We were lucky to catch up with Denis Leon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Denis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Yes, my art work and photography is my main source of income. For me as a creator I always loved the challenge of bringing my thoughts and ideas to life. Either its a concept an image or a piece of art. Or all of those put together to create a mixed media piece. So I did exactly that, creating concepts in my head which were appealing to me and challenging as well. I would get immediate satisfaction from the good idea which lead to a journey of physically making the art work thinking every step of the way how cool it is going to look at least to me. Of course it would cross my mind if others would like it as well but it wasn’t my main focus point. I make art primarily for self-satisfaction. I came to a point when I had multiple piece hanging in my studio that i have created and I was ready to share with others via social media and in person. I had no clue how the art business works. Regardless of my lack of knowledge to the industry I started knocking on doors and looking for opportunity to get exposure with hopes to make a sale or two. Saturating myself in the art world by communicating with galleries, curators, other artists gave me an idea how to take the next step. I have to give a big thanks to my main mentor at the very beginning Jessica Levy of JL Art Advisory. Jessica is an upscale art advisor in NY who really devoted her time to help me advance by giving me pointers and connecting me with buyers. Jessica and I are still good friends today. Once I had a few sales under my belt I realized that there is a market for my art. That is when I went and invested my own money and opened a retail popup, Denis Leon gallery in Southampton. I was ready for maximum retail exposure. Lets just say the popup did great and I sold 25 pieces my first month. Fast forward to today, after multiple short term popups to two full time galleries in boca raton and palm beach with hundreds of pieces sold. Day one looks very different than it does today. I would not do anything different to speed up the process. I feel my journey was on the fast track as it is. I had the right amount of time at the perfect time to push this through to the next level. With that said, I am working on new ways to reach new audiences and always thinking about the next piece of art I plan to make.

Denis, 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?

How i got into my industry is explained in my previous answer. Discipline is a a key factor in anything you do, I feel specifically in art. You want to be a an artist a creator but at the same time you rely on yourself to be the business behind the art. Not every artist does it all him self but I like the control of making the art and having the ability explaining it to a potential collector and making the sale. It is overwhelming at times but it gets easier with experience. I offer fine art photography and original mixed media pieces to my clients. Believe it or not, problem solving is a big part of art making and selling. Not every piece of art is the perfect color, shade or size for every client. Although they like the medium at a glance but it wont be the right fit for their space because of the elements I have listed above. You have to open up their mind to the possibility of your piece they see altered in size or color by making them a custom the way they want it. Helping a client select the right piece of art to match their decor and have a good flow through their home is another way I problem solve. What sets me apart from others is that I am the artist and I am the gallery. So many people come in to the gallery and are shocked and excited to hear from me that I am the artist of the works that are on the walls. Collectors love to meet and connect with the artist. What I want people to know about me and or my brand is that there is always a next step. Either its a new series of art I am working on or a new way of reaching an audience. You have to believe in yourself. Accept all the rejections and learn from them on the way to getting the result you are looking for and happy with. Accept people into your life that will make you better and block out the noise. Make the best of everyday while you are on this planet. Because we are not here for a very long time.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am in a pivoting stage right now. The current economy and economic forecasts do not look very promising today. People that used to go out and spend money on art and entertainment with out worry are not doing so the same way. People are finding ways to spend less money as the cost of living has significantly gone up which leaves less for fun and there is very little optimism for the near future. I am currently working on an idea on how to bring my retails gallery to the people instead of waiting for them to come to me. When business slows this means you have more time to come up with concepts that will flourish in a big way when things are stabilized in the future. Reinventing yourself and your business is a good thing and overall healthy for the creator to stay busy coming up with new ideas instead of sitting around convincing yourself that your art is no longer a hit.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I understand the general concept of NFTs but i feel the structure of an NFT can be altered to work more like the stock market. People would buy a share of the art work like they would buy a share of stock in a company. As the artist grows the stock would grow with the artist, enabling the artist to invest the money back into their work and create new ideas. For example, if a high profile gallery in NYC signs on an emerging artist to showcase and sell their work and the sales of physical pieces do well, the NFTs of those pieces would also do well and would entice others to invest into that artist and their work. Overall the way NFTs are structured now I don’t see being sustainable and not seeing the growth for the future. Perhaps it is my lack of understanding that part of the business or seeing the bigger picture.

Contact Info:

• Website: dleonstudio.com
• Instagram: @denisleongallery @superdleon
• Facebook: @denisleonfineart