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

Alright, Delyan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me. I truly appreciate that Canvas Rebel, as a platform, strives to give a voice to small businesses and supports skilled specialists, craftspeople, and artists. I’m happy to share some of my experiences with your audience.
Now, regarding the challenge of becoming a successful mural artist, there are a few key obstacles that people aiming for this niche must overcome. The U.S. art scene is vast, and many artists aspire to express themselves on walls. In Europe, it might be easier to find your place in the mural art scene, but here it’s more crowded, especially in states where demand for this work is high. So, here are a few of my tips and observations.

One of the biggest challenges for rising mural artists is landing that first commissioned work. Without a public portfolio, it’s hard to convince clients to trust you with their walls. Plus, starting out isn’t cheap—you need a wall, paint, and other materials, which can be a barrier when you’re just getting started. While working on your own wall at home with hobby materials is a good start, and social media can help you showcase your skills, there’s still the challenge of breaking into the industry with paid work.

But here’s the thing: in the beginning, you might not be able to negotiate the best deals. Your first few commissions might come with low budgets, and you’ll be happy to take whatever work comes your way. Even after years in the business, you may still have slow seasons and receive lowball offers from clients who are trying to hire you on a tight budget. At times, you may feel unappreciated and tempted to just do an okay job and fill the space with whatever. And other times, there’s also the risk of underestimating the time and resources needed for a project, which can leave you earning less than you spent.

Wise Advice
This is where I’ve found the wisdom in Proverbs 22:29 to be true: “Have you seen a man skillful at his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before common men.”
Ideally, as an artist, you want to work for clients who value your skills and can afford to pay you what you’re worth, allowing you to use the best tools and take your time to create something truly remarkable. But at the start, that’s often not the case.

Here’s what I’ve learned: even when you’re underpaid or working on a low-budget project, always give your best effort. Your work is a reflection of you, and it speaks for you when you’re not there. People who see your work won’t know or care how small your commission was—they’ll only see the quality of what you’ve done.

If you treat every job as if it’s for an important client, even when it’s not, you’re building a reputation for diligence and quality. And when you’re discovered by people who value that kind of work, that’s when you’ll find yourself “standing before kings.”

Delyan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

What probably stands out the most about my style is the smooth, faded backgrounds contrasted with sharp, focal-point foreground objects. What helps me achieve this effect is a mixed technique that involves a combination of spray guns, airbrushes, and classic brush strokes. I use large nozzle spray guns to create those soft, blurred backgrounds, much like how a skilled photographer uses lenses to separate the depth of field between the foreground and background. It’s similar to how the human eye naturally focuses on shapes, unable to focus on everything at the same time. Additionally, I consciously build compositions with greater contrasts to enhance the overall effect.

But here’s the challenge: like every other classic brush artist, when you try to paint on a heavily textured wall, the brush marks are interrupted by the structure, which doesn’t look good unless you’re aiming for that style. My background in the automotive industry, specifically airbrushing motorcycles and sports cars, helped me overcome this challenge.

Here’s how it all began: more than 20 years ago, I started my art career as a tattoo artist in Germany. However, after studying the Bible, I transitioned to airbrushing. A friend of mine was skilled in auto body work, and we started our first airbrush studio in his garage, focusing on vehicles and motorcycles. This experience with spray guns and compressors later helped me use these tools differently with mural projects, allowing me to overcome the limitations of classic brushes on textured surfaces. It enabled me to seamlessly wrap shapes around different surfaces, which led me to develop a niche technique that is quite unique in the mural industry here in South Florida.

A short but important disclaimer: the spray gun technique—spraying paint into the air—can be damaging to your lungs, so always use a good filtration mask and ventilate the space as much as possible.

After marrying my lovely wife, Delia, who supports me greatly in my art career, we moved to the U.S., first to Kentucky and then to South Florida. Here, I discovered a much more advanced mural art scene. Unlike street art or graffiti, my focus is on fine art mural work, often inspired by nature. I work on everything from interior walls in homes and businesses to larger projects.

My favorite subjects include ocean and underwater scenes, tropical landscapes, and glow-in-the-dark or blacklight star and galaxy murals.

A guiding principle in my work is what I call the “beauty is in the contrast” approach, which is essentially an “antagonistic approach.” I strive for high contrast in various aspects—sometimes vivid colors against pale backgrounds, large shapes against small intricate details, or complementary colors strategically placed to make elements stand out. By combining these contrasts with careful composition, my goal is to create pieces that captivate and bring joy to the viewer.

While I’m always learning and inspired by others in the industry, my greatest inspiration is nature and the Creator—the greatest artist of all. I see myself as an imitator, trying to reflect the beauty that already exists in the world, from the way light plays on water to the intricate designs found in nature.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

While living and working as a mural artist and enjoying the ocean here in South Florida is a dream come true, things haven’t always been so smooth. About seven years ago, I married my lovely wife, Delaiah, and she moved from Connecticut to Bulgaria with me. After working as a commissioned artist in Europe for a few years, early COVID-19 hit, and I was one of the first to experience a severe case. We searched for specialists across Europe and even in Turkey but couldn’t find the help I needed. It was a dark period, but having a supportive wife, family, and friends helped me survive.

Moving to the U.S.
We eventually moved to Kentucky to be with my wife’s family, and there we found a specialist for Long COVID/CIRS in the U.S. Slowly, I started to recover.
During that time, what really kept me positive was the Bible’s message about a bright future after hard times. I found lots of comforting articles on JW.ORG.
That hope gave me the strength to keep going, and I try to share it with others whenever I can.

To keep myself occupied during recovery, I wrote and illustrated a children’s book—a positive tale about a little frog and its journey, which I called Borrow. I was working on this project when the next chapter of our lives began.

While I wasn’t feeling well, one thing that brought both my wife and me some joy was daydreaming about moving to a tropical place, either Hawaii or Florida. When I received my first commission from Boca Raton, Florida, we bought the equipment I needed and made the trip. Working on that project gave me a sense of purpose and helped me feel better, even though I wasn’t fully recovered. There’s something incredibly healing about being creative and providing for your family. Physical work helped me regain my strength.

When I received a second commission in Florida, we packed everything we had into our car—though it wasn’t much—and started our new beginning. The sun, the ocean, and the work I was doing helped me regain my energy, and I started feeling more motivated and enthusiastic about life and my art again..

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I started early with a YouTube channel when YouTube was still not very popular, and that helped me a bit in the beginning. I haven’t been too heavily involved with YouTube, but from time to time, I enjoy editing and publishing my work there. Of course, Instagram and TikTok are now the go-to platforms for self-marketing with the least effort and the most results. Consistency is key on these platforms, and taking the time to get decent pictures shouldn’t be underestimated.

When it comes to professionalism, I think it’s closely tied to work habits. One thing I’ve noticed that’s very important in this industry is showing respect for the client’s property. On day one of any mural project, I spend most of my time diligently masking all surfaces and elements in the environment that might come into contact with paint. This includes masking the frames, walls, mini-splits, sockets, light switches—everything. And I don’t just use drop cloths, but plastic coverings too, because things happen. There’s an old Bulgarian saying: “When you want to curse someone, you’d say, ‘I wish a painter would come to your house.’” I think that illustrates well how important it is to be careful and to leave a space as clean as you found it, as much as possible.

As I mentioned before, it’s also crucial to deliver diligent work, regardless of how much you get paid for a job. Even if you’re losing money, people won’t judge your work based on what you were paid, because they’ll never know. What they will see is what you left behind, and if you did a great job, that will build your reputation.

Another important aspect is choosing the right projects as soon as you’re able to. Start marketing yourself by taking pictures of the commissioned work you enjoy doing. Personally, I focus exclusively on nature-inspired projects because that’s what I love and where I know I can leave clients happy. So, I tailor all my social media content in this direction, and I accept only this type of work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://delkosto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/del_kosto/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/delyankosto/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DelyanKosto