If you drive through Gulf Breeze, Florida, take a moment to appreciate the beautiful work of art that is Fuego. The 17-foot sculpture was commissioned by the city of Gulf Breeze and the artist is Kevin Marchetti. For some time I have been interested in talking to people who are making a living doing what they truly love, those who are brave enough to ignore the critics and focus on their dreams. So I recently sat down with Kevin to talk about his successes, struggles and personal philosophy.
Kevin started his business 15 years ago after the plant where he worked at as a welder closed. If you visit his workshop ‘Renaissance Man’ in Pensacola you will discover an array of beautiful creations that will make you wish you had a house that could fit a custom made spiral staircase. Kevin’s custom creations combine functionality with beauty and style.
I was interested to learn how Kevin managed to become successful doing what he loves. I learned that it hasn’t always been easy. At one point he lost a contract that left him in a large amount of debt that took a couple of years to recover from, but he didn’t give up, his answer to why? “Having faith that things will come, you can’t expect things to be good all the time.”
Kevin has degrees in drafting and design and civil engineering, he is an artist at heart. He was able to develop his artistic side when things weren’t going well, when he didn’t have work he created art. “Although having a failure can eat at you, sticking with it is the answer and persistence beats talent every time.” Kevin’s art is not confined to land. Divers can discover some of his handiwork on a 175-foot barge at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola Beach, sunk to create an artificial reef. He also recently won the Award of Excellence from Greater Gulf Coast Art Show, a mixed media collaboration with fellow artist Anna Clark.
I asked Kevin what his advice is for others who want to follow their dream and achieve success. “Most people narrow their options and shouldn’t, the worst thing people can say is. ‘I can’t.’ Be persistent; be in charge of your own life. People get stuck in what they think they should be doing. Everybody has a potential for greatness.”
And my favorite piece of advice from Kevin “Do it and do it a lot and you will get good at it.”
Kevin also hosts a regular Jam night , another way of creating art, people show up and create experimental free form improvisation.
You can find Kevin at: Renaissance Man Inc.
2203 N. Pace Blvd
Pensacola, FL 32505
Or check out his work at http://www.renaissancemaninc.com
Artist Kevin Marchetti On Success Through Persistence
