Meet Adam Trest | Artist & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adam Trest and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adam, what makes you happy? Why?
I love this question because it has so many answers. I’m at a place in my career where going to work every day makes me bizarrely happy. I have worked for the last 15 years to pursue a career in the arts, and now that I am finding a rhythm and seeing my work being purchased by collectors all over the country… knowing that my work is hanging in the homes of people who truly enjoy my work, I’m not sure an artist could ask for more than that.

Though hard, experiencing my kids at each of their different ages right now makes me extremely happy. My daughters are 10, 6, and almost 2 at the time I’m writing this, and we are experiencing every stage of childhood at the same time… and it’s wild.

Raising my kids in my hometown makes me happy. Watching them grow up on the streets that I played in as a kid, go to the school that I attended, getting to know the people that made growing up in Laurel so special for me… That’s a feeling I never thought I’d get to have when I chose a career in the arts. I assumed that choosing art would mean living somewhere metropolitan in order to find any success. My kids would see their grandparents at Christmas, and playing in the woods would happen at summer camp. Having the best of both worlds is something that is not lost on me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When people ask me how long I’ve been an artist, I tell them I don’t actually have memories from that long ago. All I know is that when I could hold a crayon, I started coloring in the books in my room. It wasn’t destructive, but I genuinely thought I was making those illustrations better. I’ve always loved to tell stories, and I love that through my work, I am able to do that visually. Every piece that comes through my studio tells a story. Sometimes I know it, and sometimes the viewer has to tell me.

I think the thing I’m most proud of about my work would be the development of my style. Before Covid, my career as an artist had taken a back seat. I found myself burnt out, uninspired, and just flat-out tired. In 2019, I stepped away from painting as my full-time job and got a job as a teacher at one of our local elementary schools. The school was a diamond in the rough. It was a magnet school that specialized in arts integration. If you aren’t sure what that means, imagine a place where everything that is taught has to be presented through the lens of the arts. Math is taught with music and dance. Science through theater. It is a magical, magical place. The time I spent there got me excited about creating again… only instead of works on canvas, I was creating KILLER bulletin boards with as many found (free) objects as I could get my hands on. As we began prepping for our kids to go on spring break that March, my principal told us that this virus would probably prolong our break an extra week. I never stepped back into the classroom.

The time over the following months gave me a very unique opportunity. I was in a place where I could spend time in my studio unapologetically. I stepped away from the work I had been creating and asked myself one question.
“When was the last time you painted just because it made you happy.”
I couldn’t answer that question. So, I started looking back through sketchbooks. The ten years prior to that moment were filled with sketches of paintings I thought people would like. The years before were from college, where sketches were from assignments that would give me grades so I could get a degree. By the time I got into my high school sketchbooks, I realized that the work I was sketching and creating then was work that I truly wanted to do. Work I chose to do when I could have been doing a million other things an unemployed, unattached teenager could be doing. So I started there.

I looked through those sketchbooks and started playing again. I chose not to take on any commissions because I only wanted to paint what made me happy. And the work started flowing. The style I’m painting in today is a direct line from the work I15-year-old, was doing as a only now my thoughts are more developed and my choices are better informed thanks to the education that I’ve received.

I’m most proud of my style because when I paint, I am happy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My family and I live in Laurel, Mississippi, or as you may know it: HomeTown on HGTV. If you were to come and visit (and you should), we would roll out the red carpet. The very fist thing we would do would be to take you to the Lauren Roger’s Museum of Art. Generally, if someone were to take you to a “museum” in a southern town with a population of 17k people, you would most likely be going to look at someone’s great great grandfather’s dental tools, maybe a few civil war uniforms, possibly some arrowheads in a glass case… This is not the case for the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. A walk through the 27,000-square-foot museum, you will see works by Mary Cassatt, Jean Francois Millet, Robert Henri, Rodin, and so many more. I’d probably make sure to point out the beautiful Chihuly Chandelier in the stairwell (though you’d be captivated by it even if I didn’t), and if it were hanging, we’d swing by to see the Andy Warhol. All of this is nestled in the historic district of our town. We’d leave the museum, and I’d walk you around the avenues under the crazy live oaks, and we’d probably stop and talk to at least three of four people who were sitting out on their porches. I’d take you to my favorite coffee shop, Manuscript Coffee, where Wes would be finishing up roasting a batch of coffee. He makes a mean Americano. Then we would probably walk over to the Laurel Mercantile and the Scent Library to take in a crazy cool collection of American Made goods, and we would be sure to stop by and see my wife Lily in the Caron Gallery to check out work from 50 of the most talented Mississippi Artists living amongst us today.
The shopping would be great, but we would have to eat! My favorites around downtown are the Salmon BLT from Cafe La Fleur and the blue plate at Wilson’s Commissary… but honestly, you can’t go wrong at any restaurant downtown. It’s hot as blue blazes in South Mississippi, so it’s a good thing we also have no less than 4 great ice cream shops, all within walking distance. The Laurel Creamery is closest to my house, so we frequently eat their custard ice cream (with hot fudge and toasted pecans).
I really only open up to the public if you make an appointment, but I’d want you to come by my studio and hang out with me while I paint. You never know who is going to stop by while you’re there, so it’s a fun place to be… and once we got bored, I’d drive you out to my friend Jason Kimes’ house to see what he’s working on. About 15 minutes north of town, his giant studio workshop always houses something larger than life. The last time I was there, it was an 11-foot metalwork sculpture of a leg from the knee down.
You never know who we’d run into along the way, but I can assure you, it would be a great time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to recognize a couple of people. My parents for always ensuring I had art supplies to create with, which fostered the love of creating that pushes me on today. My college professor, Brent Funderburk, for telling me that I had what it takes and pushing me to be the best I could possibly be. Most importantly, my wife, Lily, for choosing to marry an artist and being there to support me every step of the way, knowing that I had a vision, even if I was the only one around me that could see it.

Website: www.adamtrest.com

Instagram: @adamtrest

Image Credits
Laura Zumwalt, Brooke Davis Jefcoat, LiLi Tile