Meet Tylar Lee

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

Hi Tylar, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

To put it simply I get my resilience from my upbringing. Growing up things weren’t easy to say the least. My family didn’t have much money and I was surrounded by influences and experiences that would traumatize a lot of children. I am not sure what pushed me to defy the odds at such a young age but I learned to use what I was given and make the best out of the situation. Seeing people struggle and lack motivation made me realize I didn’t want to be the same way. I learned pretty quickly that I could be more than just a product of my environment. For as long as I can remember I have been a self motivated person. While most of my influence wasn’t the best, there was still good people in my life that helped me get through the tough times. Of course those good influences weren’t there as often as the bad and I did make mistakes along the way but I continued to learn from them. No matter how tough things got I always found a way to make the best of each situation. I have always been a glass half full kind of person and I am still that way today.

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 am better known in Indianapolis under my handle tylardraws, I offer drawing, painting, mural and design services. While my artistic style is what gained me popularity I do work outside of that said style. For most of this year I have been focused on painting more murals and trying to develop that side of my business. The most exciting part of this has been seeing my community embrace my artwork and seeing first hand how these murals have made a positive impact on peoples lives. Mural season is coming to an end however so that means I will be in the studio working on more canvas paintings this winter. I am always looking to take my paintings to the next level and studio work is a great way to do that. If any readers are interested in commissioning artwork they can reach out to me on Instagram @tylardraws or send an email to tylardraws@gmail.com. Also to the readers in the Indianapolis area, I have four paintings that will be on display and available for purchase at the Indy Arts Council’s Tiny 13 show at Gallery 94 from opening night December 6th until the end of 2024.

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?

Taking a look at myself I would say the biggest quality that has helped me grow is my ability to stay positive in life. No matter what gets thrown at me I always make the best of the situation. I believe this can be applied to any creative endeavor because let’s face it choosing to chase your dreams as a creative is difficult and there will be many ups and downs. However if you can eliminate the negativity you put into the world the better off you will be. I think the next best quality a creative should have is confidence. This isn’t saying you should be arrogant because we all have room to grow, even the masters of their crafts. This is speaking on the confidence it takes to put you and your art into the world. Have the confidence in yourself to put yourself out there because that is the best way to get recognized. That recognition will eventually gain you clients and fans and help your business grow. Using that confidence leads into my next word of advice. Make yourself personable. You can use this to make connections and use those connections to open doors to opportunities you never thought were available. I can tell you from experience that the people you know matters. Find those connections, attend events related to what you do and make yourself a familiar face in your community. These are easy ways you can grow your brand.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

As an artist that is inspired and motivated by other artists and their work I am always looking for people to collaborate with. I have been wanting to work on a large canvas with another artist or two and do a print series. So if this is something you would be interested in and you think your style compliments mine, let’s work! In fact there is really no limit to this, photographers, videographers, local businesses, etc. If you are out there and like my work, send me an email to tylardaws@gmail.com. I am sure there is a way we can help each other grow because the best way to grow is to bring others up with you. As a side note I think it would be awesome to start an artist collective, so if you have any info on how to do that or are starting one yourself please reach out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @tylardraws