Extraordinary People: Landon Richmond

During my time in Boston my first semester of College, I was fortunate enough to meet Landon Richmond. One day while walking down Commonwealth, I noticed Landon selling prints on the street.

The prints spoke for themselves, questioning many disturbing societal normalcies that tend to get overlooked. Each painting held Landon's unique style, which can be seen below:

I talked with Landon for some time before purchasing a print. The print had a caption on the bottom: This can't be real. Everything is an advertisement. The print still holds a spot on my wall today.

Although I left Boston, I continued to follow Landon's work through his website as well as facebook. Over the last few years, Landon's seen more success than his humble street side beginnings. He has just ended a month long gallery stint in the Sarasota Square Mall, located in Florida, which received much positive feedback. Landon has also been able to attract costumers for commercial work. Below is album artwork for Turn The Safety Off, the metal band, D15's latest work.

Landon was kind enough to step back from his busy schedule and answer some questions I had for him. He shares some of the knowledge and experiences he has gathered over the years, helping lay a strong foundation for his art. Landon's answers can be found below. Enjoy.


When did you start painting?
Landon: I've been making art all my life and it has always been something constant for me. One of my first memories is of drawing. The other is getting hit in the face with a brick in preschool. While I was in class, I paid more attention to sketching than the teachers, which probably accounts for my terrible command of math. My imagination was out of control. I couldn't soothe my mind unless I was able to manifest it. I've always had a twisted imagination, which resulted in being shunned for most of my childhood and caused me to keep my art to myself for a long period of time.

When did you decide to make a living off of your work?

Landon: I decided to focus on art as a career the moment I made 20 dollars off a drawing. I was selling my art on the street after a friend urged me to do so. Making the jump from not showing my personal art with people, to showing on the street was big for me. 
During my short stay in art school, I took a risk with my first portfolio review. Instead of showing drawings of vases and wine bottles they required us to draw, I showed the professors my personal paintings which revealed the loneliness of heart break, frustrations with society, and absurdity. The professors failed me and told me to stop resisting. I quit school after that. That summer, my friend urged me to sell my art on the street with him. It felt like the ultimate middle finger to art school, a possibility to break out of my shell, and a sweet golden chance.

From sitting on a stoop on the sidewalk in Boston, during all four seasons, I have been able to build a career. I followed a chance and took a leap of faith. I was willing to fall from the leap, but luckily I didn't.

How has your name grown over the last few years?

Landon: It's hard to answer something like that. I don't think we're ever as big or small as we think we are. Concretely, I'm selling more originals, receiving more fan mail, getting more commissions, and selling more prints than I  have in previous years, and that seems to happen each year. Sometimes I feel like hot shit. Other times I feel like a complete nobody. However, when I'm painting, none of that shit matters. Careers are something that grow. Most people don't start on top, they start on the shit eating bottom. Those who have made it to the top are the resilient, rebellious, and have held up a strong middle finger to those who told them no.

Where have you have found your greatest success?

Landon: Many artist have to do certain kinds of paintings people ask them to do, while doing their own stuff on the side. I have been very blessed to be able to sell art that I want to make, by my standards, and have never needed to sacrifice my integrity. Even with my commissions, my clients know what thy are stepping into -- my imagination. 

I've tried to be smart, and rather than just trying to sell original paintings, I've branched out to prints, t-shirts, bookmarks, and other things in that are works in progress. Out of all of them, my prints sell the best. It's really great for both the customer and the artist. The customer gets a really fair price on some art, while I am able to make some money from it. In todays society, in this country, you need to view your art with an entrepreneurial spirit. I'm not saying sell out and paint whatever makes you money. What I'm saying is, share the art you make in relevant ways.

Is it difficult to put prices on your work?

Landon: At first it was difficult to place a price tag on my work. I either priced it way too high, or way too low -- both ways have fucked me over. I eventually developed a formula. You add the cost of materials, the amount to time it took to make, how good you think it looks, how emotionally attached you are, and from it you come out with a price. It took me a while to refine, but the most important factor in selling your work is confidence. 


How was the gallery in the Sarasota Mall received?

Landon: Opening a retail store has always been something I've wanted to do, because it seems like a big step up from selling my art on the sidewalk. Also, most galleries find my work too weird to display. I figured fuck them, I'll just make my own gallery to show my work and do things my way.

I wanted to be strategic about opening my own gallery and opted to do a gallery kiosk in a mall to test the waters. During the 2010 holiday season, I opened my KnowNoTruth gallery kiosk in the Sarasota Square Mall, located in Florida. I didn't know what to expect, especially in an elderly dominated town. It ended up being a smashing success, more so than I could have hoped for. Being in a mall where everything is so bland, repetitive, and a total make-believe reality of commerce, individuals considered my gallery kiosk as a breath of fresh air. I was surprised that only four people out of thousands gave me negative feedback. Each one of the 'haters' just glanced at one painting for a second before making their decision. 

The kiosk was such an awesome experience that I will be doing it again in February. With the experience I've gained, I will be setting my sights on starting an actual store in Boston.

It's so refreshing to be off the sidewalk and going in this new direction. On the sidewalk, I had to deal with the weather, oblivious people accidently stepping on my art, and the cops. I lost over 500 dollars worth of inventory to a sudden rain storm, almost got hypothermia, have almost been arrested more than once, despite having a permit.

Do you have any advice for others breaking into the art or media world? 
Landon: It's all been said before; work hard and don't give up. Look if you got something to say, the talent to say it, and the drive to do it, then fucking do it. Find out everything you can, experiment, and create as much as you can. Let failure motivate you, and have success make you take it to next level. 


Look out for another installment of "Extraordinary People" in the next coming weeks. If you would like In&OutOfFocus to tell your extraordinary story, please email: matthefferon@yahoo.com

Links:

KnowNoTruth.com

Landon Richmond