Bernie Mitchell: "The Bob Ross of Drywall"

Bernie Mitchell has been dubbed "The Bob Ross of Drywall" and "The Mud Michelangelo," and is a man with an incredibly unique skill set: he sculpts elaborate and detailed landscapes in bas relief in drywall (using nothing more than kitchen utensils!), redefining the boundaries of interior design and home decor. As a drywall contractor, he puts his creativity to work designing, constructing, sculpting and finishing specialty features in shoreline homes and cottages.

Episode Highlights

Imagine the walls around you not just as barriers defining space, but as canvases brimming with potential artistry. That's the reality Bernie Mitchell, the Bob Ross of Drywall, has been sculpting for nearly forty years as an artist who's ingeniously redefined the realm of art and building materials. With his tools of choice—a drywall knife and kitchen spoons—he crafts landscapes and wildlife with such finesse that they breathe a new life into the walls they inhabit. His technique, honed over nearly four decades, challenges the preconceived notions of art, proving that the ordinary can indeed become extraordinary.

Listen in as Bernie reveals the intricacies of his craft, from the perfect consistency of joint compound to the impact of lighting on his sculptures. His anecdotes of hitchhiking to Alberta, carving out a niche in southern Ontario's cottage country, and finding inspiration in nature to fuel his art are as inspiring as they are fascinating. As we explore the balance between passion and livelihood, Bernie's stories of sharing his knowledge and becoming a minor celebrity in the art world offer an authentic look at the intersection of artistry and business. Whether you're an aspiring artist or simply appreciate the joy of creation, this episode is a testament to the power of following one's passion and the beauty that can be found in unexpected places.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode including:

• Sculpting with nothing more than common kitchen utensils

• How lighting is way more important than sculpting for this type of art, and how light moving throughout the day changes the look and feel of a sculpture

• Finding creative inspiration in nature, and the joys and freedom of being outdoors

• The importance of money versus creativity

• The surprise factor of being an overnight, viral sensation

• The challenges involved with human portraits

• Why this is such an easy and cheap artistic medium for people to get started in and experiment with

• The challenge of managing a business with all your thoughts and efforts on concentrated on the artistic endeavor

Listen

Read the Complete Transcript

Shane

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the official Live2cre8 podcast, coming to you from Nashville, Tennessee. I am your host, Shane Almgren, and I am joined today from Ontario, Canada, by the man who's been dubbed the Bob Ross of drywall—drywall sculptor extraordinaire, Bernie Mitchell. In addition to the high-end homes and businesses he decorates, Bernie has toured both the US and Canada, doing demonstrations, teaching workshops, and putting his incredibly unique talents on display.

So, Bernie, it's great to have you on the show today. Thanks for being here.

Bernie Mitchell

Well, thanks so much for the invitation.

Shane

I came across your stuff on Facebook, like I'm sure a lot of people have, and I've worked construction before, and anytime any of us wanted to try something that wasn't exactly on the punch list, it usually involved inappropriate uses of a nail gun, flinging paint, or putting a hole in a wall, and generally, ruining something expensive. Nobody was crafting masterworks of art out of Home Depot job site materials. So when, and where, and how did you come up with this as an art medium?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, you know, I've been in the drywall industry actually for almost 40 years, so it really just evolved out of some of the things I was doing with just details on small paneled walls, like I was doing raised panels and putting impressions into the material with wheat and barley stock kind of thing, eh, and just the relief—you know, what it showed me. I just run with it, and it just grew.

Shane

Did you have a background in painting or…?

Bernie Mitchell

Yes, I did have some painting experience when I was much younger and through high school. I actually painted quite a lot. The other thing that I was involved with was leatherwork. I was doing leather carvings. It's the same kind of relief form, just with a very small amount of material. But again, when it comes to relief, it's all about lighting. So, you know, everything just gets projected as a three-dimensional image, almost, and it worked very similar with the drywall mud.

Shane

And so, you're not using any special mud or anything, right? It's just straight-up joint compound from the hardware store.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, it's joint compound, but I mix about a 50-50 mix with a setting compound. The setting compounds—they activate very quickly, so you can get anything from a 20-minute rate up to, you know, 90-minutes and longer as a setting compound. So when they're combined, the product is pretty firm within 45–50 minutes.

Shane

And is there a certain consistency that it's got to be when you stick it on the wall so it doesn't drip or it doesn't harden too fast?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, that's kind of up to the person working with it. You know, I like it fairly firm for just different objects that I'm putting on there, and I like the ability to be able to use it, when it is set up, to even shave material, right? So I have a certain amount of time to model it with a spoon or whatever modeling tool I'm using at the time, and then, as it goes through the process of drying, I'm able to—I can add additional material, or I can sand a little more detail into it, and I can—you know, there's a lot of options.

Shane

What different types of implements do you use to sculpt with?

Bernie Mitchell

[Laughs]. My tools are very simple, pretty much just a small drywall knife, which is only like a four-inch knife, which I use predominantly, and kitchen spoons. The kitchen spoon—it's a modeling tool for me, and as long as I've got a little bit of water mist on the surface of that compound when I'm creating a subject, I'm able to move the material around with that spoon really freely. Yeah, those are pretty much my basic tools that I use.

Shane

And then, when you're working on one of these, do you have a picture in front of you that you're using as a reference, or is this all done just straight out of your head?

Bernie Mitchell

When it comes to the landscapes, yes, that's right out of my head. When it comes to subject matter like the wolf or whatever, yes, I do use reference material. When it comes to the landscapes behind these subjects, that's where I'm able to really create some perception to things. When it comes to size and horizon, you know, a visual that just keeps taking you further back into the image, I've got a lot of different methods of creating that depth.

Shane

When I was doing some research earlier in the week, I wrote down the question: Has anyone ever called you the Bob Ross of Drywall? And then I saw on your website that you actually had linked out to an article where you were referred to as the Bob Ross of Drywall.

Bernie Mitchell

[Laughs]. Yeah, it was pretty comical, actually. One of the firms that carried it—I don't know if it was Insider Art or Fubiz or whichever—many of the remarks—it kind of started off, and I wasn't really familiar with Bob Ross. You know, when I saw the terminology of this happy little tree and all this sort of thing, I really wasn't familiar with Bob Ross until after that.

Shane

Now that you are familiar with him, what do you think of the comparison?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I still haven't—I haven't really watched this program.

Shane

Oh, gotcha, gotcha, yeah. So, yeah, I mean, that was something that I kind of grew up on. He would basically take 30 minutes—he was an oil painter, and in 30 minutes he would craft these incredible scenic, you know, mountain streams, rivers, whatever. And it was learning to paint with Bob Ross. I had the Bob Ross paint set.

Bernie Mitchell

[Laughs]. Yeah.

Shane

Do you have a background in anything technical? I know you've been doing the drywall for a while. Was that something you went to school for, or did you just get into it? How does one get into really high-end drywall?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, yeah, I had started when I completed high school, and I actually traveled to the other side of the country here. I hitchhiked out to Alberta and just made my way, and I kind of had grown around the construction sites a little bit. So it was an easy fit for me. And then, I took on and got involved with a drywall crew and continued on with it. Getting into the higher-end homes for me was quite easy too, actually. I then moved back to Ontario, and the area I lived in here in southern Ontario is cottage country with some really beautiful lakes and waterfront homes and cottages, so it was a good fit.

Shane

I saw in the tutorial section of your website that lighting and location are big considerations when you do one of these pieces, which I wouldn't have really thought of. Can you tell us why they're important and what the key elements to look for are?

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, these sculptures are probably—I'm a little bit off base here, but as far as I'm concerned, it's about 80 percent lighting and 20 percent sculpture, because even for an amateur to start into this—and it's very easy—simple tools, simple products, but lighting is the key to all of that.

Shane

And are you wanting direct light or natural light? Do you want something overhead shining on it or coming up from the floor? What is the optimal way to have it lighted?

Bernie Mitchell

Yes, you really want an indirect light form—sideways, above, below, whichever you choose to sculpt to. Any direct light on that surface really eliminates a lot of the shadows that you're really looking for to create this image.

Shane

So you do want a shadow?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, yes. You know, it brings out the texture of the surface. All of those things are really key to projecting it and presenting it properly. So, yes, the light form is really, really important.

Shane

If you found a great wall that's the right size or whatever for something that you want to do, do you ever do custom lighting to embellish or help feature something that you've worked on?

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, I choose to be involved with that end of it because I’d much rather choose to sculpt the image with the proper lighting already in place. That wasn't always the case, I can tell you. Over the years, I've done some sculptures in areas that really weren't presented properly, and it's a disappointment to me because the intent of the customers was that they were going to introduce lighting to bring these images up. I'm using a light when I create them. You know, that's the full intent that they were going to introduce, like I say—additional lighting.

Shane

Gotcha. So are most of these pieces commissioned works in private residences or businesses?

Bernie Mitchell

Pretty much.

Shane

You do just a lot of this for fun. Do you have a studio?

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, pretty much all of my work is commissioned work. I've done select pieces of drywall too, and I've shipped them. But you're limited on the size, and I'm really confining it when they're done that way because it's—most of my work, I choose to use an area, and I don't confine it to a square box. I use an area, and I spread the image out a little bit, and, yeah, it's really a beautiful piece of character on a wall, and then, when it's painted up as the wall color, you know, it's just there. It's the simplicity of it.

Shane

How do you safely package a drywall sculpture art piece to ship?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I've had some good luck with that, actually. I recently shipped an image down to New Orleans. It was flown down, but I crated it up pretty well. It arrived in New Orleans all in one piece, anyway—no cracks or anything. I would mount the drywall onto a piece of plywood and frame out the exterior structure so that nothing can penetrate it.

Shane

So where does one practice something like this? I know you do tutorials, and I would think at your own personal house at this point, you probably have to be running out of wall space.

Bernie Mitchell

[Laughs]. Well, I had the one there. I've done the one with the loon above the fireplace, and that's about the only one in our home.

Shane

Is there a reason that you haven't filled out your home with these?

Bernie Mitchell

No particular reason. It's the one that—it's in a location where I get to view it every day and enjoy it every day.

Shane

And is that a scene that—or do you have any particular scenes or particular animals that you like doing more than others?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I favor horses and birds to waterfowl, like loons and blue herons, osprey. I do like them. I don't know what else to tell you on that, but that's my preference, though—and horses. There's so much character in horses, you know. They just make great images.

Shane

Do you have a—are you an outdoorsman? I mean, is this something that, when you go out in nature, you're looking for these kinds of things anyways?

Bernie Mitchell

Very much so. I'm an avid canoeist, and my wife and I enjoy paddling around quite a lot. We do a lot of backcountry canoeing and camping. That's been something that's been a major part of my life. You're always going to see something new around the next corner.

Shane

And is that something that creatively inspires you? You know, there's a lot of people that have daily habits or rituals that lend themselves to the creative process, whether it's sitting in meditation, listening to music, or taking a walk out in nature. Those are things they conscientiously do to sort of get the creative juices flowing. Does that factor in for you at all?

Bernie Mitchell

No question about it. You know, while I seem to observe everything, and when something's at a place that’s going to be interesting, you know, I'm just always looking for it.

Shane

Are there any other creative outlets besides drywall that you do right now?

Bernie Mitchell

Not so much anymore. I grew up somewhat around music, and it was a bit of a passion earlier on, but I don't seem to play the piano anymore. [Laughs]. Outside of that, not really. It really is all about the art for me now, and I very much enjoy it.

Shane

On this show, we talk a lot about right-brain and left-brain interaction, and have you ever found that to be a challenge, or what has been the biggest challenge for you as a creative type who's also a successful business person?

Bernie Mitchell

[Laughs]. Well, it's funny you asked that question because the successful businessperson—I've got a bit of difficulty there. When I'm so passionate about what I'm doing and so focused on it that I choose then to ignore the managing of everything else... [Laughs].

Shane

All right, you're going to love my next question, then.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, perfect segue. So here, I'm in Nashville. I've got a ton of friends who are uber creative and uber talented, but they can't balance a ledger, show up to a meeting on time, or meet a deadline. And the starving artists—it's a real thing, and they far outweigh the successful ones, and I think we all know people whose earning potential is nowhere near their talent levels. So, I guess, it's a two-part question. What advice do you have for people like that to get them over the hump? And two, do you even think it's fair to define creative success that way? If somebody's doing what they love and they're churning out incredible pieces of art or music or sculpture or whatever their outlet is, do they need the money to validate their efforts?

Bernie Mitchell

I'd far sooner look upon myself as being a success with the results of what I've accomplished with the work that I do. Financially, that's really not important. It is important, but, you know, if money was important to me, I'd have some. The work would be the number one thing for me.

Shane

The joy of creativity is the reward.

Bernie Mitchell

So I really can't give—I'm not really able to really give anybody good advice in that direction.

Shane

Well, how do you tell somebody to get comfortable with just being content with the reward of the art and the creativity?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I think anybody that's into the arts—I think they all feel the way I do, and it would be icing on the cake if somebody was going to pay me well to be a major success. I wouldn't want the money to interfere with what I'm going to leave you in the end. I wouldn't want it to be a factor.

Shane

Tell us, where all have you ended up doing this? I know you've done some showcases and some expos or events, but what have you got to do? Where all have you got to travel showing this off?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I've done many of them in Western Canada, you know, like through Alberta, and in Ontario here, I've done a great many of them locally pretty much. And, I guess, a year ago, I was down to Chicago, and I did one for the Trim-Tex company. It's a drywall manufacturer of moldings and beads and such, and I guess the other one was the one you did just mention there through Continental Building Products. I was down to, I guess, New Orleans, and they did an expo in the spring. I guess that's about as far as my travels have taken me.

Shane

I noticed on your Facebook page you've got—I don't know. It's over 50,000 followers. Were you kind of surprised to see that much interest in what you were doing?

Bernie Mitchell

Very much so.

Shane

What was the first thing that got—was there a particular video or a picture that you posted?

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, we had a friend of mine from northern Ontario here. He's also in the business of drywall, and we had gotten together to do these YouTubes, just to share with some fellow tradesmen on a drywall forum. Really, that was the whole intent—was just to share it with these guys. I had no idea that it was going to get shared the way it did, and it's overwhelming. So we put the first one out about three years ago and had a very good response, and so we got together and did another one two years ago. It's done fairly well on YouTube, but someone had picked it up off of Facebook or put it on Facebook. They just shortened it, put their own music to it, and it really exploded. I think it's made in shortage—that had shared it—and it's somewhere up around 106 million, and there's been numerous others. I know it exceeds 160 million.

Shane

Did that bother you at all that somebody had changed the video and added their own music, or were you just pleased that they were doing that to share?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, at first, I was disappointed, but the response was incredible, and my email and just everything got flooded with so much that I had a hard time coping with everything.

Shane

You turned into a minor celebrity.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, it really was overwhelming, and it still is. I think there's another one out there, Insider Art, and that's—well, even last night, I think it's still went over—it's like 250,000 views since last night till this morning. [Laughs].

Shane

Why do you think this peaks people's interest so much? Is it just because it's a different medium that people aren't used to seeing artwork displayed in?

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, I think that's probably it. It's a simple medium, and as long as they get familiar with the products that I'm using, I think it's something that you could easily encourage others to try. It's a forgiving product, so it's something that people can work with without spending a lot of money and, you know, see where it heads for them.

Shane

I get a lot of people on this show that have instructional materials, instructional DVDs, and YouTube channels, and they are all about passing on what they do rather than just, you know, basking in the individuality of doing something that most people don't or can't do. What is it about the teaching aspect that appeals to you?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I'm encouraged by others because I'm getting a lot of their feedback—what they're doing, or they're sharing their images with me now—and that's pretty rewarding too. Not only that, but I want to see where people head with this, because, I mean, I've been doing it for over 20 years now, but I seem to be doing the same things. But, you know, I expand a little bit each time that I do it to introduce something new, but basically, I really think that there's other artists out there that are going to take the idea and run with it, and I think we're going to see some incredible work with them, and I'm looking forward to it.

Shane

You're basically creating a community here. I mean, it could be a virtual or an online community and not necessarily in your neighborhood, but was anybody doing this before you were?

Bernie Mitchell

I don't know. I don't know if they were. There's others. There's always been plaster professionals out there that have taken it to extreme levels of decorative work also, and to me, their images—it’s the same form of relief, and I don't know how they did it. I'm not a plasterer. But, you know, their work was just beautiful and ornate. I've just taken it in a different direction, and I know there are a great many other people out there doing it now. I know stateside there's a professional there. His name is Tom Moberg. He does incredible work, and I didn't find or touch on any of this work until I moved to the east here about 20 years ago now, when everything was on the computer and I had access to everything. And, you know, I'm not the only one. There's others.

Shane

Is there anything that you would like to craft or sculpt but don't feel like you quite have the talent level down yet? It's just like an opus, something that you eventually want to say you did at some point in the future.

Bernie Mitchell

Portraits. I've had many requests for portraits, and I've played with that a little bit. I'm not proficient enough to say that I'll be doing them anytime soon for clients, but that's one area I'd like to hit on.

Shane

What's the most challenging part of that? Is it just getting—I mean, is it facial features, getting it to look like the person?

Bernie Mitchell

Yes, it is for me. Yeah, I find difficulty in that. That's something I should be working on.

Shane

Is that something where practicing sketching, or painting, or something like that helps out, or do you really have to practice this in the drywall mud?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, the human features are far more detailed than when it versus me doing, you know, an animal figure of any sort where, you know, I get to hide it. I get to hide those imperfections with texture. So, you know, it's just something that I need to work on more.

Shane

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I'm still going to be doing what I do, regardless of being the success, or whatever you may want to refer to it as. I'll still be doing my own thing. I don't have any real projections of flying all over the world and doing this sort of work. I’d far sooner encourage others to get involved with it and keep my life a little simpler.

Shane

So one of the things that I'm really curious about, and I like to talk about with people who are super, highly creative, is what some of their daily habits and routines are. So I've got a few questions. Well, first, is there anything that you do—you know, some people have got to paint with music on, some people—when you're in your creative space, does it have to be set up a certain way?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, yeah, with me, music is a real important part of my day, whether it's on a job site or whether it's in the studio working on whatever sculpture I'm working on. It just makes me tick.

Shane

Is there a particular style or genre that works best for you?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, no. I like it all. I like it all.

Shane

Are you a night owl or an early riser?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, I'm an early riser. Yeah. [Laughs]. I’ve got to shut her down real early in the evening.

Shane

Your creativity sort of dissipates as the sun goes down.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, I guess it does. When it gets dark, it's time for me to go to bed.

Shane

And then, when you get up in the morning, what does your morning ritual look like?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, it's the greatest part of the day. I just like to sit outside and observe.

Shane

So that's—I mean, you’re having a cup of coffee. Are you watching the sun come up? Are you up that early?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, sometimes I am. Yeah, usually when it's getting daylight, I'm already up, but yeah, that morning coffee is a nice thing, just to sit back, kick back, and figure out your day.

Shane

Are you a television watcher?

Bernie Mitchell

I am.

Shane

What do you like to watch?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I watch a lot of the programs on the Discovery Channel, of course, and the National Geographic Channel. I love a lot of the—some of the reality shows that take them on outdoors adventures, sort of thing.

Shane

When you go into a house and you figure out the best location for a project, the actual creation process from there—how long start to finish? Are we talking hours, or days, or weeks, or months? How long does it take to do a wall-sized landscape?

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, I'm probably in the range of about 40 hours. Yeah, like a regular work week, maybe longer. It's really quite enjoyable for me because, when I put these together, I'm really putting it together with the clients, and although we both share in the subject matter ideas, when I start putting the scene together, I really want them to be part of it, too, because it is theirs and it is permanent, so it's really rewarding, you know.

Shane

So you actually invite and welcome watching eyes. Some people want to be completely left alone and don't bother me until this is complete, but you like the hands-on interactive approach?

Bernie Mitchell

Definitely, I want them to be involved with what I'm doing. It's fun for them, and it's great for me too.

Shane

Have you ever put something on a wall and a client did not like it, and you had to remove it?

Bernie Mitchell

Never. That's not happened. You know, I've been really fortunate in that I'm not doing—my construction experience has pretty much been private clients, so I'm in doing private homes for the most part. They become my friends, if you know what I mean. It's not like working for clients; it's like working for friends.

Shane

What percentage of your business is doing these sculptures versus traditional drywall installation?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I'm not really a traditional drywaller. Again, I've been fortunate enough that people allow me to do some interesting details and features in their homes outside of the sculptures. I mean, I really love to build wall units, fireplaces, ceiling features—something unique. So that's just allowed me to really expand with what I'm doing.

Shane

So when you finish a commission project in somebody's house, what is the ideal feedback that you can get from them?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, they just love it. And if I get back to the lighting sources, if I'm doing these in an area where natural light has an impact on that image, as the light changes in that room, so does the image. So it's an image that'll look differently throughout the day as the power of light takes over and moves and brings out some of the details much stronger as the light moves around. So it's really something that they get to enjoy other than that lighting source that they'll have in the evening light. So it's—yeah.

Shane

So if somebody decided they wanted to get into this and try it, what would you advise them? What are the most important skills—artistic skills that they need to cultivate, and then sort of personality traits as far as patience and, you know, whatever?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, the product is simple, the tools are simple, and it's easy for them, I think, to get involved with it and experiment with this stuff. It's not expensive. If they're not happy with it, if they're really playing on a painted surface, then, I mean, they can remove what they're doing and start again. I mean, you can wipe the wall off of the rag after you've wiped the majority of the product off. You know, I think they've got a lot of canvas within a home to work with without being totally committed. I guess really getting familiar with and getting comfortable with the tools that you're going to use and the application and the material, and with that, I think, then, you know, it's just getting comfortable with the tools—that would probably be the most important thing.

Shane

Is this a technique that's, say, more expensive or cheaper than learning to, say, oil paint or watercolor?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I don't know. I believe this is a fairly cheap medium to be using. I mean, I've done some pretty expensive sculptures with like forty dollars’ worth of material, so you can't get any simpler than that, right?

Shane

And if you're not practicing on an actual physical wall, for example, if you were doing something to ship somewhere, are you still doing that on Sheetrock or…?

Bernie Mitchell

Yes, yes, I am. Yeah, I'll still do it on drywall. The surface of drywall, when it comes to using drywall muds, soaks in. The moisture goes into the drywall. It has a very good bond. If you were to do it on a harder surface, where the moisture is out of the material, because drywall muds about 50 percent water, and if it's got nowhere to go, if it can't soak into the surface, it'll want to escape, and it comes up as just air bubbles on the surface of the material. So, yeah, I've always just used drywall. I may mount that drywall on a piece of plywood, as I have for shipping purposes, just for rigidity, but yeah, it's drywall for me.

Shane

And then one last question before we get into the final 14. I've been on your Facebook perusing some of the things that were on there, and it looked like sort of mathematical designs, and I don't know if that was something that was done in drywall or if it was possible to do, but it looked like some sort of combination of modern art and fractals.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, I think that would have been a fireplace, was it not?

Shane

I don't recall. I think I remember you saying that that's something that could be done in drywall. I don't remember if it was.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah, it's just a graphic design that I created, and again, I'm just using scrap drywall to do that and a product through the Tri-Tex company, and it's a reveal bead, which I can get in quarter inch or half inch depth. When I put a second layer of drywall on, then I can panel it off, so it just creates all these shadow lines. So you can easily do some really creative graphics with it, and it's probably one of my favorite products.

Shane

I know you said that some people were starting to share with you the stuff that they were doing. Are there any names, anyone, that we should be keeping a lookout for that seemed really promising to you?

Bernie Mitchell

Not so far, but I'm sure you're going to be seeing a lot of people get involved with it. I know there are people that are running with it, so I'm encouraged by what they're sending me, and I think we're going to be seeing a lot of this. I think it's something that could be trendy in the housing market.

Shane

I would think it'd be absolutely huge.

Bernie Mitchell

Yes.

Shane

Well, that brings me to the end of my scripted questions, and now we get to the final 14 that all of the guests get if you're ready for it.

Bernie Mitchell

[Laughs]. You're going to have to, maybe, do some editing here.

Shane

That's fine. [Laughs]. I think I already know the answer to number one. We already talked about it, which is: If your job only paid the bills and not a penny more, would you still do it?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, absolutely.

Shane

I was going to put money on that.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah.

Shane

Number two: What talent or skill do you not have that you wish you did?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, we already talked about that, too, and that's my managing skills, because, you know, unfortunately, I'm able to ignore everything outside of what I'm focused on when it comes to the work, and, you know, my life seems to rotate around that.

Shane

You are just 100 percent compartmentalized there.

Bernie Mitchell

I am, and the frustration doesn't come in until all the paperwork's in front of you, and I'm under—you know, I'm not able to give it my full attention.

Shane

Fill in the blank. I am a success if I _____.

Bernie Mitchell

I’m a success if I leave a client—and the reward, as I said before, is that I've achieved what I want to in the image, and I've got a very happy client there.

Shane

And, conversely, I'm a failure if I _____.

Bernie Mitchell

I'm a perfectionist, you know, and at all costs, I want to have achieved what I'm completely happy with, and when I'm not, I'm probably the most disappointed person in the world.

Shane

What is the single best piece of advice that you've followed so far to get where you are today?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I've had a great amount of encouragement, that's for sure, and I knew early on that it appealed to people because they gave me the opportunity to do it in their homes. And that's when I was first starting out, and it was in its simplest form. I was doing small flowers and birds, and, you know, they might be just kind of discreet on the wall, but they were still there. I guess that would be it.

Shane

What is a piece of well-intentioned advice you're glad you ignored to get where you are today?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, I'm not going to go on about this one, but I was discouraged from getting back into the construction work when I'd had a major injury with my back, and it wasn't until—it took about a year or so for me to push myself to get back into the drywall business, regardless of what everybody else said. If I had never done that, I wouldn't be where I am here. That would have been a poor piece of advice on the people that were instructing me that way.

Shane

We're getting personal now.

Bernie Mitchell

We are. Yeah.

Shane

What character trait do you like best about yourself?

Bernie Mitchell

Sincerity.

Shane

What character trait do you like least?

Bernie Mitchell

I get too emotional.

Shane

Fill in the blank. I believe every child should have the opportunity to _____.

Bernie Mitchell

I've been fortunate. I grew up with great parents and lived in a small community, and we got to be kids, you know. I think kids today—I think the world is too fast-paced, and they're unable to grow up as children. We're forcing them to be more mature at a younger age. Well, that's my view on it, anyway.

Shane

Well, that might be a nice tie into this next question. If you could suggest one piece of self-improvement that everyone on earth would adopt, what would it be?

Bernie Mitchell

Just be happy. Just be happy.

Shane

If you could have any superpower—we're talking comic book superpowers—what would it be?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, I'd love to fly. I always wanted to fly.

Shane

If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be?

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, it would be my father. We lost him many years ago.

Shane

A hospitable nearby planet has been discovered, and you've been recruited to help colonize it. You get to take any three personal items with you that you wish. What are they?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, mine are simple. They'd be just simple tools. It'd be a hammer, a chisel, and a spoon. I'm going to throw the spoon in for good measure.

Shane

Hammer, chisel, and spoon. I like it.

Bernie Mitchell

Yeah.

Shane

All right, last one here. You’re almost done. You’ve just won a lifetime achievement award in your field, and we want to hear your acceptance speech. We want to hear all the people that you have to thank.

Bernie Mitchell

Oh, again, my list is going to be very short, but it's going to be my dear wife and my family that are all around me that have done nothing but encourage me along always. It's so important. That's about it for me.

Shane

Any parting words of wisdom that you have for listeners out there who are creative that you might want to inspire or encourage to explore new things or do something to hone their craft as sort of an expert master craftsman? What would you tell them?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, that's what I've been doing all along here—I'm thinking—is that I've been trying to encourage others to play with these products, and I think it should be even in the school system for people to be using this, and I think we're going to see some great artists in the future using these products.

Shane

Well, the website is www.berniemitchell.ca, and on Facebook, it's Artistic Drywall by Bernie Mitchell. Are there any other social media channels or links that our listeners should know about?

Bernie Mitchell

Well, that's pretty much it. I'm on Instagram, also, under bmitch.1. I guess that'd be about the other—yeah, that'd be it.

Shane

Great. Well, Bernie, it was an absolute pleasure speaking with you today. I absolutely love what you do and enjoyed the conversation very much.

Bernie Mitchell

Well, right back at you. I enjoyed speaking with you.

Shane

Well, great talking to you, sir. Best of luck, and I'm going to—we'll keep following you.

Bernie Mitchell

Okay, well, thanks a great deal there, Shane. You have a good day.

Shane

All right, take care.

Once again, that was drywall sculptor Bernie Mitchell. For more information on Bernie, his work, and his teaching materials, please visit berniemitchell.ca. I'd like to thank everyone for joining me today. You are listening to the Live2cre8 podcast, and this is Shane Almgren reminding you to dream big, be inspired, and live creatively.