Meet Chris Hamer: Urbnpop

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

Hi Chris, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Life is all about taking risks, from choosing the road to drive down to picking a partner to deciding to follow your dreams.. It’s extremely scary most of the time but if what you chose is where your dreams and goals are then I personally have found it easier to navigate.. All I have ever wanted to do was draw and make art, and because I took that risk, I’m doing it and making a living doing so.. Taking that risk, put a lot at stake, but even though life has changed tremendously for me, I’m still consistently doing what I love and being rewarded for taking those initial risks.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In 2007, I lost my (a) job for the first time in my life, then bouncing back lost another one due to cut backs and finally landing a new one, I realized just how I had been floundering around from one job to the next job most of my young life. I was just incredibly unhappy, but fear and uncertainty kept me from being able to pinpoint why.. one thing to keep in mind with this story is. In between these jobs, and after almost 30 years of the fear of showing off my art I finally mustered the courage to submit a piece of art to a group show.. It was accepted and now the little corner of Atlanta ( or in my mind the whole damn world) would see what very little other people had seen.. “ my art” The show past and I Got bit by some sort of art bug and just could not get enough of showing people my art, it became a drug.. life moved on I got married and being an artist full time was too unstable, so I went and got another job ( here’s where that job I lost with the cut backs happened) on top of this I was playing drums in a band, and still doing my best to show folks my art, working 50 hours a week and doing my best to be present for my wife… so the stress of too many Things at once, put me in the hospital and the Doctor strongly urged me to cut back and pick one of the extra things I loved to do and simply do that, ( to slow down and prioritize what I loved is what I heard) So art was my choice, now how to do it? I talked to my wife and her next few words changed the course of my life… she said, give it a try, just do your best to follow these three rules- 1- make as much money as you can. 2- don’t get arrested and 3- don’t get an STD.. because these three rules seemed strange, I asked her to explain.. simply put, do your best to provide for us, don’t do anything stupid to provide for us and remember what you have between us and don’t do anything stupid to mess it up. With the clarity it all made sense.. 14 years later I’m still trucking away at art.. even though we are no longer together, I owe her a great deal of love and appreciation for taking those risks with me.. Nothing is easy, but my passion has always been stronger that the profit I would make from it.. there has been many uphill challenges and disappointments that I wanted to give up, but surround your self with people who believe in you and those times when you are on the edge to give up , friendship and love from them will give you a little more strength to carry in..

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being a native to Georgia, I would take them to all the places I spent growing up. Some of my favorites, have been Little five points, down town Decatur, And East Atlanta.. The bars and shops in these areas have diffidently played a role in who I am today.. Some of my favorite hangouts are- Diesel filling station, the earl, 529 the many different breweries from Atlanta and north of the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My daughter Amelia.

Website: http://www.urbnpop.com
Instagram: Urbnpop
Twitter: Urbnpop

Image Credits
The adventures of Byron cover is drawn by Chris Hamer and published by Scout Comics.