Tyler Tobacco
Tyler Tobacco is a local artist that has been churning out amazing pieces of work. We sat down with him to discuss his passion – drawing.
Q: Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to do this, Tyler, can you tell our readers a little more about yourself?
A: Hi I'm Tyler Tobacco, the emerging artist from Gateway to the North, The Pas, MB. I like to call myself The Pas' hidden talent, I didn't get much recognition until recently, most of my paintings leave town, some of my best ones are hanging up in homes in far off places. I'm becoming more recognized though and I appreciate it, not just locally but as far as Facebook takes me.
Q: How long have you been honing your artistic talent?
A: Being self-taught, and always having the skill, I've been honing my talent all my life. I'll continue to hone it until I physically can't anymore. I've only ever gotten serious about it in the past 5-6 years.
When I was 20 I moved out to BC for a while to learn what I could from my father. It was nothing but art for 3-4 solid months; I learned how to paint in my father’s style which is a lot simpler than what I'm currently doing, but there's beauty in simplicity and the Vancouver art scene recognizes that and his style of art. He's a well-known artist out in BC.
I spent some of that time carving soapstone and the very first piece I ever did, sold to a gallery and immediately sold in the gallery! I thought that was awesome - that carving being shown in someone's home in Vancouver, who would have thought eh?
In the past 3 years, I decided to step away from my father’s style of art and pursue more complicated pieces, which means more work. So, the stuff I'm doing now, has been my focus for the past 3 years.
My most current work, the spirits in the northern lights, took me close to a year to develop to where I felt like it was good enough to start releasing it. The plan was always there, I just didn't have the skill to pull it off until recently.
Q: How did you get your start as an artist?
A: Well, I didn't get a start as an artist, I was always an artist. Technically speaking though, I'm not sure what made me a 'legitimate artist'. Maybe it was my first sale and recognition? I guess when I was 20 out in BC. I went through a time where I didn't do anything artistic other than doodle, for about 7 years I was silent as an artist.
Q: What is your absolute favorite piece of work you’ve created?
A: That's a hard one to decide on! The bigger paintings I've done take time, testing of your patience and dedication to the craft. You learn to appreciate every painting you do especially when it's attempting something new.
My favorite though is probably a Yoda painting I did (pictured above) that I did for myself in order to test my ability. It was the most rewarding one, I learned the most from it! So, the Yoda painting I did will have to be my absolute favorite if I must decide.
Q: What inspires you as an artist?
A: As an artist, inspiration comes from everything, my biggest inspiration comes from my own personal desire to be better at what I create.
Q: If you could impart any piece of advice to the younger generation, what would it be?
A: "The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft." - Will Smith
DRAW!! Having that most important fundamental of drawing will elevate or hinder you. Most artistic people have some ability/talent to draw, but you want to excel beyond what most artistic people can do. You want to shadow, blend, detail, that's what will separate you from the rest, it can all be applied to painting, have patience, and have passion for whatever medium you work in, people see passion.
Thank you so much, Tyler, and good luck to you in your continued success! If you would like to check out more of Tyler's work, and keep up to date on his current and future projects, you can check out his Facebook page by clicking here.
