Meet Dan Ray Everett

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dan Ray Everett . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dan Ray below.

Dan Ray , so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Unfortunately, imposter syndrome seems to be part of my process. When I start a new painting I usually have a clear image in my head of what I want to paint, but after the first few paint sessions I usually realize I’m in way over my head, or just unsure how to move forward. My motivation to paint comes from trying new techniques in my paintings, and stepping out of my comfort zone. This usually ends up with me feeling lost or inadequate with my new paintings, and not knowing exactly how to paint what I see in my head. So I go from being inspired and overconfident, to feeling defeated and overwhelmed. This can lead to leaving my new work untouched for weeks or even months. During that time I usually have other paintings sitting around that I go back to, or I start new ones just for fun with no pressure or serious intentions behind them. This becomes a continuous cycle that motivates, intimidates, and pushes me to explore the meaning and techniques behind my work. Overcoming imposter syndrome is a part of my process. Almost every new painting makes me feel like an imposter, and then I overcome that by forcing myself to push through and eventually continue to work on my new pieces.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am an artist, and my preferred medium is acrylic paint. I have pursued a professional career as an artist since my graduation in 2011 from the Maryland Institute College of Art. I’ve had consistent group shows and solo shows since my graduation, and have had many opportunities to have my work featured in publications, on beer cans, skateboards, and turned into murals (most notably) at the Salt Lake City International Airport. I’ve also painted murals in multiple cities across the U.S. and I’m looking forward to painting many more. I spent a few summers being apart of the Lithia Art Market Ashland (LAMA), in Ashland OR, and I plan on being apart of the Portland Saturday Art Market this upcoming year. I’ve made a majority of my income distributing my art in person, and I find a lot of value in sharing my art in different communities.
My paintings are inspired by mythology, patterns and capturing the illusion of different textures. Mythology captures my imagination and inspires me to create my own mythical storytelling within my artwork.
I currently have a solo show up at Thunderbird Bar in Portland, OR. I have 35 paintings on display and the show will be up until the end of the month (March 31st).
Feel free to check out my Instagram where I keep people updated on my work @danrayeverett
There is a link to my website on my Instagram page.
If you’re in Portland, OR you can find me at the Saturday Art Market at the waterfront in downtown Portland.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Trusting others and trusting your self-worth are two qualities that are crucial in pursuing a career in art. Many artists short sell their own worth. I have friends who still do this, and I’ve done it so many times in the past that it’s almost impossible to continue that natural, yet bad habit. I have to be upfront about everything when I work with someone else, or working with a company. If I’m not completely transparent I regret it later, and it can also cause problems. As for skills, I try to trust what I’ve learned from all the paintings I’ve done over the years, and use those skills as a foundation to push the boundaries and experiment with new techniques and mediums. However, no matter how many paintings I’ve completed over the years, every time I start a new painting it can feel like the first time I’m painting. I get a fear that I have no idea what I’m doing, or that I’m doing it wrong. It can feel like that imposter syndrome, but as soon as I get started it all comes back and new ideas can blossom.
A painting can feel like a puzzle that doesn’t want to be solved, but the painting over time will show you the endless ways it can be solved. I just have to keep working and trust the process that I’ve found myself working with.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
My favorite authors of all time are Amos Tutuola, and Italo Calvino. Amos Tutuola is a Nigerian author who wrote two of my favorite books, “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” and “Palm-Wine Drinkard”. Both of these books take the reader through strange worlds filled with ghosts and creatures that are truly unique and bizarre. Most of the ghosts and creatures are based on African folklore, specifically Yoruba folk-tales, but Tutuola exaggerates them and gives the stories his own flare. He gives the ghosts human traits and flaws, which makes them familiar, but the visual aspects and the paranormal rules and laws of these ghost worlds take you to fantastical, unexpected places.
Italo Calvino is similar in this way as he takes you to another universe so similar to our own, yet so unbelievably bizarre that you are, for some unknown reason, forced to except that these worlds exist. The settings of these worlds can be either very similar to our own, or completely imagined, yet he lays out the laws and rules of these new worlds in such a way that there’s no questioning why they are this way. From our very own moon crashing into our planet, to an abstract poetic depiction of the origin of birds; his stories spark the same desire in me that inspires me to paint my own bizarre myths and stories. Calvino has a collection of short stories “The Complete Cosmicomics,” which have inspired most of my paintings ever since I first read them during my last few years in art school. “The Distance of the Moon” is also one of my favorite short stories of his. I still find it hard to believe how he is able to make such bizarre worlds so believable in these very short stories. His stories can be so different but somehow each one is just as powerful and gripping as the last.
Both of these authors have achieved what I strive to do with my visual art: to create worlds both bizarre and believable. Familiarly fantastical.

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