Getting laid off was one of the worst things that ever happened to Adam Turman. And one of the best.
Losing his graphic design job hurt. But it also gave Turman, 34, the opportunity to flourish as a popular illustrator and screen printer.
"That's why getting laid off was kind of a cool thing," Turman says. "I started doing a little more searching about for what I really wanted to do."
In addition to pinup-style gig and event posters, Turman produces cityscapes, art prints and commissioned work. He also has a growing company selling his works at art shows and through his website (adamturman.com). The site lists local shops that sell his prints.
Always the kid who could draw, Turman first made money at it selling T-shirts he designed to Edina High School classmates. He got a graphic design degree from the University of Minnesota and worked, mostly on computers, for a couple agencies.
He got back to hand drawing after his 2001 layoff. Struck by the work he saw at a gig poster show, he got in with some artists and by 2003 was doing posters for shows at venues including the Triple Rock and First Avenue.
He screen prints everything himself, learning through online tutorials and trial and error.
"Every single side of a business, I'm doing," says Turman. "I'm very right-brained but there's a lot of left brain that I've been learning too through the course of all this."
