Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydney Daniel. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sydney, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
I have learned, for me, the best form of self-care outside of spending time with family and close friends is absolutely travel. Any opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and expose myself to a different landscape, environment, ways of life, and the general essence of a destination, I find invaluable to my research as a visual artist and to my soul as human being. This past winter I found myself in a rut emotionally and the timing of my recent adventure could not have been better. I trekked to Burlington, Vermont to camp with a group to see the solar eclipse in full totality. We camped in 32 degree weather not far from the Canadian border and being a southerner I wasn’t exactly prepared gear wise. Ultimately the experience was intense but the back to nature back to, oh shit my own mortality, in a survivalist situation will certainly provide a shock to the system and force your body and your mind to reset and get back on track. My point is- throughout my life I have had the most profound experiences while traveling- that soothed and inspired me in a way nothing else I can name does. Getting out of your own head, out of old patterns and environments, old ideas that plague the mind- travel and exposure to the unknown is by far the most significant (and efficient) form of self-care I’ve encountered. It’s important to travel solo in your adult life- what I am constantly seeking is a shift in perspective, that is hard to attain staying still. As a visual artist, nothing will conjure new concepts, problem solving, a change in direction or even a change of career like visiting a new place and truly engaging with what life is like for people there. I cannot recommend it enough. The time is nigh!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a metro Atlanta based visual artist. I specialize is large scale mixed media art works. I work from my home studio in Roswell, Georgia. I am a Georgia native and received my BFA from Georgia State University in 2013 and my MFA from the University of Georgia in 2019. My story is not dissimilar to many visual artists- I have always made art and pursued it fiercely since I was a teenager. I would be remiss if I did not mention the role that privilege plays in art making and MAKING it financially as a visual artist in America. I have always worked very hard but if I did not have the privilege of a supportive family and community this career would not have been possible. It’s imperative to have the financial backing to afford to seek this path and I have been fortunate enough to have the most fantastic, strongest and unwavering support system imaginable.
Now, little bit about my studio practice and what is driving my research at the moment. My studio practice is a celebration of non-representational painting on a consciously large scale with a deeply process based approach. Specifically, I present an investigation of abstract painting in developing new kinds of transcendent spaces. The scale of the paintings is in reference to the body, to purposely decrease peripheral vision of the viewer. With less peripheral vision outside the picture plane, the viewer is able to visually enter the painting’s interior space and thus transcending the physical space the painting and viewer both occupy. My mixed media paintings contain a desire for beauty, a desire for the unknown and the desire for sumptuousness. My studio practice employs a variety of applications of fluid materials that involve staining, spreading and overlapping forms. My research centers around a documentation of time and articulating the non-verbal experiences of my audience to induce sensations of nostalgia and awareness of the body. Like travel as self-care, I want to shift the perspective of the viewer and make them aware of their physical body in relation to the space the art object and the viewer both occupy.
I am currently represented by Collaborative Art Movements and I have an upcoming group exhibition at Coca Cola Headquarters curated by the lovely, Jacob O’Kelley. The show opens May 31st and runs through July 5th, entitled “Colors of Love: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion through Art.”
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1- Develop strong networking, especially when you’re young, it pays off tenfold for years to come. For example, when I was in my early twenties and still studying at Georgia State, I began convincing different local business (in collaboration with my peers) to let us curate and exhibit group exhibitions. It was a success and the connections and my reputation, as a result, of curating so many independent exhibitions, has kept opportunities coming my way even today. It’s a stereotypical thing to say but it truly is about who you know. A sad fact of the art world is that sometimes the work doesn’t even need to be strong if you have stronger connections. 2- The greatest area of knowledge that I think will pay off in the largest financial sense as a visual artist is to get into the commercial arts at least for a few years. Art publishing, art management, graphic design, interior design, animation etc. any commercial field of the industry will really benefit you in the long run. I worked at an art publishing company right out of undergrad and the art consultants that represent me today and provide a good portion of my income, I met while at that art publishing company. If you’re not sure what I mean by art publishing, check out Deljou Ar Group, Soho Myriad and Collaborative Art Movements. They’re all based in Atlanta. If you have a basic knowledge of how commercial art industries operate, you can then potentially make an aspect of that industry work for you and your lifestyle. Plainly, you do not have to work in the commercial arts forever to make money but if you understand how those fields operate you can make your art business profitable on your own terms.
3- The best quality an emerging visual artist can have in my opinion is to develop a healthy coping mechanism and thick skin as early as you can. Life as a visual artist is NOT easy and you have to be able to tolerate rejection and failure on regular basis. The ability to preserver through hardship (whatever that hardship may be) and trust me, there will be hardship. To continue grinding and moving forward even when every bit of society, family, the economy and our government is telling you to quit. If you keep going by time you are in your early to mid-thirties you’ll be making a living. Developing healthy coping mechanisms and a solid support system is everything. This cannot be stressed enough.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
The past 12 months have been a tremendous time for transition for my family and I. I escaped an extremely abusive relationship in February 2023 and have been healing from that trauma ever since. The amount of personal growth that develops while recovering from narcissistic abuse is immeasurable. Big transitions within my family unit have taken place as well. My entire family sold their individual homes and we all moved into a big house in Roswell, GA. This shift to a multi-generational household and community-based living, has been the greatest decision we, as a family, have ever collectively made. To live within community and to have the financial burden lifted during these tumultuous economic times has been beyond a blessing and if you’ve ever considered doing this, I can’t recommend it enough. My studio practice and art business has exploded (in the best way possible) since this move. It’s amazing when you have time and space how prolific you can become. For the first time in my life, I have found financial stability through art making. I do not have a ‘day job’ anymore and I am living my life funded by art making. Living the dream. Do not give up emerging artists- there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sydneydaniel.com
- Instagram: sydthekyd19
Image Credits
Shawn Campbell
