We were lucky to catch up with Daniel Toney-Leclair recently and have shared our conversation below.
Daniel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
As an artist I have learned you have to be fearless. I used to rely on my intelligence, on what was known. Over the years I have realized that some of my best work has come from me taking risk and following my intuition. It’s almost like a sixth sense that has developed into one of my most powerful tool. My first love in life was skateboarding and I see how it has prepared me to take risk throughout my career as an artist. The human brain is the one of the most powerful consciousnesses on the planet, i had to learn to trust my subconscious and follow a creative path that led me to an intersection of intuition and intellect which helps me make calculated risk. The hardest part was trusting my brain to translate my environment into something that represents my unique perspective.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Daniel Toney-LeClair- My first canvas as was my 3rd grade desk In Whitinsville, Massachusetts. I found my gift during math class. I would zone out during the class and by the time the bell rang I would have a mural and graphite all over my clothes. I drew the attention of the class when I started doing innocent caricatures of the teachers. I realized that i might have a talent when the teacher stopped making me clean off the desk and the class would anticipate what i would draw next. At the end of middle school we moved to Albany, Georgia with my mother, “rural city” in Southwest Georgia about 1hr drive from Florida. The contrast between Albany and Whitinsville really helped me shape my identity. Back home we were literally the only black family and in Albany the African American population was about 75 %. My life has been the story of humility and endurance. Since lived through the “struggle” I like my artwork to focus on abstractions outside of the confinement of the human condition. I strive to find the thread that connects us all. After high school I got a scholarship to attend Georgia State university in Atlanta and embraced the diversity. I linked with other artist and started to develop into the artist i am today. I had my first art showing in my midtown first floor apartment, I didn’t sell a piece but i felt it was my introduction to the world as a committed artist. This also made me focus on marketing and strategies to increase sales. Some may have seen it as a failure but it proved to be the most valuable learning opportunity of my life. Ive sold dozens of large-scale paintings to collectors across the country via word of mouth and solid relationships.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
I see Non Fungible Tokens as a catalyst for artist to receive their true value of their intellectual Property.. When you mint a nft on the blockchain it provides a transparency that allows artist to continually collect royalties from the sale of their art or idea. So far this is the best way to keep the market fair.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Enjoy art and and respect the creators sacriffice. Lately i feel the “artist lifestyle” has been romanticized. Most good artist i know live a hard life and creating is the only escape the realitiesof choosing the unknown path. Society can support us by buying art they connect with and enjoy. Sadly the recent development of AI art bots has made it more difficult to appreciate real art.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://fowoatl.com/
- Instagram: @dtmleclair
- Other: artpal.com/danleclair