, had its grand opening, I flew back to Tokyo for a great costume party and reception at the space. Once I got settled back into L.A., I started my own business creating murals and faux finishes. I was doing okay and definitely seeing an increase in my income. I got to help create a mural for Bob Barker at CBS Studios for the “Price is Right”, got to create 6 portraits of Hollywood Movie Stars as part of a mural program on Hollywood Blvd. called “The Night Gallery” and a few other private and public projects before I got hurt on a mural job because the company that had hired me had provided faulty scaffolding. It took me a year to mostly physically recover. During that time, i decided to go back to school and earn my MFA. I began my program at CSUN but even though after a couple of years of study I had a 4.0, I found the lead staff of the art dept. too feminist oriented, close minded and obstructionist to the program I wished to pursue. After repeatedly hitting my head against a wall there, I opted for another institution and earned my MFA in 4 years, going half-time. During the past several years, I had continued to exhibit my work around L.A. but once I received my MFA diploma and being much deeper in debt, I opted to teach art. I was having some success with my business “Twisted Teddys”, which was based on my MFA thesis project but not enough to earn a steady income. I became an Adjunct Professor for a few colleges, since full-time tenured positions were few and far between. Then the pandemic hit and everything closed down. My last teaching assignment at UCLA lasted a year and a half. Not having any good prospects in L.A., a friend, who was moving to Idaho, offered to set me up with a studio space at the townhouse he had just purchased there and he’d be easy on the rent. Idaho was much to conservative for my tastes but being that I had no other offers, this is where I ended up. I continue to create and exhibit my work locally, nationally and internationally. In addition, I am working with a fledgling toy company to turn one of my teddy characters into a plush toy, which I hope will be able to be marketed towards the end of 2024.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not, though there were some brief smooth periods. Mostly, the struggle was just to be able to survive. I had a great job at SeaGrant/NOAA but my creative life was stifled in the South. I had more creative fulfillment once I moved to L.A. but the struggle to just survive there definitely had periods of highs and lows. Coming up with the money to pay the rent and utilities on my apartment, trying to break in to the gallery scene there, making friend/connections and just finding gainful employment were all some of the struggles. I have to admit, I’m not great at marketing but that doesn’t mean I don’t try. Also, I feel my initial degree program did not prepare me for the job search, grants that I might qualify for as an artist or arts organizations that might be helpful to me. So, a lot of time was spent just trying to track things down and just persevere. If it hadn’t been for Food Stamps, I don’t know how I would have made it at times. The desperate times made it very hard to remain creative as so much energy was spent on trying to earn some money.
We’ve been impressed with Preston C. Illustration/Graphic Design & Fine Art and Twisted Teddys, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My first business is called Preston C. Illustration/Graphic Design and Fine Art. My second business is called “Twisted Teddys”. For my first business, I still accept the occasional illustration and graphic design job. In addition, I continue to teach art classes, which, at present, brings in more income than my first business. My second business, is a result of turning my MFA thesis into a business and actively promoting it. In both businesses, I’m known for the quality of my work and attention to detail. However, most people call me the Teddy Man. I created Twisted Teddys as a way for me to address social issues that are important to me, utilizing the iconic childhood image of the teddy bear, which is associated with childhood innocence. My images serve a way for the viewing public to actually considered the impact of these social issues because at first they are drawn in by the image of the teddy bear and then secondly they are hit with the social message, which I hope brings them to a deeper consideration of the issues and my art. Also, part of the proceeds from sales of my items, benefit social programs like homelessness, drug addiction,kids programs and others. As far as I know and from my research, there is nothing like my Twisted Teddys out in the marketplace and that really sets me apart. The shop on my webpage is presently broken so the only way to acquire images of my art is either to drop me an email or text or to go to RedBubble.com (https://www.redbubble.com/people/1Artdude/shop?asc=u) and order one of my designs on just about any product, from t-shirts to shower curtains. Also, I’m working with a toy company, of which I’m a part of, called Kids, Pets & more, Inc. (www.kidspetsnmore.com) and I’m working with a manufacturer on creating a talking, plush prototype for one of my teddy characters called “Redneck Teddy”. The great thing about KP&M is that the products are manufactured as eco-friendly and green as possible and part of the proceeds from sales will benefit social programs for kids and pets. Even with all of this, I still find time to keep creating artwork.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is my reputation as a creative and the pride I take in creating, whether it’s a new painting or a design for a new client. I feel that ones work is a reflection of the individual. If my work were haphazard and undisciplined, it would reflect on my character as an individual. Keeping ones word is very important to me; especially in dealing with clients. I’ve worked very hard to establish myself as a creative that’s not only good for his word but is also trustworthy and creative. It’s just who I am. As my dad used to tell me, if you’re going to do something, give it your all to the best of your ability. I hope that through my discipline as a creative, I can, in a small way, make the world a better place than the one I was born into and perhaps in the interim, bring a smile to someone’s face upon viewing my art.
Pricing:
- 11×14 ltd. edition prints are $40.
- 11×14 paintings are $300.
- Pricing varies on print size and original artwork size. Contact me for pricing info.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.twistedteddys.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twistedteddys
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/twistedteddys
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/PrestonArts
- Twitter: https://x.com/PrestonArtz
- Youtube: @PrestonArts
- Other: www.behance.net/PrestonArts
