Today we’d like to introduce you to Colby Deal.
Colby, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Art has always my passion since a child, the challenge was to figure out which medium would best serve my passion for art. I thought it was painting, I thought it was graphic design, no, it was photography. Little did I know, my surroundings had been subliminally grooming me for this. Starting with looking at the huge amounts photographs taken by my father and my uncle when they were younger or how I would take a few disposable cameras with me when my friends and I would go out to concerts and clubs.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I’m a photographic artist and visual creator. That includes photography in its analog form, sculpture, murals, street art and film. Photography is my bread and butter when it comes to scratching my artistic itch, roaming around communities and meeting people and photographing them is a satisfying feeling I crave. The satisfaction comes from the thought of knowing that I’ve captured and preserved this person’s true and most transparent self, which in turn is a representation of true cultural characteristics. My most recent venture can be accredited to gorilla style street, by wheat pasting photographs of the community members I take portraits of on buildings around there home. This creates an engaging opportunity for self-appreciation, from one that is just as they are. The possibilities of influence and impact this has on a community are astronomical, and I’ve realized the power of my craft and figured out how to provide that opportunity of positive influence through my craft. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters to me and brings me an abundant amount of peace. It’s our own responsibility to nurture our communities and youth, no one else will. Art is my way of nurturing the community.
How can artists connect with other artists?
Find an artist and regular people with the same mind frame and views as yours. That way when you are in a lonely state of mind, you’ll have the right people around you to rejuvenate your energy supply, because they understand the struggles of your task.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
A good number of my works can be seen in the streets of the Third Ward on the walls of abandoned buildings and businesses. I recently took down an exhibition for “Preserved Fabrics” at Alabama Song Gallery, curated by Gabriel Martinez. I’m currently in Denver on a two-year artist residency at RedLine Gallery, so the most recent work will be seen in Denver.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theartistcolbydeal.wixsite.com/colbydeal
- Email: theartistcolbydeal@gmail.com
- Instagram: @monsieur_tist
Image Credit:
Colby Deal
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