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

Devonna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

The last few years have been tough on everyone. So many unexpected situations and life changes, from Covid, loss of family and friends, loss of jobs and inflation. For me, the most unexpected problem I have faced in life and as a creative has been losing my eye sight. I was diagnosed with retinopathy and that has been tough. With that, there have been a lot of life changes to the things I do daily but it has been so hard on me as a creative. I’ve leaned that I don’t have to stop being a creative, but find different ways to execute my work and express my creativity. I can do this by using brighter colors that I can see, use more contrast, stepping away from the piece and coming back to it or getting some assistance to accomplish my vision. It’s been hard, but I learned that other artist such as Georgia O’Keef, Picasso, Justin Wadlington and many others, had limited vision as well, but it didn’t stop them, so that motivates me to keep going and trying new things. I know God won’t let me fail.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

For those of you out there that don’t know about me, my name s Devonna Arrington.l but my professional name is Artistically_D. I was born and raised in Springfield, MA. I have been creating art since I was a child. A year after graduating from Western New England University, I moved to Georgia. When I chose to move to Georgia, I decided that this was the place I could grow and take my art seriously. In the 11 years that I have been here, I can say that I stepped out of my comfort zone and did what I came here to accomplish and that was to highlight my passion for black art.

All of my art is for my culture. A lot of my subject matter has been women portrayed in a classy, poised, beautiful way. Most of my pieces do not have faces. I did this because as a culture, we have always been the pioneers of entertainment, fashion and style but we were never seen for it. In history, we were told that we were 3/5ths of a human. We had been over looked so when I make them faceless, I want the audience to see themselves or someone they know and connect to it and feel seen, but to also have the piece exude respect for who we are as people..

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspects of being an artist/ creative for me is twofold. The first is how the art makes my audience feel when they see it. So many people message me and tell me how my art speaks to them and how they have gone through some trials and tribulations and how seeing the work was a bright spot in their life. I love how the art also inspires other as well. Poets have reached out to put words to some of my art and that had been so humbling to me.

The second most rewarding aspect of being a creative is that my work will live on long after I’m gone. It’s a part of my legacy. It will be here for the next generation. It brings me solace and happiness to know that I leave a footprint in this world with every piece that I create. My mom tells me that I do my art with all of my heart and it’s something I can be proud of., and I am.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I think NFTs are cool because they allow artist of all skill levels to capitalize and build wealth as well as exposure, worldwide. It also allows collectors to expand their collections too. My understanding of it is that the art accumulates value each time it is sold and the creator of the NFT always gets a percentage, no matter how many times it has sold. I like the idea because a lot of my art is digital, so this would be a cool venture for me personally. I know it has been a positive game changer for many artist around the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artistically_d/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devonna.arrington
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonna-arrington-95591a5b
• Twitter: Artistically_d

Image Credits
Devonna Arrington