Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Foust.
Hi Tyler, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My art journey began as a tool to help me concentrate. About three years ago, during grad school (for healthcare administration), I found myself in a 4-hour lecture with my mind wondering. I knew I had to figure out a better way to stay in tune with what was being taught so I found that by doodling repeating lines on paper was the perfect activity. I was able to maintain concentration on the lecture because I had no temptation to scroll the internet.
During this time, I became fascinated with the challenge of drawing images that are composed of one non-touching line. I also became interested in optical art and art that appears 3d. I decided to snap some pictures and post them online. Shortly after, a person who saw one of my posts sent me a message. He told me that he was autistic and that he looked forward to my posts because he would print them and color them. This was thrilling to me! To know that my doodles had some benefit to someone else made me feel pretty good.
Shortly after, I got a message from another person on a forum. This man identified himself as a fan and asked if he could buy my art. This request came out of left field for me. It was the first time someone wanted to but anything that I drew. Unsure how to price my classroom doodles, I asked him to give me an offer. He asked if I would be willing to take $250. I immediately laughed it off as a scam but played along and gave him my Venmo details. To my surprise, his payment went through within five minutes.
This was a pivotal moment for me. It was around this moment that I played with the idea that I was an artist to some degree. I doubled down on my efforts to draw during my 4-hour lectures. I continued to post more and more. As I posted more art, more commissioned projects came my way.
After a year of this pattern, I realized that my art was bringing me out of tuition debt. I began to do design work for companies like The Hartford and the Innova Disc Golf company. I also partnered with a clothing company in Austin. That company did some research and informed me that I was the most upvoted artist on Reddit!
I began to do live streams and have on many occasions, attracted over 100k viewers. Currently, I am building a larger house with a studio built into it so that I can work on much larger projects. Although I have sold art worldwide, due to Covid, I have yet to present my work through a gallery.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I have been beyond fortunate to have such a good support base from fans of my work, along with my wife, who helps me package art for travel.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Formerly I was an ICU nurse. However, now I have transitioned to patient safety.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I loved to explore. As a child, I would purposefully try to disorient myself in the woods of Maine so that I could create an adventure to find my way home. I also enjoyed inventing and building. Growing up in Maine provided a lot of adventures, especially with the coasts and the ocean. Sailing was the weekend activity every summer.
Contact Info:
- Email: Tylerfoust82@gmail.com
- Website: Tylerfoust.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tfoust10/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/FoustMob
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/tfoust10/
