We were lucky to catch up with Devon Cardamone recently and have shared our conversation below.
Devon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Just this last week, I’d planned on attending a local art show in Venice. I’d applied to be a part of it myself, but didn’t expect any kind of response and had grabbed a few tickets to attend and support it. I do what I can to be at anything surf and art related in the area and it seemed like a really cool event. When I checked my email the night before to make sure the tickets were still there, I saw that I had in fact been accepted into the show. I’d been given a chance to put my most recent project up on the wall alongside some of the most important local Venice photographers and artists. I’d missed the email and deadline by weeks and felt sick to my stomach realizing I’d lost out on such a great opportunity to be a part of that community and put my watercolor painted photo work up for others to see. Thankfully, even reaching out last second after 9pm the night before, I was given the chance to show up and be a part of what turned out to be an incredible experience. The event itself was great and I received plenty of positive feedback on my work, from strangers and friends alike. But the coolest part of the whole thing was the hours of setting up and getting to meet so many of the people who define what meaningful art is in the Venice area. It’s absolutely reaffirmed my passion for photography and art and my willingness to pursue it as a career.
Devon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Devon Cardamone and I’m 29 years old. I was born and raised in Aspen, Colorado and grew up ski racing. That was my whole world and life and it took me to Vermont to ski race on the NCAA circuit on the East Coast through college. Being raised in such a competitive environment, I was pretty quick to ditch it all in my early twenties. I’d always surfed a bit, but got more into surfing through the winters in the northeast. I moved out to Southern California the first chance I got and continued surfing every day, religiously.
My mom being an incredible portrait photographer, I always loved her work but something told me to avoid those kind of gigs and commercial work at all costs. I refused to touch a digital camera and began capturing life and the world around surfing. Street photography in a sense, but also just everything I see and do in life. Now, I also use watercolor paint to add to the feeling and better convey the energy around everything I see.
I’m inspired by the free spiritedness of surfing that I could no longer find in the image-centric and expensive skiing world and the way that an analog camera lets me capture moments without a chance for review or comparison. I get what I get and want to show the world these real, uncontrived moments.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I’m still learning this one, but it’s been a long time coming to start to understand that work does not have to be extremely painful. I’m so used to suffering in a corporate job that I don’t feel closely aligned to for a paycheck, that I never really allowed myself to believe I could make a living for myself doing what I love. I’m not there yet and there will always be difficult work associated with anything I do, even art or creative work, but I’m excited to be getting closer to supporting myself with work I believe in.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Show up, be there for others and take a real interest in the creative work that others are doing and you’ll begin to build a very real support system for yourself, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://devon-cardamone.squarespace.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rollei__tax/
