Rising Stars: Meet Tyler Shelby of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Shelby.

Hi Tyler, 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 graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2018 with a BA in Art, where I focused primarily on photography and printmaking. It was in college where I first learned the structures and rules I would later try to break. After graduating, I hit pause on my art. From 2018 to 2020, I stepped away from creating entirely. Life post-college felt heavy and uncertain, and art, something that had once felt like home, suddenly felt like a hobby I couldn’t afford to make time for.

When the world slowed down during the pandemic, there were a lot of synchronicities that guided me back to creating. I started painting again, mostly as a form of therapy, but also as a way to connect with my love of cinema. Before long, I found myself pulled toward charcoal: the ease, the texture, the blend of it. Charcoal allowed me to capture the beauty of humans with ease, both physically and emotionally.

Over the years, I’ve worked with several spiritual business coaches, both of whom helped me connect my inner world to my outer work. But the more I evolved, the more I realized that my art wasn’t meant to fit neatly into a “business” structure. I felt called to something freer, to create work that blends art, writing, and reflection. It became less about expression and more about connection, showing people that their own contradictions, doubts, and desires are worth exploring. Two years ago, I made a huge leap and moved abroad on a whim. That experience cracked me open. It pushed me out of the structures I’d built for safety and into something more alive. Since then, I’ve been creating from a place that’s less about perfection and more about truth.

Now, my creative practice feels like a living conversation. Movies, poets, and the human condition are constant influences. I’ve always been inspired by artists and writers who reflect deeply, and question everything, and I try to do the same through my work. Whether through essays, poetry, or portraits, my work invites people to pause, think, and feel, but also to challenge the parts of themselves they are afraid to face. I want my work to remind people that growth and self-discovery aren’t linear, but a constant ebb and flow of becoming.

Today, back in the states, I see myself not just as an artist, but as a storyteller; someone who uses images and words to explore what it means to be alive, to grow, and to become the best version of yourself. And I’ve found pleasure in doing that through a weekly newsletter on Substack.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. For a long time, I wrestled with self-doubt and the pressure to make my art into a “business”. After college, I carried this belief that art had to be practical, profitable, or validated by someone else to be worthwhile. That mindset made me afraid to make art that resonated with me, and more about something I could sell.

When I started creating again, it wasn’t easy to rebuild that trust in myself. There were moments when I questioned whether I’d lost my spark or if I even had the right to call myself an artist anymore. On top of that, I had to learn to navigate the inner tug-of-war between having to share my work online as a commodity for others vs. protecting it for myself.

Working with mentors helped me unlearn a lot of that fear and perfectionism. But even then, I had to face the truth that growth doesn’t always look graceful, it often looks like starting over, over and over again, and continuing to meet yourself at your edge.

Moving abroad added another challenging layer to the mix. Being in a new country, away from everything familiar, forced me to rely on intuition instead of validation. It stripped me down in the best and hardest ways, and that discomfort became fuel for my art, especially my writing.

In hindsight, the “struggles” have been the most meaningful part of my journey. They’ve made me more honest, both in my work and with myself. After all, if the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s – Carl Jung.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work exists somewhere between fine art and self-reflection. I create large charcoal portraits of famous actors/actresses, intimate poetry, and written pieces that explore the human experience: identity, desire, memory, and the moments that shape who we become. I’m endlessly fascinated by people: their faces, their contradictions, their fears and desires, the chaos of being alive.

What I’m most known for is probably how I combine visual art with words, and my love for cinema into my work. My art isn’t just about how something looks, but how it feels: how a line of poetry can deepen a portrait, how a movie can leave you speechless for days, or how a drawing can make language more visceral. I see my art as a mirror, inviting people to pause and recognize parts of themselves they’ve maybe avoided or forgotten.

I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve kept creating, even when no one was watching, or when the money doesn’t match the work I’ve put in. Every phase of my art has reflected a different version of me, from photography to painting to charcoal to writing, and somehow it’s all led to a body of work that feels alive, always evolving.

What sets me apart, I think, is my commitment to honesty. I don’t create from a place of performance or perfection; I create from curiosity. My work doesn’t try to provide answers, it holds space for the questions we’re all still figuring out.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
There have been a few people who’ve made a huge impact on my journey, both creatively and personally. Over the years, I’ve worked with two spiritual business coaches who helped me bridge the gap between my edge and my business. They taught me how to trust my intuition, stray from the beaten path, to create from alignment instead of fear, and to build a life that feels meaningful rather than just “successful.”

I’ve also been lucky to have friends and fellow creatives who believed in me times when I wasn’t sure I believed in myself. Sometimes all it takes is someone reminding you that what you’re doing matters, that your work has value, even when you can’t see it yet. And the support of my family has been crucial and unwavering.

Of course, I owe so much to the artists, creators, writers, and filmmakers before me who continue to inspire me from afar. People like Anaïs Nin, Sylvia Plath, Sharon Horgan, Florence Given, Hitomi Mochizuki and even actors like Elizabeth Taylor and Catherine Deneuve, people who are unapologetically themselves and unafraid to explore the messiness of being human. Their work and even lives gave me permission to explore my own truth.

Every person who’s ever connected with my work, whether they bought a piece, read a poem, or simply reached out to say it resonated, has played a role too. That sense of shared humanity, of being understood, is what keeps me going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ipaintacrylic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ipaintacrylic
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylereshelby
• Other: https://www.letterboxd.com/tylereshelby