We’re looking forward to introducing you to Gary Paller. Check out our conversation below.
Gary, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I get up around 7:00. After breakfast I take a 20-30 minute walk wearing my weighted vest. I go into the studio and push paint around until late in the afternoon. Late in the day I walk the dog with my wife. We make dinner and then we settle in to binge watch foreign detective shows – I usually fall asleep for a bit early in our watching and my wife falls asleep later. Then we go to bed. I’ve skipped a lot, too.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m an abstract artist. I probably make the most complex, obsessive, highly-refined work out there.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
William Brice told me that the most important thing an artist can do is make a strong commitment to regular practice in the studio. He stressed the importance of having discipline to just keep working. I don’t know if it was his intention to make me feel guilty about it, but since hearing him talk about it I have felt that compulsion to always be productive. Perhaps I would have been that way anyway, as it may be my nature to just keep making stuff. I also remember Bill speaking about how some people (like Bill and I) need to make things, while some people prefer the activity of thinking about things.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
That life is not easy for most of us, and just because some people are successful doesn’t mean their lives are better. We don’t really know what’s is going on with everybody else. We don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. It’s unlikely anyone is completely happy or satisfied or always a good person or never worries or never suffers. If people are successful, they might fear changing directions, as they may lose followers; they may not have the courage to switch directions. Success could just mean being pleased with yourself and may not be merely fame or fortune. Suffering makes us consider a change of direction, or at least consider some options other than one might think of if just plowing ahead. Still, one shouldn’t aim to suffer.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That the people who buy art, the people who sell art, the people who curate art, and the people who write about art know what art is the best.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
It seems I’m doing to do what I was meant to do. When I started UCLA I was a math major, then I switched to psychology, then I switched to art. I haven’t regretted it. I’ve been making art ever since and don’t expect I will stop until I die.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.garypaller.com
- Instagram: gary_paller_studio
- Linkedin: Gary Paller
- Twitter: @GaryPaller
- Facebook: Gary Paller Artist
- Youtube: @garypaller4211
