Today we’d like to introduce you to Darlene Olivia Mcelroy
Hi Darlene Olivia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It has always been about art, art, and more art. I remember drawing on my bedroom walls at 3 years old. So I guess I started as a working artist and muralist, right? From there I went on to be the class artist in school, and then to Art Center School of Design where I learned from some great teachers and got to hang with terrific fellow artists. I worked my way through college doing package design for a lithographic printer. After graduation, I worked for Buzza Cardoza, a division of Gibson Greeting Cards. I had a wonderful view of the Matterhorn at Disneyland from the artists workroom and remember designing Christmas cards in July. A backwards world but lots of fun.
I then worked as a illustrator, and art teacher in Newport Beach, CA. At the time, I had four art representatives across the country. My clients included Disney, Capri Sun, Hasbro, Taco Bell and so many more. In the mid 1980’s I leaped across the pond and worked as an illustrator in Paris. Next came two years of traveling around the world soaking up the color and narrative of so many exotic countries. Proud to say I made a complete circle of the globe.
After a few more years in Southern California, I moved to Santa Fe to build my fine art career showing in galleries, teaching art classes and workshops, and writing five art technique books. The books have been translated into eight languages and gave me the opportunity to teach workshops around the world.
Currently, I have my art in galleries and collections around the world. I can be found in my studio covered in paint and surrounded my dogs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I am a happy person and always up for something new so I have had a smooth road. I have never said no to a job even if I had to learn new skills. I have had great clients, fun jobs, and met wonderful people on my path. So lucky to have been doing what I love.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a narrative mixed media artist with a focus on the figure, man and his myths. For me, creating an art piece is like reading Turkish coffee grounds – a story becomes revealed as one looks at the surface, texture and color. Moving around the canvas, one can see the past, present and future of the creation. The layering of texture and color in a painting excite me when I am working. It is like putting the pieces of a puzzle together to realize only when it done, what the story is.
Getting featured three times in Pratique des Artes, a French art magazine, was a thrill for me. To get recognized by my adopted country was wonderful.
How do you define success?
For me, success is loving what I am doing, being free to paint and travel, and meeting interesting people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.darleneoliviamcelroy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darlene_olivia_mcelroy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darleneoliviamcelroy
