I'm Not An Artist, I Make Art.

I arrived at artist’s Keith Warren residence for a tour of his art, lifestyle, and to engage in dialogue about what inspires it all. Keith is a 66 year old artist/ registered nurse. The art school drop out, turned RN for the last 40 years described himself as “not an artist, I just make art”. Subconsciously, like many things in his life, Keith uses his home as a canvas. He lives in a small town in Massachusetts, in a bright orange home, surrounded by nature. As I turned into Keith’s home, I noticed him standing on the front steps of his home, waiving and awaiting my arrival. As I got closer I felt a vibrant energy shift, a sense of welcoming. Keith greeted my team and I and welcomed us into his home. As I walked into his sanctuary, the different colored walls made me feel like we walked into a kaleidoscope. I noticed that each room was low lighted, the vintage furniture and his art pieces from his past exhibits hanging all over the walls. This gave each room a different energy and feeling, as though I was walking through the inner workings of Keith’s mind. Better yet, like I was walking through individual exhibits for his artistic expressions. Keith is a very interesting person, and I got to know him a little better on this visit.

Q: Tell me a little about your upbringing and where your from?

A: I grew up in Saugus, MA, moved to Stoneham, MA during my middle school years, then moved to Boston in 1976. I had a pretty suburban upbringing but when I became a nurse, I decided that I wanted more world experience, so I went to work at Boston Medical Center. I spent 28 years there.

Q:When did you know that art was your passion?

A: I don’t think that I identified it as passion until pretty recently. But I’ve always been driven by art passionately.

Q: How would you describe yourself as an artist?

A: Eclectic! I’ve played it safe for most of life and lately I’ve been branching out. I created things that were important to me, almost like journal writing. With the way things are going on in this country, I taught to myself “I need to say more.” My next project is about gun violence.

Q: How difficult was it to continue to create while being a nurse during the pandemic? At a time when the world relied on you most?

A: I’ve always found time. I create well under pressure. If other things are pulling my attention, that aren’t as interesting to me, like the pandemic, I remind myself that I need to create.

Q: Have you ever contemplated quitting creating art?

A: Oh no! I contemplate quitting nursing pretty much everyday but never creating.

Q: What was your rock bottom as an artist?

A: There has been times when I got pulled into nursing because there’s a lot of money to be made. It takes up a lot of your time and there’s been a couple of times were I’ve given into it.

Q: How did you get through that period of your
life?

A: Because art is a passion of mine, even though I didn’t identify it as such, it was always the voice in my head. It’s like the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. The angel would say “come attend to me.” I’ve never lost it and I’ve always came back to it.

Q: Do you have an regrets or is there anything you would do differently?

A: I don’t think I would of quit art school. That was based on family dynamics and lack of support. I went back a few times but by that time, I kind of aged out of it. It didn’t interest me anymore.

Q: What’s your dream?

A: Exactly what I’m doing now. You know, I’ve spent 40 years doing nursing. It’s done me well, so I have no regrets but now it’s time to address the other (creating). Now I’m working on getting my art work displayed and expanding my ideas of what I can do as an artist. I’m playing with the idea that if I create something, it might make a difference, even for one person.