Who knew that a 6″ x 6″ painting of an orange could gain over 300,000 Likes on Instagram? Certainly not artists Adam (Commercial Art ’06, M.F.A. Art ’09) and Andrea (Commercial Art ’06, M.F.A. Art ’09) Clague. They were “blown away by the response,” according to a video they recorded to express thanks to the Lord and to their social media audience.
Throughout their career as independent artists, which has been full of recognition and awards for both Adam and Andrea, the couple has maintained a grateful spirit with a dedicated focus. Their work as a whole—including portraits, figurative works, still life, and landscapes—shares a common purpose. “In general, whether it’s dramatic light or whatever we’re capturing in the painting, the goal is to capture the beauty of God’s creation,” Adam said. “The beauty is there [in the subject], not because I’m making it up as I paint, but because God put it there. So, as I try to capture that beauty, I hope that people will see God’s beauty.”
Influences and Studies
From childhood, with support from his parents, Adam constantly had a pencil in his hands, and inspiration for his drawings came from children’s book illustrations, cartoons, and comics. By age 12, Adam started to explore with color media, and a growing fascination with creating realistic work began to emerge.
“I was homeschooled on the Abeka curriculum, so I knew about Pensacola Christian College,” Adam said. “In high school, I attended [Youth Outreach Ministry’s] Art Camp two years in a row, and I really loved the program. I could tell at Art Camp that PCC [faculty were] teaching the fundamentals of what I wanted to do. ‘This is the serious stuff,’ was the thought I had as I learned how to make realistic art. And I realized that the instructors could really help me get where I wanted to go as an artist.”
Once at PCC, Adam focused intently on growing as an artist. As he learned and applied the instruction from his teachers, Adam refined his focus and found a direction within the fine-art field. “I went specifically with portraiture, because, somewhere along the line, I heard that was the most difficult and challenging pursuit in fine art,” he explained. “So I wanted to go all the way, whatever that was. And that continued all the way through my master’s show. I was building up enough portraits to fill a portfolio to make that happen.”
A friendly and involved student, Adam enjoyed building friendships with classmates who were pursuing their own artistic growth. One in particular, Andrea (Orr), became more than a friend, albeit over time. (“I’m a slow mover,” Adam admitted.) Three years after the two completed their Master of Fine Arts degrees at PCC, they married; and leaving their homes in Michigan and Ohio, they started life together as working artists just outside of Kansas City, Missouri.
Recognition and Redirection
During the three years between finishing graduate school and getting married, both Adam and Andrea continued to paint while seeking opportunities for their work to be seen. For Andrea, recognition came quickly in the September 2010 issue of Southwest Art magazine in its annual “21 Under 31” issue highlighting up-and-coming artists. Her painting, which depicted her sister Becca (Orr) Sires (Commercial Art ’08, M.A. Art ’12), sold within a few days of the magazine’s release. Two years later, Adam earned that same recognition in the magazine. “Contests were a big part of what I was doing at the beginning of my career,” Adam recalled. “An artist I interned with highly recommended entering as many contests as I could. God really blessed with some good success in those contests.”
Those blessings brought recognition, which opened up new opportunities that had not been previously considered, specifically in teaching. “I thought being an artist was just painting and selling. I hadn’t considered teaching as a major component,” Adam said. “Someone encouraged me to teach workshops, but I didn’t think I had anything to contribute in that way. But when I taught my first workshop, I realized that I had taken for granted what I got from PCC with knowing how to draw and apply values. It was shocking to me the huge discrepancy between the education I got and what other people got.”
Adam’s teaching grew from one-on-one instruction to in-person group workshops, then into an online course, which has allowed him to reach a much larger audience.
Eventually, Adam’s focus in art shifted toward figurative work, and then again to still life. “My focus has been on still life because it’s much easier to sell,” Adam explained. “Figurative work is difficult to sell consistently, so I changed directions to something that I’m passionate about and something that people will collect.”
With the arrival of their sons Gideon and Jaron, Andrea’s focus shifted to family life. She invests daily in their growth and development, and she has started homeschooling the couple’s older son with Abeka as well.
Monetization and Motivation
In addition to finding the right subject matter and work/life balance, the couple has learned other lessons related to making a living through art. According to Adam, what’s most important is loving the subject matter. “I’m grateful that I get to do something that I’m passionate about,” he said. “The blessing of doing that while participating in something that I love is the best thing about being an artist.”
With being a husband and father, teaching online, and creating new work, Adam continues learning how to balance responsibilities and maximize hours in the day. “I had no idea how such a big percentage of my time is running a business,” he said. “You’re doing everything for yourself. You really are an entrepreneur. You’re not guaranteed an income month by month.”
Seeing fifty percent of their income go to gallery commissions led to a change. “A few years ago, we decided to start selling directly to collectors,” Adam said. “Because the Lord blessed us with a big social media following, we’ve been able to continue doing that, and we have the tools in our hands to do our own marketing outside of the gallery system.”
While grateful to make a living through art, Adam and Andrea Clague are quick to share that it’s not finances that are the most important element for being successful artists. “Being raised as a Christian, my parents encouraged me to give God the glory for the talents He gave me,” Adam said. “And the most important thing is to stay grounded in your relationship with God and His Word by actively pursuing your relationship with Him. That’s more important than anything.”
Read more about how God is directing and working through PCC faculty and alumni.