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

Greg, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Yes, I am a full-time professional artist, something I have always wanted to achieve. I am self-taught, so it was a learning process over time. I first started learning how to paint with a brush then moved onto using a palette knife two years later. With constant experimentation over the course of three years, I started to figure out how to create this unique look, with multiple layers of paint and the style started to evolve. After I felt comfortable enough with it, I began applying to galleries. I submitted to ten galleries, after much research, and one of them got back to me. I am still with them eight years later and I am one of their top sellers. Now I am in six galleries throughout the southwest. You must be 100% committed, there is no shortcut to becoming a successful artist. My work does not sell with words, it is through hard work and a commitment to understanding color and style.

Greg, 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?

Of course! I am Greg Dye, and I am a full-time professional oil painter. I live in Colorado with my lovely wife, Kristin, and our dog and cat. We have 5 children between us, and they are all now adults living in Colorado, Arizona and Alaska. I have a degree in commercial art but always had a passion to be an oil painter. In my  early fifties I took the plunge committing myself to learn how to paint a wet-on-wet oil paint style. After a few years, I started to work with a palette knife. That was the difference for me as I started to figure out this style of art I now have. This is what I am most proud of figuring out a unique style of art that is instantly recognizable as my own and people really love it.

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

In 2001, I was a professional freelance illustrator and began the process to get a website for my work. Of course, I wanted the domain name gregdye.com. Unfortunately, the URL was already taken. I went with gdyeart.com for the time being. The individual (another Greg Dye, I assume!) who bought the domain name never used it for a website or anything, so over the course of ten years I checked with the domain provider every year to see if it was available. Sure  enough after ten years passed (you can buy a domain name for up to ten years) it became available. Quickly, I purchased it and I have had it ever since. Having that URL was extremely important to me to have as my brand. Type my name in on Google and I am the first Greg Dye to show up, pretty cool. 

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Being self-employed with what you love to do is the absolute best. There is nothing else I would rather do than wake up every day and paint. It is a privilege, and I am very aware of that. My galleries and clients are the best. I am living my dream!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gregdye.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/greg_dye_art
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/gregdyestudios