From Canvas to Community: How Callum Campbell ’18 Found His Voice Through His Art

First published in the Summer 2025 issue of Tiger.

When Callum Campbell ’18 first picked up a paintbrush at Ridley College, he didn’t imagine it would one day lead him to Los Angeles, California, where he would work alongside world-renowned artists and share his paintings with hundreds of thousands of people online. But that’s precisely where his journey has taken him — thanks to a blend of talent, authenticity and a deep-rooted sense of community.

A proud Ridley alum and now a rising star in hyperrealistic portraiture, Callum has cultivated a global audience through TikTok and social media. His videos are part painting process, part personal reflection, and they have resonated with viewers around the world. Callum has amassed over 180,000 followers on TikTok alone and discovered opportunities that once seemed unimaginable.

“I didn’t start out thinking I’d be a professional artist,” he said. “I actually went to university for architecture, but when that programme was delayed, I took fine arts instead. I fell in love with it almost immediately.”

That pivot proved more fruitful than he could ever imagine. What began as a creative outlet quickly evolved into a calling. By his second year at the University of British Columbia, Callum was sharing his work online — not to chase virality, but to connect with others who shared his passion.

Callum views his progress as many small steps in succession; it didn’t happen all at once. At that time, after his second year of university, he began selling his paintings for the first time and continued to develop and engage with his audience on TikTok.

That instinct to cultivate a digital community has paid off spectacularly. By the end of his third year, Callum was invited to Los Angeles to work as a painting assistant for a major YouTube creator, ZHC. The experience of living in West Hollywood and collaborating with other artists was transformative. 

“It was all because of the community I built online,” he said. “No matter how good my art was, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity without the community of people who supported me.”

Callum’s approach to social media is rooted in honesty and authenticity. He shares not just the finished pieces but also the process — the doubts, the edits and the small wins and losses. From his perspective, it’s all about sharing what you love and your journey, not chasing clicks. For Callum, he credits this transparency as the thing that draws people in and delivers his work directly to their ‘For You Page.’

“People care about the journey. They want to see you grow,” he said. “If you share what you love and people see your passion, they will naturally gravitate to you and your journey.”

Callum’s mindset was shaped in part by his time at Ridley. Our beloved School’s emphasis on excellence and its robust arts programme gave Callum the technical foundation and the work ethic he needed to succeed. He also credits the community at Ridley for helping push him to succeed. From his perspective, there is an understanding as a Ridley student that excellence is the goal, whatever the field.

“Whether it’s rowing, math, science or theatre, people at Ridley are striving for excellence,” he admits. “When you’re around people every day who are that dedicated to their goals, it naturally inspires you to find your own niche and strive for your own piece of excellence as well.”

Callum also credits the arts programme at Ridley, where he learned skills like oil painting and built a strong foundation for university. He also developed video production and editing skills in the Upper School, significantly benefiting his workflow today as a TikToker. Ridley also provided Callum with endless role models, both peers and teachers. Among them: his father, Mr. Giles Campbell, a design tech teacher at Ridley and an accomplished artist in his own right and his close friends, Dimitri Nitsopoulos ’18 and Alex Schramm ’18, whose academic success in law and medicine, respectively, inspires him to work harder every day.

“My dad is one of the most incredible artists I’ve ever met,” Callum said. “Growing up, we were always sketching, visiting galleries. That had a huge influence on me.”

Callum continues to build his career and body of work, one brushstroke at a time. But for him, art isn’t just about the final image or TikTok post. It’s about connection, community and the shared experience of creation. He views social media as an effective tool that helps the audience understand his process as both an artist and a person.

“I see social media as an extension of my art,” he said. “It’s not something that takes away from it — it adds to it. It’s another way to improve my art, tell the story and get people invested in the journey.”

What began as a simple personal passion project for Callum to do for fun has flourished into a global community. And with every new painting and post on social media, he continues to nurture and cultivate that community every day. Callum’s story is yet another reminder that community isn’t something you find, but something you work to nurture and grow over time. It proves that a strong community can grow anywhere, even online, when you lead with honesty, authenticity and creativity.