Meet Chandler Fowler | Freelance Artist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chandler Fowler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chandler, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I don’t believe you can be an artist without it requiring of you to take on the role of “risk-taker”. A bold statement that could easily be met with criticism of what risk-taking means. Surely, not all artists take risks and not all art can be considered risky, right? I would argue that to try making anything at all is a vulnerable process that requires risk. It does not always have to look like Picasso-style risk, a mastery of art-making and risk-taking that bent art history in a completely different direction. For the average artist, risk may look like sharing your art at all. And I would say bravo to that. The courage and fearlessness that it takes to put your art in front of a viewer in this day and age of saturated social media outlets in itself deserves some credit. In my own life and career as an artist, risk-taking looks like just going for it. There are too many things that could hold us back, too many lies we could believe about our work, and too many excuses that try to be louder than our own voice. It would be too easy to sit back and not make art because of fear or pride or anything you let get in your way. It’s risky business. But to be an artist, you have to be in the business of being a risk-taker. There is risk in saying yes, in putting your work out there, in showing your artist process, the list goes on. There is risk in making. Period. The constant battle of being an artist is your own willingness to let risk in. And when you do, however that may look, it is worth it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always danced back and forth across the line of an artist and a designer. My degree is in Interdisciplinary Art and Design which opened doors for all kinds of mediums, projects, and skills to grow in. From high school to college and since then, I have had experience ranging from graphic design/creative branding, fabric design, fine art/painting and drawing, screen printing, flower arrangement and so on. This could make me a “jack of all trades but master of none” but I don’t see it that way at all. I see it as a gift to steward and a list of endless opportunities I am prepared for. Imposter syndrome is quite common in the art and design world and is an easy hole to fall into. The most challenging thing for myself and the development of my brand has been to not fall hostage to imposter syndrome. No matter your medium or how often it changes, my work is my own and it matters! I don’t have to fit a mold of one kind of artist or designer to make work that matters. Something my situation has provided is the chance to be believed in by amazing people. Anytime a client and I dream up a collaboration, they’re taking a chance on me. And I never take that for granted! It is the most humbling thing and has made me a better artist.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Whenever I go to Atlanta, a perfect day would include Muchacho for some breakfast tacos, PERC for a cup of coffee (shoutout my hometown of Savannah!), and a trip to the High Museum of Art, obviously. Some other MUSTS include a ride on the Beltline, maybe a slice from Fellini’s, and a visit to Citizen Supply. You can’t spend a week in the city without a picnic at Piedmont park and a drink from the Golden Eagle (RIP).

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Like every artist, I wouldn’t be doing what I love without people who have pushed me and made a way for me. This is for them! My mom and dad, Calvin and Char-La Fowler, and all my siblings have called me an artist since I can remember. People who tell you who you are before you believe it yourself deserve the biggest shoutout. They were the ones who bought me my first paint sets and took me to art class and stayed up all night to help me put together portfolios and projects my whole life.
For high school, I was a Visual Arts major at Savannah Arts Academy and my teachers Mrs. Scoggins, Ms. Payne, and Mr. Schetski changed the game for me. Still to this day, I think about them and the ways they encouraged and pushed me out of my comfort zone.
In college and since then, so many of my people have instilled confidence in me, supported me by buying and sharing my work, and creating opportunities to let my voice be heard. The list could go on forever, I hope they know who they are. They are why I am where I am today.
I want to give a special shoutout to my friends who have entrusted me to tell their story through branding: Brendan Abernathy (singer and songwriter), Anne Henley Walker (AH_eats), Tripp Faircloth (Athens Hat Co.), and Kallie Tribble (Kallie Tribble Photography).

Website: chandlerfowler.com

Instagram: @chandlerfowlerart

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/chandler-fowler

Image Credits
Paige Laurel Photography (for head shot image and detail painting image) Other images are mine!