Watercolor Artist Talks About Inspiration and the Importance of Art | Gary Don McCall | Full Text Artist Sit Down

What is your primary medium?

Watercolor. I really like watercolor. And earlier you and I talked about stained glass, acrylic and oil.

What got you interested in painting?

Way back in high school, they used to give you an aptitude test to see what you were good for. And for me they said, “You'd make a good artist or architect.” I didn't take their advice. 50 years later I lost my job, and I went, “Whoa, you got to do something, Gary!” So I went down to the local art store, Terry was still at Boise Blue in those days, down next to McU Sports. I figured I better get some lessons. There was a wonderful professor from Boise State, God rest his soul, but he had Paint/Draw on Cassia Street and then he moved over to Bank Drive. I met so many wonderful people in that class. So after the traumatic experience of losing a job, I put my focus on art and I started another business. Art not only pulled me out of my funk, it threw a rope down the hole, to paraphrase Das Energi, I climbed out and started a new business. I'm happy to say 10 or 12 of my family are running that business today. So art was a lifesaver for me, probably always has been. But certainly it was then.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Just looking around, driving around this town. There's so much history. Alexa Rose offers a wonderful opportunity to artists once or twice a year and I put in for a road trip. Just to go around and paint some of the old buildings, theaters, and bridges we grew up with before they change. I'm not opposed to change, but it's kind of nice seeing a little history before it changes and I think artists can grab that. They can put life to it, and somebody will go “Oh my god, I remember when I jumped off that bridge when I was a kid!”, or “I caught a fish under there”, or I was showing off for my girlfriend, and I about drowned. So, you know, good stuff. Just yesterday I went downtown, and I was down by Peace Valley, and I saw two little boys hanging on a rail and I went “Oh my god.” So I came home and I drew that. It was just something I wanted to capture. And so it's sitting on my art table.

Are there any Boise specific opportunities you feel you've had?

Boise and the whole Valley. Meridian with their Initial Point Gallery we've shown there at least three or four times. Beautiful gallery in city hall. I highly recommend it to everybody. City of Kuna, the City of Marsing, the City of Eagle give you so many opportunities with their small art and murals. Getting closer to home, the City of Boise, they offered the bus stops, they offer the traffic boxes. They just really, you can't go downtown without having your socks knocked off by seeing some of that public art. So yes, thank you Boise and the whole Treasure Valley here. We've even been down to Twin Falls, we did Art and Soul. Now, Art and Soul had a fairly high cost to get into it, but they gave out like $50,000. So there's some big prize money there.

How long have you been doing art?

When I got fired in 2000 is when I decided to just start doing it. So that's 21 years and so many opportunities. And like Scott Peck said, in The Road Less Traveled, if somebody says, “Gee, I wish I could do that.” I would say “You can do that! It just takes time.” Just sit down and do it. Everybody can paint. Everybody can draw it. We're all creative beings. So try it, you'll like it.

Why do you think art is important?

Art is important because a lot of the time it tells the truth. I mean, there's all kinds of art. But sometimes art tells us the truth. Right now down at the Boise Art Museum is the Mini-West Show. I grew up with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, and all of those wonderful cowboys. But the Native Americans had a different take on these cowboy shows than I did and the art that's being shown at the Boise Art Museum right now shows you that. At the mini West show, there is a piece that's probably 24 foot wide, and probably five foot high, that is drawn by somebody in Japanese style art that shows that Minidoka camp, and the Boise Art Museum in all of their wisdom, put it up on the wall for everyone to see. And it's just a beautiful piece of Japanese art. And it's a piece of Idaho history that we all should embrace. If we embrace the good stuff, we should embrace the bad stuff. And that's what art does. I think besides being fun it tells the truth. While I'm at it, I would ask all of the viewers out there, when you see somebody's art, please don't say that it's cute. Artists have heard this so much. They're really tired of it. So if you could move up a step in your vocabulary and just say, That's interesting, that would be good. But please drop the cute, thank you.

What gets you up in the morning to create?

Well, I'm retired. I always got up early in the morning. I like coffee. I like to read the newspaper. I like to walk the dog. I like to play an hour worth of guitar. And I like to do an hour worth of yoga. Then after I get that out of the way, I have a free day, and you can only read so much. So I choose art, or art chooses me. I'm very fortunate in probably doing two or three pieces of art a week because I enjoy it and I like to see what's going to come out. One of my teachers, John Killmaster, always said plan out your painting, look at your composition, figure out what you want to do before you do it, and sometimes, I take that advice. And sometimes I don't. But good advice, John, thank you.

Do you think art is something you'll ever stop doing?

No. No, in fact, I'm reminded of Pissarro. Pissarro was a teacher to Cézanne and so many more of the Impressionists. He couldn't use his hands, so he tied brushes to his arms to paint until his final days. And I hope that I have a little Pissarro in me. Namaste. Thank you.

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What is your primary form of art?

My primary medium is spray paint, aerosol mixed with latex paints. Sometimes it depends on the job or the project but my first love is spray paint. 

What got you interested in it? 

Mainly just from graffiti just growing up you know as a teenager playing around with spray paint doing letter forms that kind of stuff and that introduced me to basically art in general.

How long have you been creating?

Basically since I was in high school. I started painting with spray paint and that was really my first introduction to a real passion in the arts.

Where do you find the motivation to go out and create?

My motivation comes from just a pure buildup of ideas you know that I can't stop really getting the ideas and if I don't act on them it almost hurts me. So you know, I get inspiration from the people I paint with, my crew, all sorts of people I've met, and other artists in the Boise area and nationally, globally. All sorts of inspirations in my house my lady, my daughter. You know it kind of comes from everywhere and all those factors just make me want to go and do something cooler, better, newer and I just got to act on it. 

Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?

Most of my designs are following a path of ideas that have been developed over the years. I work on some projects with a buddy of mine Mawk One and we come up with those collaboratively and then my individual work I kind of just bring whatever influences I'm feeling that day into it and try to work it out on the wall. 

What's it like to paint on a large non-movable object like a wall? 

I love painting on walls especially large walls because it's something that is a fixture and especially if it's in a public place you know anybody can walk by and have their own interaction with it at any given time. I like painting on a large scale like that because if it's larger than you the work will envelop you and draw you into it in a way that you can't really achieve that easily with a smaller piece or a canvas. So that aspect of it always always makes me excited.

What’s it been like being a working professional artist here in Boise?

Boise’s been pretty good. I'm a native Boisean and I'm like third generation so I know this place well and when I was growing up and just starting into it wasn't very developed in the kind of art that I do and so now being able to work at it full-time it's a pretty cool way to sculpt and mold the city in an image that I see it deserves. It can be hard because there's not as many big people or you know it's not the same as a different bigger city but we're growing a lot and it's a cool opportunity to be part of that growth.

Have you faced any kind of challenges doing graffiti style art?

There's been some interesting situations over the years. Especially Boise being a pretty clean city and not having a whole lot of history of graffiti or graffiti art. You know when I first started there was not as much demand for that kind of thing and people have seen it over the years become more prevalent in pop culture and just in culture in general and being more acquainted with it I think kind of alleviates some of that tension that they have with what their perception of graffiti is to the common person. I think that what I do in the portraiture and realism stems directly from graffiti that I did so without that there wouldn't have been this style that I work in now so I try to relate that to people and at least open people’s minds a little bit to that as a stepping stone or as a you know integral part of what a lot of these big murals you see where they come from and how they're created. There's been some funny interactions painting legal pieces but that are in a graffiti style and people's reactions to those on the street or neighboring people’s is a little bit different sometimes. We've had some interactions with the police about that and I've actually been in arguments with police officers about the definition of graffiti and if it's legal, but if it's on a legal space, but it's still in the graffiti form what does that make it? You know there's been some funny things but over the years I think it's like I said been developed into a little bit more acceptable way to work.

What keeps you going and what’s on your horizon?

I’ve been working as a full-time artist for six or seven years now and doing a lot of commercial work, doing a lot of really custom tailored pieces that you know reflect a individual or a business's ideas or aesthetic, which is good it's been really good practice for me and get me into waters where I may not have tread otherwise. Right now my focus is really developing the concepts that I want to be heard and want to see in our city and in the world and making that more of a priority in my life and in my art expression you know. It's a way to to do something more fulfilling I feel like in the long run and at some point there's that transition where a lot of artists feel that push and I feel like I'm there.

What makes art important?

It's just a really direct way to talk to people to speak to people on your terms and on their terms. There's a lot to be said for learning through school and universities and a lot of people get their information from social media or news outlets obviously but I think art is just one of the rare places where you can communicate with somebody very directly. If it's in a public space like Freak Alley or other places you know in a populated area those people are gonna interact with that and whatever goes through their mind when they're looking at that is a conversation you're having with them directly through the art and that to me is an opportunity that shouldn't be taken lightly.

What’s it like browsing Instagram and seeing one of your paintings pop up?

It’s cool, I like it because it means that conversation is happening you know on some level. Even if it's just a pretty picture that people like and makes their brain light up in some sort of way that you know makes some level of enjoyment happen I'm cool with that if it makes them think a little bit deeper about something I'm cool with that too it's nice to be recognized in the real world and the fake world of Instagram.

Has it been a difficult journey to be able to live off your art?

For me it's just been a lot of dedication to things that aren't just painting you know. You have to be your own manager, you have to be your own publicist, you have to be in meetings and talking to people and analyzing things and a lot of people may or may not be prepared to do all that extra work and applications and the things that go along with not being as creative. As well as taking jobs that aren't 100% their brainchild or you know right up their alley so there's a lot of give-and-take when you're trying to live off of art, especially in a place like Boise and especially when you're not a famous name. But like I said it's taught me a lot of things along the way and I think I'm probably better off for it in the long run so there's multiple ways to go about it. I know really really talented artists here that have a day job or a night job and they keep their art separate from their main method of making money and it works for them so I mean you just have to figure out where you're comfortable and where you're trying to go, but it is possible.

Is art something you would ever quit doing?

I don't see stopping ever. I think it can mutate and morph into all sorts of different manifestations. I like to sketch too, I like to do digital drawings. I like to paint occasionally. I don't see why those things can't all interact in some way that keeps me interested and there's a puzzle that'll never be solved or you know, you never get to the end of being creative so I think it's something that'll keep me stimulated forever.

Anything else you’d like to say?

I'm just thankful for the people that are in Boise, both the artists and just the residents who have kind of made it a priority to include these things in the city and its life. And the Art & History department for being on the front lines of that, and everybody who is coming up trying to make something happen for themselves.