Today we’d like to introduce you to Rian Kasner.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started painting murals in college kind of by accident. I played on the Southern Utah University soccer team and was studying graphic design at the time. Travis, our weight training coach, let me know that he was looking to paint a mural on a huge blank wall in the athletic weight room, and he asked me if I would be interested in designing it. I needed to get some required volunteer hours in for being on the soccer team, so I asked him if he’d be willing to let me paint the mural as a volunteer project, and if it didn’t go well he could just hire whoever he was going to hire to paint over it. He agreed, bought me the paint, and gave me after hour access to the gym to work on it. That project was the most exciting art project I had ever done at the time, and it turned out I wasn’t too bad at painting my work on a massive wall.
To be clear, I was a digital graphic design student who hadn’t even taking my painting foundations class yet. I was, in absolutely no way, a painter. But I fell in love with painting on that wall. I put the project up on social media, thinking it was going to be a bit of a one-and-done thing. Well, the right person came across my profile and recommended me to a local business that needed a mural, so they reached out to me and I had no idea what to charge them. I came at them with a $300 bid. They took pity on me and gave me $500. Now my murals go for thousands of dollars, but it took those first few beginning projects to learn the things that helped me build my professionalism, my skills, and my confidence, and I’m forever grateful to Travis for giving me that first opportunity that changed my life.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The largest struggle for me was that I was young when I started, so when I graduated college, I jumped into doing murals full time, but after a few months I wasn’t feeling secure enough because I was young and nervous about setting myself up for a responsible future. So, I took on a corporate design job alongside doing murals. That was really hard just because of time. I had a hard time doing both.
I took a bit of a mural hiatus to get my masters degree, and then right afterwards ended up having to get two ankle surgeries within 9 months (on the same ankle) due to an ongoing injury. So, that really set me back on my mural work. I am still getting back into painting since then and I can’t say I’m doing the mural thing full time quite yet. But I am working towards making my design and mural practice my full-time thing over the next few months.
So, when you ask if the road has been smooth, not really I guess. But I have had so many crazy successes that at times it has been. I have over 30 murals in 5 different states and counting. I have figured out enough to feel like I can mentor others who are just getting started in the field. I have been invited to paint at an arts festival overseas. There have been a lot of smooth parts of the road, and the bumps have mostly just been because of fear or health.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I paint murals. That’s my main thing. I call myself a traveling muralist, because I paint all over the place. I have work in 5 different states right now, and the big dream is to get all 50. I am known mostly for my typographic, sharp, bright, abstract piece. Work that ideally makes people stop, take a look, and smile.
Aside from murals, I also do digital and print design work. I love brand identity, print design, and really just any project that is exciting. My practice is leaning more into doing work with mission driven, small business, and nonprofit organizations. I’m wanting to focus on work that makes a difference for the people consuming, and makes an impact.
My practice is called Studio Rian and I am working towards making it my full-time work.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Book: Be The Artist by Thomas “Detour” Evans. This one helps set creatives up for business success. I think that is the thing that can prevent artists from doing their own thing because it feels like the business side of things is just too hard to learn or understand. Detour puts it into this book and makes it super digestible and seem feasible. A brilliant resource for me.
Book: We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rogers. The thing that stuck out to me the most in this read was when she said that whatever your rate is, double it on your next project. We’re typically underselling ourselves, so she asks that at the next consultation, tell the client your rates are double what they are and see what they say. When you charge professionally, you are seen as more professional, and you then start working with clients that are going to take you seriously. Changed the outcome of my business.
Book: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book reframed so many situations in life, and helped focus me. Everyone should read this, in my opinion.
Book: Whole Brain Living by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Showcases new findings on how our brains work and helps the reader characterize the different parts of ourselves. My whole thesis was based off this book. It has changed how I think about my interaction with myself and others.
Anyway, I like to read.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://riankasner.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/riankasner
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/riankasner
Image Credits
Rian Kasner
