PK 097: ArtRage Artist Phil Galloway Reveals How Twitter Helped Launch His Career

Artrage artist Phil Galloway saw his creative career take off after a chance conversation on Twitter

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“I think the day that you think you’ve cracked it is the day you’re NOT going to be an artist.

~ Phil Galloway

ArtRage artist Phil Galloway always wanted to make a career out of his paintings and drawings.

But it was a chance conversation on Twitter that led to him discovering a whole new way of making art…and finding the creative opportunities he’d been looking for.

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Digital portrait created by Phil Galloway using the ArtRage app

ArtRage Artist Phil Galloway – His Creative Journey

Although he’s become known for his digital art, Phil comes from a fine art background originally and studied his Masters in The History of Art at Aberdeen University and The British Institute of Florence.

However, like many artists, Phil didn’t immediately get to the stage where he could give up the day job and devote all his time to painting and drawing.

He says: “I’ve always been a fine artist while doing other jobs, I suppose. Everyone was telling me ‘You should be an artist, Phil! What are you doing with yourself?!’”

And then, completely by chance, he suddenly found himself one step closer to fulfilling his dream. And it all started with a single tweet moaning about wanting a new mobile phone after a beer or two…

He laughs: “I was getting annoyed with the phone I had, so I had a moan about it on Twitter. Then Nokia Lumia got in touch and asked me if I wanted to try their new phone out! And it was there, on the Lumia 1520’s big screen, that I had my first go at digital painting.”

That moment, which Phil describes as a ‘game-changer’. was just two years ago.

And since then, he’s done more work with Microsoft which has led to other opportunities and enabled Phil to give up his day job and become a full-time artist.

However, like all artists, Phil is constantly discovering new techniques and ways of using his choice of software to get the best possible results.

As he says: “The day that you think you’ve cracked it is the day you’re not going to be an artist!”phil-galloway-francis-bacon

Digital portrait of Francis Bacon by Phil Galloway

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Digital portrait of Lucien Freud by Phil Galloway

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Digital portrait of David Hockney by Phil Galloway

phil-galloway-willem-de-kooning

Digital portrait of Willem de Kooning by Phil Galloway

Here are some of the questions we asked Phil Galloway in this week’s podcast:

  1. How do you start a digital painting?
  2. How does other software compare to ArtRage?
  3. How long does each painting take to finish?
  4. Can you ever know absolutely everything about making art?
  5. What’s the ArtRage and digital art community like?
  6. What should you do if you’re new to digital art?

You’ll find the answers to these and many more questions in this week’s podcast.

We hope hearing the story of ArtRage artist Phil Galloway helps inspire you to pursue your dreams of a creative career.

Because just one small moment in time (like a tweet or a chance conversation) can be all it takes to change your life.

And, if you enjoyed this podcast, you might also like:

PK077: Jon deMartin on Figure Drawing Techniques

PK057: Kelly Christophers on Art & Creative Communities

PK055: Fine Artist Jane Radstrom on Portraits

People on this Episode:

Links From This Episode:

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Thanks for listening to our show! We’ll be back next Wednesday morning 8AM EST.

Cheers,

Mitch

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3 thoughts on “PK 097: ArtRage Artist Phil Galloway Reveals How Twitter Helped Launch His Career”

  1. We loved the interview! And we’ve been enjoying Phil’s work since he first started posting it, so it’s really nice to see him get some wider recognition.

    A little clarification about the editions, as there was a bit of confusion over that:

    The original app Phil used was ArtRage Touch, an Windows App store exclusive app that was originally designed for Windows 8 RT devices that could only use apps, not desktop software. It’s US$9.99 in the app store. However, anything running Windows 10 can run our full desktop software now. We recommend trying the free ArtRage 4 demo if you’re not sure if your device can handle the full program!

    ArtRage Lite and ArtRage 4 are the desktop programs for Windows and Mac OSX. Lite is the ‘introductory’ version for people who don’t need all the features, and it can be upgraded to the full version at any time at a 50% discount. It’s the one that comes free with Intuos Draw tablets. ArtRage 4 is the one that does everything. They’re US$29.90 and US$49.90 respectively.

    We also have paid apps for Android and iPad which are as fully featured as we can get them, both US$4.99. There’s also an iPhone app for US$1.99 and a free Android app that just focuses on the oils and doesn’t have layers for people who just want to mess around with paint without getting distracted or test ArtRage out a bit (by the way, if you have a Samsung Note device, check Galaxy Gifts in case you got ArtRage as a free download!).

    We’re always very happy to answer questions and encourage people to try the free desktop demo if you’re not sure – the natural media tools and canvas across the various apps and software should all act the same way, so other than some platform/device limitations on features, the demo will give you a good feel for the mobile apps.

  2. What a great introduction to Phil and his work.. and he sounds like a top bloke.. down to earth, humble… are you sure he’s not Australian? Ok just kidding.
    Seriously though, nice interview and rung true to me as I work in both mediums also (natural media and digital).
    Keep the creative, interesting interviews coming.. loving listening to them.

    Cheers,
    Leith in Oz.

    1. Hi Leith and thanks so much for getting in touch. Yup, Phil’s an absolute star and it’s great to hear how well his art career has taken off. Good luck with your art and feel free to keep us updated with your latest projects – we always love to see what our members are up to! Cheers, Chris at PK 🙂

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