We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Destin Cramer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Destin, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

It took a long time to get to where I am today, artistically. I always had the passion, but didn’t necessarily understand how to progress further in my art career. I understood that I needed to draw and paint almost every day to succeed, but I wasn’t practicing with intention and I think that’s what took me so long to get to the point where I was happy and confident in my craft. For a long time I would just draw whatever I wanted, and while that was good for fun, it wasn’t actually good practice. I had to learn to expand my comfort zone and draw things that were difficult, weird, or even uncomfortable to draw in order to better understand form, shape, and how to make drawings look 3D. I took a few classes in college on the fundamentals of art and design as well as art history and this helped me have a much better understanding of the essentials of what makes art “good.” I started studying on my own by watching youtube videos on art fundamentals and how to practice things like anatomy, shading, creating form, composition, color theory, and more. I started actually studying art instead of just “drawing everyday,” and this took my art from flat and lifeless to the next level of having dimension and depth. The most essential skills that I have developed is definitely the ability to understand color and how color and light interacts with objects in certain environments. I also think a very essential skill to have in art, and any creative field- is patience. It takes a long time to build the skills necessary to create a body of works that you are proud of, and each piece takes a long time and isn’t something that you can rush. I think my biggest obstacle to overcome was my impatience and the want to create a masterpiece without having the knowledge or skill to do so- i would just every artwork I created harshly and would want to give up when it wasn’t good enough. I had to have perseverance and dedication to learning each step and skill that adds up to creating a painting or illustration- all the way from learning the basics on how to use the tools, to learning more complex techniques like color theory and shading. The biggest obstacle to any creative is self doubt.

Destin, 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?

I’m a LGBTQ+, disabled, self taught fine artist based in San Diego, CA. I value creating art that speaks to people and gives comfort to those who have experienced oppression, pain, chronic illness, mental health issues, and other socioeconomic challenges that permeate our society and lives.

I use art as a coping mechanism for my personal experiences with mental illness, trauma, and chronic pain, and hope to raise awareness for these issues by sharing my voice through my various artistic styles and creations.

I use acrylic paint, watercolors, gouache, colored pencil, graphite, and more to create a variety of works showcasing my personal experiences, as well as landscapes that bring me peace, joy, and comfort.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think it’s important for local art lovers to support small businesses and buy directly from individual artists and creatives. Mass produced artworks and goods are significantly lower quality, contribute to pollution and the destruction of the environment, don’t benefit the artist but rather the company that produced them, and isn’t a unique piece of art. Most mass produced artworks have a similar aesthetic, and it’s hard to find unique pieces that speak to you. It’s important to buy directly from artists, buy prints, commissions, and promote the local artists in your area by supporting them on social media, sharing their work with others, going to local galleries and art shows, etc.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

For learning resources, youtube is great for not only drawing tutorials for specific projects- but also general art knowledge. Anything that you can learn in art school can be found on the internet.
Another great resource for artists that are looking to share their work with others in galleries and exhibitions is CAFE- a site to find calls to artists all over the world. It’s a great way to apply to many different exhibitions at once.
My final resource that I’ll share that I wish I knew about sooner is the power of email- a lot of galleries, websites, blogs, etc will respond well to a friendly email asking to promote your artworks on their page or in their gallery. Many people are afraid to reach out directly, but doing so can benefit your art career in a huge way!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://destindraws.carrd.co
• Instagram: @destindraws
• Youtube: @destindraws