John A. Rice

The Homecoming of an Artist: John A. Rice’s Journey and Impact on New York’s Art Scene

Explore John A. Rice’s artistic journey, focusing on his evolution as an artist from Pittsburgh. Discuss how his roots influence his work and the significance of returning to his hometown for the “Beyond Words: A Homecoming Exhibition.” This insightful interview will inspire any driven artist!

1. Is there any advice you would give teen actors regarding how to get started in theatre at a young age?

One of the biggest challenges I faced growing up was the lack of mentors. No one in my family or community personally knew professional artists, so there was no real understanding of what it actually takes to build a career in the arts. I can’t stress enough how valuable it is to have someone in your corner who’s been through it… someone who can offer perspective on what is often a chaotic and unpredictable path.

There’s no straight line to becoming a professional artist. If you’re serious about it, you have to throw yourself in fully. I grew up hearing a lot about “survival jobs” and “fallback degrees,” but the truth is, this field is too demanding to approach half-heartedly. If you’re not giving it your full attention, you’ll fall behind your peers who are.

If you want to be an artist, go to school for art. Nurture your skills, build your network, and seek out those who’ve gone before you. Their insight can make the road a little less mysterious. People who aren’t artists won’t always understand, and they often won’t have advice that applies to your path. You need to find your people.

After high school you moved to New York and you pursued acting.

Yes! Musical theater mostly. But I was also pursuing a “fallback” English degree at Fordham.

2. To get started in acting in New York, what advice would you give?

A lot of my previous advice still applies here, but I’d also say: it’s really important to figure out who you are as an artist and what you want to say, ideally before jumping into an ocean like New York.

The good news is, we live in a time when you’re no longer bound by geography to make art professionally. That said, you have to be prepared to make your own opportunities. Big breaks are rare, and honestly, they don’t guarantee much… because once the gig is over, you’re right back where you started. (Hopefully with a little cash and some street cred.) The process stays the same no matter what stage you’re at. You have to know why you’re doing it, what truly drives you, and what about the artform will sustain you during the rough patches—because there will be many.

It’s also important to understand that a creative career often means deferring other dreams or “traditional” milestones like buying a house or starting a family. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something you should be honest with yourself about early on. You have to decide if this is the life you want, based on your values and the kind of lifestyle you’re hoping to build.

If you do decide that acting (or writing, or painting) is the path for you, then give it everything you’ve got. Create your own work when no one else is giving you the chance. And finally, nurture your other interests. Your art is an extension of your life, and the more full and curious your life is, the richer your art will be.

Please discuss some of the acting experiences you had, and some of your filming experiences such as The Dark Room.

I’ve been involved in a wide range of theatrical productions in New York, everything from Off-Broadway shows to performances at the Metropolitan Opera. I’ve worked in basement black box theatres and on one of the largest stages in the world. The key is to just keep going. I feel like a shark that has to keep swimming to survive.

For many years, I performed in musical theatre because I had a real passion for singing. I focused mostly on new works, which was exciting, but over time I realized that the shows I was doing didn’t bring me enough joy to justify the extremely difficult lifestyle of a singer. I basically had to live like a monk: no parties, no drinking, no loud talking. It was a huge sacrifice, and I found I wasn’t even enjoying many of the moments when I got to perform.

That’s when a friend suggested I try my hand at TV and film, and I fell in love with it. Around the same time, I also reconnected with my love of writing and began developing my own projects. That became essential during the long stretches between studio jobs, but I also realized something about myself: I thrive when I’m the one creating the work. Some artists are most inspired when supporting someone else’s vision, and others do best at the helm. I’m definitely the latter.

I started making short films and eventually moved into features, including a drama called I’m Okay, We’re Okay, which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. I won Best Actor for that at the Catalina Film Festival alongside Abigail Breslin. My short films have won awards and screened at festivals around the world, and most of them are available on YouTube.

In 2019, the Department of Transportation used eminent domain to seize my childhood home—the house my grandfather built—to make way for the Mon Valley Expressway. Coincidentally, I was writing a horror script called The Dark Room, set in an old house, and I realized it would be a meaningful way to honor that special place if we could shoot a short version there before it was demolished. It was a whirlwind pulling together a cast and crew from both Pittsburgh and New York, but we pulled it off. The Dark Room remains the most challenging—and most fun—film project I’ve ever worked on.

3. Would you say that New York is a good place to build an acting career? If so, why?

Yes and no. For theatre, there’s simply no better place; the opportunities here just don’t exist elsewhere. But it’s also incredibly difficult to break into the industry as a fresh face, especially now. For some, it might make more sense to establish a career in a smaller city first and then bring your experience and brand to New York.

The hustle lifestyle here is very specific, and it won’t be the right fit for everyone. Creativity in New York often comes with a business edge that a lot of people (myself included) don’t always enjoy. Many artists might actually feel more fulfilled working in smaller, less corporatized environments, where there’s more freedom to explore and take risks. Even community theater can be incredibly rewarding if your main goal is simply to perform and connect with others through the work, not to build an empire or a brand. That’s something I still wrestle with myself.

After acting, it seems like you evolved from acting to doing illustrations and exhibits.

Yes! Though it was less of an evolution and more of a hard shove in a different direction. I believe the diplomatic term for it is a “pivot.”

Please discuss your illustration projects such as Tarot cards, A Christmas Carol, and October Shadows.

Basically, during COVID, all of my acting and writing opportunities dried up. It was my partner Kevin who suggested I start putting my visual art online. I should pause here to say that I’ve always done visual art, long before any other art form. My earliest childhood memories are of drawing and painting. But the way I was raised, it was never presented as a viable career path, so I honestly never even considered it.

Imagine my shock when I started posting my work to Instagram in 2020 and it took off. It went viral and started generating real income. To be honest, I struggled at first with monetizing something that had always been a meditative hobby, but the response from my audience was undeniable. I got letters from all over the world from people who were touched by my specific style of artwork, so it felt like refusing to walk through an open door to ignore it.

Now, all these years later, visual art is my bread and butter. It’s provided a much more stable career than acting ever did. Though I still act and write! That’s really important to me. You have to lean into whatever’s hitting at the time. The other things stay on the back burner, and they’ll always be there. They’ll have their time. It’s like shuffling pots on a stove. Through all the phases of my artistic life, I feel like I’m being funneled toward the right path.

4. What is your process to create illustrations?

I’ve always been able to envision artwork instantaneously in my head. It took me 35 years to realize that was a gift. Not everyone can do that. I made a vow to myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t question those visions. I would just put them down exactly as I saw them in my mind’s eye, without judgment.

That’s a really important part of my process. It allows me to create the artwork, call it done, and move on—whether I like the piece or not. Liking my own work isn’t my job. Some things I do like, some things I don’t. But I try to leave the judgment to other people.

5. Do you use oil pastels for all your projects? If so, why? Using oil pastel is impressive because this is a difficult medium.

Yeah, that’s a question I get asked a lot. Oil pastels are notoriously tricky. People really struggle with them. Honestly, I pulled out an old portfolio from grade school, and the piece that stuck out most was an oil pastel study of geometric blocks on a table. It was an exercise in shadow and light, and I loved it. Even though I hadn’t touched an oil pastel in 20 years, I thought, I want to try more of this.

Then my mom found a set buried at the bottom of a thrift store box, and I took it as a sign. I started experimenting, and I think it was that phenomenon of beginner’s luck… which isn’t really luck at all. It’s just that beginners don’t yet know how hard something is, so they act freely and instinctively. And that often yields the best results.

Here’s why I love oil pastels: they combine the best of painting and drawing. It’s a newer medium, so you’re not boxed in by centuries of tradition. It’s playful, experimental. I had to figure out my style as I went, which is probably why it feels unique to people. It also lets me be in direct contact with the material—no brush, just the pressure and warmth of my fingers spreading the pigment. There’s something very tactile about it. I feel like there’s a part of me in every painting.

6. What made you decide to design Tarot cards and get into illustrations?

I’ve always been drawn to left-hand spiritual paths, probably a result of growing up in a Baptist church. I could see the beauty and truth in spiritual practice, but I also felt deeply confused and “othered” as a queer, creative kid inside a shortsighted religion.

My partner Kevin gave me a Tarot deck as a gift, and I’d heard the old wives’ tale that once someone gifts you a deck, you have to learn to read it. Not long after, I met a sweet Italian woman named Lorraine at a party, and she became my mentor. She had a literal treasure chest of Tarot decks in her apartment, and each session we’d use a different one. I got this incredible overview of Tarot artwork from artists all over the world—including some very famous ones—and I thought: I want to put my stamp on this too. So I did.

Let’s talk exhibits.

Let’s!

1. What’s the importance of an art exhibit?

For me, the creative circle doesn’t feel complete until people are seeing the artwork in person. It’s a kind of feedback loop, and even with online adoration and book sales, that loop doesn’t close until the paintings are allowed to breathe in a space where people can encounter them directly.

I like to create a full experience with my exhibits, not just hang art on a wall. I want to give people something they can spend time with. Something that invites pause, reflection, and a chance to consider aspects of their own lives through the lens of the work. If someone walks away inspired or experiences a personal breakthrough (which happens more often than I ever expected), then I’ve done my job.

Please discuss UnSmoke Systems Artspace.

UnSmoke Systems Artspace is a gallery in Braddock, PA, located in a repurposed Catholic school building and owned by Jeb Feldman. The moment I saw the space, I knew it was perfect for my work. The whole ethos of the place—revitalizing a neighborhood, finding beauty in something left behind, transforming it into something meaningful—feels so aligned with what I try to do in my art.

That energy is even reflected in the building itself: eclectic, historical, industrial, educational, and spiritual, all at once. And it’s big, which is great for the range of work I’m planning to show.

My exhibition designer, Adrienne Acevedo Lovette, is going to have a lot of fun crafting a journey through the space that mirrors the journey of the artwork. I can’t wait for people to see it.

For more information on the Beyond Words: A Homecoming Exhibition click HERE