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When you see only the dark know the light will soon return: Louis Buchetto's journey as an entrepreneur
 About a month ago, my family and I went to Flagstaff, Arizona. We were walking down the street window-shopping when suddenly I caught an eyeful of bright, cheery colors and shapes. I peeked into the window of "My Art Place" and knew I had to go inside.
As soon as I set foot in the store, I could feel a radiating light, warmth and love wash over me.
The pictures on the wall were of wonderful, childlike and uplifting scenes that made me smile and feel happy. Everything was clean and bright and ordered in a way that made me want to take all of it home.
I knew at that moment that I had to buy a picture for my son Joshua's room.
I also knew that I must get the story of the artist who created them. Anyone who created art that conveyed so much love had to be very connected to their inner purpose for being on earth. You could not create this kind of art and be disconnected from your creative soul.
So I started to talk with Louis Buchetto, the gallery owner and artist. He agreed to be interviewed a few weeks later, and this is what he shared.
Q: What were the major milestones in your life that brought you to where you are today?
Louis: At a very young age, I scored very high on the IQ test. But in school I was pretty much a straight F student. I thought I was stupid until I was 32.
I was a very stubborn child. In kindergarten, I told a teacher "You're not loving. I'm not listening to you!" When she didn't listen, I closed down and from that point on never allowed any skills to be built in school.
I remember glimpses of wanting to be an artist starting at about four years old. Then the thought would disappear for about 5-10 years, when it would reappear again for a brief moment.
My Dad had a big heart. My mom had big drive. Her staff called her "the sergeant." She worked for 32 years for Pitney Bowes as a manager. She is a tough woman. I always tried to balance between the two energies.
In early adulthood, I made my living as a housepainter. I was very conscientious and dependable and did all the right things like show up on time, protect the furniture and clean up after myself. But I was extremely depressed and full of despair, because I needed a connection to something bigger.
At the age of 32, I had another fleeting glimpse of wanting to be an artist. But this time I realized that if I didn't do it, I would end up dead or lifeless.
I've sometimes played around with self-hypnosis and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). And I got a glimpse of how powerful our minds are at creating changes.
So I took out a small piece of paper and wrote the following message which I hung next to my bed:
Every night and every morning I would read it until I felt certainty even if it took six or seven times.
I wouldn't leave my bed until I knew it was true. I did this for three months straight. Then, when I was absolutely certain it would happen, I stopped.
One month later, I was sound asleep and I suddenly became aware of a voice which said "grab a ruler and a pencil." I did as the voice instructed, and soon found myself drawing eleven angular faces. My Dad doodled faces, in fact my first true exposure to art was watching how magical his hand was when his cartoon like faces would flow onto paper. When my faces hit the paper it blew my mind - I had no idea where they came from. For two and a half months, I didn't care about food or sleep, I just created my art. I looked like a possessed madman.
This series of art carried me for 10 years. I did 80 shows all over the country and sold a very decent amount. I didn't realize it at the time, but the art represented being able to look at myself very directly, with humor and healing. And it was always intended to be of service to others. (you can view this first series here: The First Ten Years).
Being a Dad for the first time inspired me to create a new series, A Loving Home. I see beauty, purity, freshness, zaniness, innocence and love reeking from my daughter.
September 11 was a significant contributor to this phase of my work. I am not together with my daughter's mother, but she lives right across the street. The first time I spent the night alone with my baby girl was September 10, 2001. She slept on my chest all night long and I was both scared and overwhelmed by a feeling of intense beauty.
The morning of September 11, her mom pounded on my door. I thought she might have been desperate to see her daughter since it was the first night away from her since she was born. Instead, she told me what was going on at the World Trade Center. At that moment, I felt the incredible paradox of the most beautiful and most horrible times in my life being present at the same time. Since I had been in the Army before, I immediately thought, do I become part of the anti-terrorist effort?
But then I realized the response had to be love. Because in the Army though I was platoon leader I found the choice to practice taking others lives very difficult. And it is from this place of knowing that love would be the best path that I created A Loving Home series. I decided to work on it for the next ten years. In many ways creating art has helped me to heal my relationship with my parents. I realize that they did the best they could. I hold no grudges. In fact I went from nearly disliking them to a deep sense of love and gratitude for having them as parents.
Q: Why do you make your plans in 10 year blocks?
I don't know - that is just how it comes to me. I like to build ten year boxes. I work to the edges, then go for a bigger thing once I outgrow it. It may be my need for order and organization.
Q: What is the purpose of your work?
When I am in a peak place of creation and interaction, I get a feeling of something bigger than me. It is a universal energy running through a prism. I'm the prism casting the light of love that we all contribute to. I am just one person reflecting love, as we all have the power to do. When I do my work, I ask for help from all the spirits - any energy that values love. I realize that my work has a tangible benefit to people. It comes from a place of absolute certainty that is universal.
Q: How much did you know about the mechanics of running a business when you started?
I had no clue what I was doing for the first year and a half. Then I remembered what an artist friend once said to me; that his gallery was failing until he got advice to offer pieces at $40.00. He was told "Your place is a museum, everyone loves it but not everyone could afford it." He now sells about $2 million a year by making the art accessible. This truly works with my values, because I love sharing ideals. So I started doing prints for $30 each, which was great for paying the bills and keeping people coming back. I also started making greeting cards, magnets and bookmarkers. This helped to build my business.
Q: How did you make your business grow?
I learned that if I try to live in the mundane world, nothing works. If I live in the spiritual world, everything works beautifully.
I had a series of serendipitous events starting out. I had been bartering carpentry skills for rent for a small gallery space upstairs in the building I'm in now. I had about five thousand dollars credit accumulated. I was walking on the street and saw the storefront in the building was for rent. I decided I wanted to open a gallery there. I walked around the corner and ran into my landlord. I said "I don't know what I'm doing, but I want to rent the storefront." She said "sure - it's yours."
The first day I opened the gallery, the paper ran a story about it. A man came in and spent $1500. It wasn't always like that. I had to continue to run odd jobs to keep going for the first couple of years. In the last six months, the gallery has sustained itself.
Q: How did you make it through the tough times?
A guy by the name of Gary Null from New York planted an idea to make a list of negative thoughts in one column. Then in the other column, write down the truth. I have pages and pages of an amusing journal of pain. By writing in this journal, I can see what the destructive thoughts are doing to me. It's amazing how subtle the thoughts are that drain one's energy. Now I write them down and see how, laugh at them and move on to creating what I really want.
I also use white light when I am doubtful or confused. I get in touch with my intents and try to purify my thoughts and act from that place. I learn as I go.
Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to start their own business?
First, find out who you are and what you want to do with your life. I didn't have a clue myself until I was 32. Once you know, don't quit, that's the biggest thing. A million times I've been down, but I deal with it and keep going.
I heard a talk by a Native American man at a museum which illustrates this. What he said has given me so much strength. He said that his father told him to always plant corn, no matter what. One year it was extremely dry and the ground was hard and unforgiving. No one else planted. But following his father's advice, he planted his corn. Everyone said he was crazy and was wasting his time. The corn came out decrepit and scrawny. But it turns out the seeds were so strong and hearty that they became world-famous and he sold them all around the globe.
As we talk I'm kind of overwhelmed with gratitude for the people I've come across that lent a word of wisdom or a loving thought. There was a long time in my life that I wouldn't let any love in. I guess I thought I wasn't valuable enough. Then I asked the universe to show me if I was valuable enough and that I wanted to see a bit of love. Bit by bit love, help and change started to happen. When you're stuck on anything you have to see if this works for you.
I am glad that Louis is setting an example for all of us by creating a viable business out of the work he feels he is meant to do. Whether or not you use his means of motivation and inspiration is up to you. But I think that his clarity and passion is a great example for us all.
Just in case you are wondering, this is the picture I got for Josh's room: "All of creation is in your hands and heart." Josh "talks" to this picture every day with a big smile on his face and I truly believe that by the time he gets older he will realize that it is true.
"All of creation is in your hands and heart"
You can find Louis' work at www.my-art-place.com. If you ever go to see the Grand Canyon, stop in Flagstaff and visit his store!
Are you inspired by Louis and want to articulate a big vision for yourself?
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