We were lucky to catch up with Deran Wright recently and have shared our conversation below.
Deran, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
How did you find your purpose?
Can’t offer any good advice here, because I always just knew what I wanted to do. Can’t even say I’m living the dream, because I didn’t dream about it, I always just did it. Still going.
How do you keep your creativity alive?
It can be difficult to maintain creativity in today’s world. To negotiate the complexities of modern life requires the cultivation of skills foreign to the creative mind. One theory most people are familiar with is the left brain/right brain concept. A discredited theory, but useful as an analogy.
Dealing with agents, sales, marketing, contracts, insurance, websites, financial systems, not to mention taxes, legal liabilities, etc., can overwhelm artists. They can wind up in over their heads, in debt, taken advantage of.
Now anyone with a logical mindset can easily deal with these types of situations. Most people do it every day. But it almost seems that these grinding daily tasks have been intentionally designed to produce a suppression of creativity.
On days when I have to deal with complex situations such as these, I don’t even attempt to create. In a way, I create a separation between the obstreperous outside world, and the work in the studio. The greater the separation, the easier it is to work.
A perfect workday would be a leisurely awakening, morning coffee, time set aside for meditation, music or podcasts playing while I concentrate on studio work. When I was younger, I often worked long hours into the night, but my schedule would be disturbed for days afterward. These days my wife and righthand, Geneva, keeps me to a fairly normal schedule, and runs interference from distractions for me when needs be.
Being the only one in the room: how have you learned to be effective/successful even when you are the only one in the room that looks like you?
Any artist who walks into a (bar?) room full of clients, patrons, art selection committee, just automatically has a completely different outlook, no matter the race or gender. The artist is always trying to make a personal statement, to stay true to their vision, which varies greatly between different artists. The artist would also like to make a buck, but that’s not usually a primary motivation. My approach is to listen carefully to the other parties involved and gain an understanding of what they want, and see if I can fulfill their goals while still staying true to my vision. If we’re too far apart, I may recommend one of my artist peers instead.
I would say listening is the most important skill involved.
What were the conditions that allowed you to develop your empathy?
The starving artist trope is there for a reason. Every artist hits a downturn , sooner or later. You don’t have to be desperately poor for very long to realize what a drag it is… how lacking are the safety nets in this country, how every single thing is oriented around a 9 to 5 job with regular paychecks. Now that the ‘gig economy’ is spreading, more people are beginning to experience these boom and bust cycles. A lot of good artists abandon the practice because they can’t take the uncertainty. That’s how people get stuck in jobs they hate.
How do you persist despite the haters, nay-sayers, etc?
I can’t say I have run into many haters, but when I first started on my journey, 45 years ago, figurative work was definitely no longer considered ‘Fine Art’. That’s changing, but there are some folks who are still strongly biased against it. In my mind, they are no different from the ‘gatekeepers’ who barred the Impressionists from the major art salons of their day. After the horrors of the World Wars many artists turned their backs on figurative work and the very concept of beauty. Entirely understandable on an individual level, but anyone who says only abstract, or conceptual art is ‘ART’, is just wrong.
I work in a very traditional and classical style, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Apparently there are enough people like me, that I have made a long career of doing pretty much whatever I want.
I have clients all around the world, and ship things all over. It’s been a very rewarding life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I suppose my focus is on my artistic career, but in my opinion, you can’t separate most artist’s lives from their careers. Everything in my life revolves around art, and I have the same approach to life that I bring to my art. I want to enjoy myself, be inspired, and create beautiful things that bring joy and inspiration to others. Because I’ve been at this so long, other artists sometimes contact me for advice or reassurance, and I always try to be helpful. I have never taught because I just can’t find the time.
One of my main goals, is simply to add new things to the world, that didn’t exist before. Humans have been engaged in the act of creation for eons. The Willendorf Venus, Michaelangelo’s David, Cellini’s saltcellar, are examples of things an individual created which have affected our consciousness. Bronze sculpture may easily last for thousands of years, Sometimes I imagine I’m creating for someone in the far-off future, and not just the contemporary client.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I grew up working in a family business, and learned some basic and essential skills for dealing with clients. Artist’s are often clueless when it comes to basic business practices. Number one is always DO what you say you will do. If you say you will do it, DO it.
Number two is, always make it right. Nobody’s perfect, and things can go awry, but everything can be fixed, if you’re willing.
Number three, keep the agreements simple, and stick to them. No changing or morphing the deal midway through.
Number 4, and this is a quote from J.P. Morgan, “Only first class business, and that in a first class way.” In other words, be professional.
Number 5, don’t be afraid to talk about money. Artist’s hate to talk about money, but their patron’s are comfortable with the concept. Arrive at an agreed upon price, and stick to it.
Number 6. It’s not really about the money. It’s really all about building relationships.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Artist’s don’t create in a vacuum. The impressionists are a good example of this. When you read up on them, you realize they all knew each other, hung out in coffee shops, corresponded, painted pictures of each other, inspired each other. The number of people who have helped me, inspired me, taught me new skills, gave me helpful advice, is too many to count. Some were just random strangers who dropped pearls of wisdom in my lap, some became long time friends and family, patron/friends, technical advisors/friends, business associates/friends. Notice the friends part. The relationships are the most important thing.
And of course you help them, and they help you.
I learned early that if you find someone who is a kindred spirit, you should always stay in contact if you can, because that’s such a rare and valuable commodity.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.deranwright.com
- Instagram: deranwrightart
- Facebook: Deran Wright
- Linkedin: Deran Wright
Image Credits
Deran Wright
