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

Alright, Dom thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

As a creative I have always loved the idea of pursuing this passion for the arts. Initially it wasn’t something I had in mind, but over time, my path gradually molded into it. Overall I would say I am quite happy as a creative now, than I was during the process of becoming a creative. Mostly because of the amount of hours, struggle, and dedication put towards developing the craft. It can take a toll on you mentally if you’re not willing to push through and endure the many hours of mastering a skill. However I would say it all paid off for me, and I’m definitely enjoying the rewards and benefits of the hard work put in.

In some instances, I do have thoughts of working a regular job other than art and just being able to earn money on the side while making art as a hobby like I used to. I have thought of getting into other trades like welding, dentistry, and even being an electrician. But the thought of creating art as a passion has always been at the back of my mind, and it’s something I can’t give up so easily. I most likely wouldn’t do a great job at those other trades, and would be sacrificing all the years I’ve worked up to get my skills in art, just to go do something financially stable, but then absolutely hate it. Getting into the art field was frowned upon by my family for many years, however I wanted to show that it was possible to become an artist in this day and age if you put the work in like any other challenging skill.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Starting out my creative journey in 2014, I was adamant in becoming an artist in the entertainment industry. I wanted to work on films, animation, and video games for as long as I could remember. My path to becoming the artist I am now, was a grueling one, but throughout this time, I learned a lot about myself through the challenges and hurdles I faced while discovering who I was. It took me many years to find out my approach to art. This included my style, my process, my overall message, and branding. Early in my career I drew a lot of concepts based around mechanical design, like how something would work and function. Very akin to schematic drawings for video game art. However I found out this was something I couldn’t see myself doing this long term and I knew I would get bored and tired of it.

So I began experimenting with painting beautiful scenes and environments instead, I really enjoyed this because it allowed me to be in touch with life, nature, and being able to capture emotions in my pieces. Of course I would get criticized for painting these types of serene landscape scenes. Some of my peers and teachers exclaimed that this type of art would not get me a job easily in the entertainment industry, because they said there was no thought process to my design. But I didn’t care. I just wanted to create things I enjoyed, and become a master at it. Eventually it saw itself through, and I began sharing this work on social media.

Over time it began to gain traction and I started to do more and more of this type of art and people loved it. I was a bit surprised that people found my art intriguing, because I was my worst critic. But because other people enjoyed seeing the art, it gave me motivation to keep creating more.

As far as clients go, my work helps to bring their imaginations to life by illustrating a mood and storytelling moment for them. Something to kickstart their project and breathe life into it with a few concept renderings of what their project could entail at first glance.

The thing I am most proud of is being able to pursue something I liked to do, regardless of others telling me no, that it wasn’t possible. Sometimes we let the opinions of others dim the light inside us, going after our dreams, and we never get to see our true potential.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal is to help others find their voice on their creative journey. It’s one thing to get far along on your own journey, but the most rewarding aspect of it, is being able to give back to someone else, and help them see their true potential. I want to help at least one individual recognize that they can improve themselves, if I could do it as well. I didn’t have the best cards going into this journey, but with resilience and hard work, I was able to achieve most of the goals I set out to achieve, and there’s more waiting on the horizon. I am always about the belief that when you give kindness, there’s a good chance you’ll receive it 10x in return.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The time where I had to demonstrate my utmost resilience was creating my first art book as a young college art student. This project absolutely tested my character, and drive like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Beginning from age 23, I worked through, and finished it alongside my coursework up until I was 25 years old. It was a brutal journey, but one that I don’t regret going through because it laid the groundwork and foundation for my portfolio. I couldn’t be more satisfied with doing it. This lead me to create another full length art book the year after that and I was able to prove to myself that I could finish another one. These types of challenges allow me to push my limits and see what I’m capable of as both a person and artist.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/layeredpainter/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dom-lay-574054125/