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

Alright, Andrew thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

As the son of an artist, I was always told to consider a different career path. I followed my heart into a science-based education in college and then followed it again into outdoor retail and recreation. I spent a lot of time learning skills unrelated to art, design, and illustration, but around every corner, there was another opportunity to spread those wings and flex those muscles. I was in a pool of dirt bags, ski patrollers, and small business owners. Uniquely, I understood their visual needs, but didn’t know how to take what I had as a sketch, and turn it into refined digital artwork for production as logos, on products, and for other marketing materials. I had spent so much time painting and drawing, but was faced with the need to make money, and not just dabble and play as I had for many years. So in 2020, when the world was afforded an opportunity to slow down, reflect, and make changes to their status quo, I took the time to learn the graphic program used ubiquitously in the industry. I continued to paint and draw, but was calculated in the fact that work comes a lot easier from clients with specific needs, and selling paintings is a luxury afforded to the top percentage of artists. These skills I had to refine to greater degree before presenting them to the world on a platform that I was comfortable with.

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.

I think of myself as being a one-stop shop for art and design solutions. I work on a number of different scales, and in different mediums. My super power is in my communication with clients, and my greatest challenge is in learning to love the works that I create. I live in a room where one door leads to creative expression, and the other leads to a discerning mind. I believe this combination is what helps me lead teams to success, with a backbone of beauty, and cooperation. I think what makes my visuals coveted is based on an understanding of relevant topics, styles, and subject matter. I have a lot of stuff I put into my art that 90% of my audience doesn’t care about, but that’s the stuff that keeps me going. Hidden sea monsters, cactus-banana combos, homages to fractals, etc. I think of my commercial art as being an escape from political commentary and judgement. Mostly, I know that whenever I hand something back to a client, the most important thing is that is simply looks awesome.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There are two things that I find very humbling and rewarding. The first is when I see my designs in nature, people that have selected to purchase something that I designed. A hat, a shirt, a reusable shopping bag, a sticker. These folks, with no background story, just went out one day, saw my art and selected it. Each one of these is a small vote for me to keep doing what I’m doing.

The second thing is when someone buys a painting. This means a few different things. First it means that they value my craft over the amount of money of the selling price of the painting. And maybe even more importantly is that they have decided to allocate something that I made to their sacred space. They want to look at my artwork everyday, maybe it maybe it brings them joy, think about something differently, or just add s a nice energy. I don’t know, but it’s pretty cool.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The book “Let My People Go Surfing,” by Yvonne Chouinard cannot be ignored when building out a company, or managing a business. Yvonne Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, and Chouinard Equipment (later became Black Diamond) has kept evironmentalism and integrity at the forefront of his mission statement his entire life. He has pioneered ways to develop, share, and contribute his profits with his staff and the environment, acting as a catalyst for other outdoor equipment manufacturers to follow suit. Some of the backbone components of his company include lifetime warranties, building products that can be fixed and not just replaced, creating an exceptional work-life balance for staff, and manufacturing goods with the lowest impact on the environment possible. He built a company that wasn’t held to shareholder standards and therefore was able to raise –in some cases –raise the price of his goods so as to provide organic, and ethically sourced materials.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://andrewdengateart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewdengateart/

Image Credits

Olivia Fryman