Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Terryl Mclorn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Terryl thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Life as a creative is not easy. You perceive things differently than others and often times in the environments we grow up in thinking differently is seen as something wrong. As a black American male, growing up anything related to sports was popular in particular basketball and football. So of course, I gravitated towards those things. I always knew how to draw ever since I can remember. Why I even reminisce on the times during at church I’d be sketching in my sketch book during service. While I was naturally talented at drawing, I wanted to play sports because most of my friends and cousins played sports. I’d seen so many black athletes on television competing, I loved watching the NFL and NBA. I distinctly remember one night in the kitchen crying because I could not play football because I suffered with asthma at a younger age. My mother had told me about a story when I was in kindergarten where the activity of the day was to draw your favorite animal. All the other kids had drawn things they saw on the wall. My kindergarten teacher, Ms. Gordon told my mother that I draw a whale that wasn’t in the classroom and told her I included small details like the blowhole, fin etc. My mother said that my ability to draw is a gift from God and encouraged me to love that as much as I love sports. Now that I am older and grown more spiritually within my religion I see that moment with so much more clarity and believe that’s the moment I knew I wanted to be a creative. I also want to be that form of representation for many young black artists like myself that I wasn’t necessarily exposed to when I was younger.
Terryl, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve always been able to draw ever since I can remember. Once I was fully exposed to the arts after attending and graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts I’ve represented myself as a true creative and business. This is my passion, my craft, my discipline. While I am well versed in many different forms of visual art such as painting, graphic design, murals, tattoos etc. from years of experience in high school as well as college I mainly focus on drawing in particular portraiture and figurative drawing. A lot of my work highlights different aspects of black culture. While the work is a form of self reflection for me, it also helps explore ways of defining blackness. Overall, I can say I’ve been a pretty well rounded artist over the years.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Inspiration. Drive. Passion. I put a lot into my craft so those things are required and unfortunately I believe due to how commercial this society is a lot of non-creatives will struggle to understand why I create everyday even if it means I’m not benefiting from it monetarily. It’s a reality we all live that we have to make money to survive but acting out in my craft is just as important to me. I couldn’t fathom the thought of me not being an artist. So while I’m here I’m going to continue to work at my craft to the best of my ability.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Being a great artist means you’re well known. So many of the great artists throughout history were so misunderstood or some didn’t even know who they were at the time. What I had to learn is that because I’m a creative, I’m not going to think or act like anyone else. A lot of the times I found myself being frustrated not garnering the right amount of audience or viewership. Just had to understand that there is an audience for everyone no matter how big or small.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tmclornart.wixsite.com/terrylart
- Instagram: @terrylart_
Image Credits
Black Boy Art Show