Ethan Harrington – Street Artist

July 27, 2007 Terkel

Ethan is a painter with an unshaven stubble, a kangol hat, and an iPod. He doesn’t take his headphones off during the course of the interview.

How To Be a Street Artist

Noah: I’m Noah. This is Brett, Jay, and Zach. We’re with a group called Pursue the Passion. We’re traveling around the country for three months interviewing people who love what they do. So would you say that you love what you do?

Absolutely.

Noah: What is it that you do?

I paint pictures for a living. That’s all I do. I stand outside. I pick different scenes in the city to paint. And I also have a series of paintings of young ladies with guns and whiskey. So that’s what I do at night.

Noah: Young ladies with guns and whiskey? Excellent.

Yeah. Add scantily clad to the list.

Noah: So is this quote unquote all you do. Or do you have another job?

This is all I do.

Noah: And it supports you pretty well?

Yep. Well, I pay my rent, and I pay my car payment. That’s enough.

Noah: Well, what advice would you give to people who want to become artists?

For painting at least, what I’ve found to be successful is putting up displays of my artwork all over town. I do as much as I can. Putting it up in a restaurant, or café, or gallery…just constantly having artwork out there for people to see. That’s the main thing.

Zach: Would you finish a painting like this in one day? Or is this a several day project?

This will be several days. This will be my first day. I’m only two hours into this one. I have a finished one over here that’s about three days of work.

Z: Do you like doing this stuff better or the ladies?

That’s a tough one. They kind of balance each other out. I’ve got a girlfriend now, but when I was single that was a super good way to meet girls.

N: What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?

I don’t know. Maybe music or something. But definitely something creative. I’d have to do something creative.

how to be a street artist ethan harrington