We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dawn Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dawn below.
Dawn , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I don’t know if I found my purpose or if a purpose found me. When I was a little girl I was always encouraged to draw. I was a very precocious child and I feel that my caregivers liked to encourage me to draw to keep me occupied and quiet. I could do this for hours even as a small child. It seemed that I was always good at escaping into a drawing and I was good at creating worlds. I never stopped doing this and as I became an adult I learned to make a living as a tattoo artist. When covid happened my shop had to close, but I never stopped painting. I have always dove further and deeper into the worlds I could create within my mind.
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 have been a tattoo artist for over 20 years. I started a vibrant painting practice about 10 years ago in a separate studio. These two practices are very different from each other. Tattooing is a skilled trade and there are limitations to what should be attempted on skin. With skin we think about how the image will age over time and we try to make the design compliment the persons body and maintain its visual integrity for as long as possible. With painting we aren’t just decorating a surface but we are creating a separate visual plain to transport the viewer. Painting is very liberating for me while tattooing has rules and higher stakes since it is on a persons body. Tattooing is also collaborative, while painting never has to be collaborative. I do these very different things simultaneously and at times an intersection appears within the imagery itself. I am currently finishing up a huge body of paintings and I am looking for a place to show it.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the three qualities that have helped me the most are imagination, perseverance, and fearlessness. I have never been afraid to try something new, when it comes to materials or technology. Because of this it has taken me longer to develop my own vocabulary and style but also it has allowed me to think more creatively and create with more freedom. Perseverance has kept me going when I’ve wanted to give up on my art career. It has never been easy to be an artist in todays society. It seems that the vast majority of people don’t have an interest in supporting the visual arts. Since I came from a low income household growing up, I didn’t have any extra advantages. I have always had to work within my means. I have not always had access to more affluent social circles where people do support the visual arts. But I have not allowed that to limit my thinking. I have always pressed onward. My imagination never stops. When I look at a blank canvas or a blank sheet of paper I am never stuck. My mind is always moving and ideas are on standby at all times. I can call upon ideas at will. I believe anyone can do this also. It just requires thinking less!!!
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My father was an auto body repair person, sign painter and pin striper. I used to watch him work. He was very skilled with his hands and he was always inspiring to me. It was like he was a sculptor and a painter. If you’ve ever seen that work being done, they use very particular methods with very specific mediums. When I was around as 12 we went to art classes at a local art store. These are some of my most cherished core memories. Even though he is no longer here on Earth, I continue to be inspired by his life and the ways he impacted mine.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dawnmariesmith.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dawnsmith_art
Image Credits
the photo of me was taken by Robert F. WINDOWS III @robbywindowsphotos on instagram
