As the owner of Rainmaker Advertising Agency, I decided to try my hand at painting and picked up my very first brush in 2001. I had been designing creative work on a computer for years, but I wanted to create something more tactile. I felt disconnected and isolated from my digital art.
While perfecting my skills and building my artistic toolbox, I discovered a second benefit from abstract painting. I realized that the act of painting provides a meditative quality, and I can use it to calm my busy thoughts and receive creative inspiration.
For me, there are two different types of painting; meditative and flow. Meditative paintings involve lots of tight detail and the repetitive use of my brush. During this type of painting, I clear my thoughts and cultivate creative ideas. Flow involves quick and rapid placement of strokes on the canvas in a respond/react, respond/react method. Both methods meld together to create my original work.
I widely credit my diverse style with the ability to let this “inspired state” take me where I need to go; always evolving and always exploring new techniques. Throughout the years, I’ve had successful art shows throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Addison, Deep Ellum, Fort Worth, and other privately-owned locations.”
Several years ago, then Addison City Manager Ron Whitehead, invited me to have a private art show at the Addison Artisan Center. At that time, Ron impressed upon me the value of the creative arts in building community and economy.
It was during one of my meditative painting sessions that I came up with the idea for my Urban Artist Market. I was inspired to combine my marketing and artistic skills and founded this bi-annual event. The Urban Artist Market is an indoor show that brings together more than 70 diverse artists with the opportunity to sell their unique, one-of-a-kind works. On October 11-12, 2019, I will again join my curated group of artisans and present my work at the Urban Artist Market.
I knew this was something important that I wanted to do, both for the artist and the surrounding community because, after all, art motivates all of us! For more information on my art, visit cjmillerart.com. For more information on the show, visit urbanartistmarket.com.
