We were lucky to catch up with Sydney Darrow recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sydney, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In October of 2022 I decided to quit my stable, full time job to pursue a career as an artist. I have always known I wanted to make art for a living; When I was young I would spend all day in my father’s barbershop, drawing his customers as they got their haircuts, and then selling them the portraits. At 15 years old I started my first day job as a camp counselor for the YMCA and from that point on I was always either in school or working. I made and sold art on the side, getting 2-3 commissions a year and participating in an artisans market every so often.

In the winter of 2021 everything flipped on it’s head, I realized It was time to take stock of my life and make some big changes because my fiancé and I were expecting our first child.

The pregnancy wasn’t completely unplanned but it definitely wasn’t expected that soon – I was really nervous about how this would impact us financially as well as how I would manage to keep building my art career, while also working a 9-5, and starting a family. After a lot of discussion my fiancé and I agreed that although it would be difficult, and success was not 100% guaranteed, It made the most sense for our family if after the baby was born, I quit my day job and worked as both a stay at home mom and an artist. This was a big and scary decision because I was letting go of health insurance, a 401k, and a community along with many other benefits, however the alternative was losing 2/3 of my paycheck to childcare, 40+ hours a week spent away from my daughter, little to no free time, and putting off my creative asperations for at least another few years, along with many other sacrifices. So even though I didn’t have the perfect plan, and even though everything wasn’t a sure-fire to work out…. I ran straight through the fear and took that leap. I am still in the beginning stages of my navigation as it’s only December 2022, but I feel a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment which is well worth cancelling my hulu subscription and eating ramen a little more often than I used to. Currently I have a somewhat steady stream of commissions, a growing online presence, multiple works on display in various galleries, and multiple larger scale projects in the works. My main goal is to be making enough consistent income to support my growing family.

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

It’s crazy how powerful something as simple as paint on a canvas can really be… like my skin color or my family, making art isn’t something I chose, It’s always been a part of me; I started at a young age and never really stopped. Now I use that drive and passion to create art that connects with other people. When someone buys a piece of art for their home, office, or as a gift, they are buying a feeling/experience. Whether it is a commission or one of my originals, any time they walk past that painting it connects with, reminds them of, or derives a specific emotion.

As a visual artist I specialize in realism, abstraction, and most frequently – what has been referred to as “magical realism” – the combination of the two. With my art I like to explore themes of duality, connection, and memory using a feelings based approach – Meaning I don’t usually plan ahead my works. Rather, I allow my paintings and drawings to reveal themselves through a process that involves me getting lost in whatever emotion I am hoping to render. The main parts of this process are music, imaginative story telling, and academic learning.

I believe what you listen to impacts you on a subconscious level and that shows up in your work. I am very particular about what I listen to while I create; If I am painting a wedding portrait I will listen to only love songs, or If i’m painting an old family home I’ll go for a more nostalgic soundtrack. Moving on to story telling, once I have the right playlist for a piece, the next step is getting to know my subject. Often I am painting people I’ve never met or places I’ve never been to, so I build a story to emotionally invest in – I always say, my best tip for creating a beautiful portrait is to picture your subject in love, or being loved. Lastly I like to incorporate academics into my work in any way I can. Learning is a huge part of my day to day and you never know what will impact your art so it’s important to explore a wide variety of subjects. Some of my favorites, are physics, philosophy, history, and sociology; Learning more about the world around me and how it works allows me to create works of art with more depth, meaning, and technical skill.

Along side my physical artwork I am slowly building a community of like minded creatives and art loving people. I share my journey on Tiktok, Instagram, and Facebook which has been a highlight for me these past few years. Having carved out a space for connection allows me to learn so much from my peers as well as share what I already know. I am so grateful for and proud of this space – I hope to continue on this trajectory of growth in both community and artistic excellence.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I feel like I have two different goals driving me. One is this intrinsic, amorphous blob of a goal that is hard for me to describe and the other is much more measurable and realistic. With both, I think it is important to have many small, attainable goals on the way to the overarching one so that I have consistent successes and failures to drive me forward.

My more abstract goal has to do with my personal works of art. As I mentioned, it’s hard to describe but i’ll try my best… It’s like a treasure hunt with no map – I feel that I have the potential to make a work of art that is greater than anything I have the capacity to even imagine. I have no clue what it might look like, or even what medium it may use; I have no way of knowing if I’m on the right track. I just know that if I work as hard as I can, live as much life as I can, and create as much art as possible, I have the smallest chance of being successful. That small chance is enough to keep me going.

On the other hand I have a dream of starting an organization that teaches people to use art as an outlet – a place where people from all walks of life can go to learn more about themselves and the world around them by diving into the arts – visual, musical, performative, etc. It’s one thing to learn the basics of “how” to draw but it’s another thing entirely to learn how to actually transmute what you are thinking and feeling into a work of art. I want to be able to help people with that part. I think I still have a lot to learn before this dream comes to fruition but it is always something that is playing on the back of my mind.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding part of being an artist/creative is the doorway it opens to self discovery. We all have our roles in society but when you get into a creative space, that is like an open invitation to completely be yourself – no holes barred. I think art is freeing, there is no right or wrong way to do it. This freedom allows you to bring your most authentic self to the table, and if you haven’t had the chance to do that in a long time, you may be really surprised by how much you can find.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sydneydarrowart.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sydneydarrowart/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sydneydarrowart/
• Other: www.tiktok.com/sydneydarrowart/