Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dalton Warden. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dalton, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Overselling! There was a time when I was so used to taking any and every opportunity I could find that I had rarely said no. Then the time came where I had multiple paintings and a mural promised at the same time just 1 month out. The stress of not giving the art the proper time it deserves is the worst feeling because you have to put your name on it at the end of the day. And I truly feel you cannot rush great art. So in that circumstance I overworked myself to make sure everything went according to plan. That may have worked that time but I would drain myself out if I had to keep it up all year, or worse, sacrifice the quality of my art which I do not plan on doing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dalton Warden. I have been drawing since a very young age but around the age of 23 I dove deep into oil painting. I love graphite, charcoal, watercolor, and pen & ink, but my main medium of choice is oil painting on canvas. I sell lots of commission paintings of all sorts of subject matter, but when it comes to my personal work, a common theme I have identified with over the years is finding the beauty in commonly ‘ugly’ things such as abandoned houses, dead plants, power lines, or portraits with a black eye. I hope that my work shows how these things can actually be considered beautiful.

Picture framing has been a constant in my adult life. From small gallery frame shops to cruise ship production framing I have experienced it all. I now have a personal frame shop in my garage and offer my own professional framing. I credit framing to a lot of my success because I know how well it brings an artwork to life. When a customer buys art from me, the artwork is framed beautifully and ready to hang on the wall the day they receive it. That takes hassle out of the customers hair, and also ensures the quality of representation wherever that painting ends up in this world. I know that my artworks will look good anywhere because 9 times out of 10 I framed them.

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

The most rewarding part about selling paintings is the fact that people want to pay for something that was so relaxing, meditative, and fun for me to create in my studio. After I sign a painting I look back and feel proud that I did everynitng to best of my ability, and when the customer returns nothing but positive feedback you know if your heart it was money well earned. ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life….’ Its true when it comes to painting!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

A massive lesson my previous mentor taught me was so simple. He used to tell me “emails are free” . It is completely free to send anyone in the entire world an email. That doesn’t mean they will respond but you never know. So I would find a professional whose career I wanted, at the time it was editorial illustrators in New York Times, and I would email them questions. Questions about my website or my art or how they got to where they are. To my surprise they would all respond with full thought out answers to my questions. I still use this tactic to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daltonwarden.com
• Instagram: @dalton_warden_

Image Credits
All artworks and photographs created by Dalton Warden.