We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joseph Dulin- Didonato a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joseph, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The biggest risk I’ve taken would most certainly be becoming a full time artist. The thing people never tell you about taking that leap of faith is that, it is never just the thing you want to take a chance on, its everyday after that. Becoming a full time artist meant that I would no longer have the safety net of a company pay check. Everyday became a struggle, but a good one. If I’m not searching or manifesting my next project- then I wont get paid. This means I wouldn’t be able to provide for my daughter. It is important to find that balance between the starry eyed dream – and the reality of it. We all have dreams, most of us never follow them. The majority that do- fail. And an even smaller percentage actually do something with it. Between the anxiety of all those nagging questions of the “how to’s” and “what nots” you may find yourself wondering if YOU made the right choice. I wish I could say I was confident in that answer every time, if I was confident all the time, would it really be a risk? I think, “what could you lose”? …”All of it”, but “what could you gain”? “Everything”.
Taking a risk doesn’t have to be a gamble… it can be an investment. Every outing wont be a success but you can learn something every time, so the next endeavor, can be a success. The risk is in taking the steps, the challenge is making the right steps. Eventually, like any good dancer, you learn the steps.
I still struggle but in that struggle, it shows me the right direction. Always be humble and willing to provide help- even if you may not directly benefit from it. The next time you need help or need a favor, you’ll have a new network to fall back on. The risk makes us learn or weeds us out. I have, easily, failed three times as much as I’ve succeeded but, we need that to grow. Take the risk, enjoy the ride.
Joseph, 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?
As long as I can remember I have always loved drawing and painting, it’s something that has always been a part of who I am. I can remember being 5 – 6 (maybe younger) painting dinosaurs with my mom on our, dingy floored, basement in German Village. Throughout my life, I would leave and come back to my art in some way, shape or form. My real talent wasn’t formed until High-school when my mom would sign me up for figure drawing classes at Columbus College of Art and Design. We would sit for hours sketching and learning the human form, hands cramping and sometimes wishing I was anywhere else but there. I vividly remember the professor briefing us on how to behave. No laughing, no photos, all work, and compassion for the people who were quite literally “baring it all” for our own advancement. It was the first time I had to take my art so serious. I didn’t really understand but in that moment, it was the first time I realized that there were people who actually took this “art stuff” serious. This was more than just a hobby to everyone else. Fortunately for me, the other people in my class were much older than I was and would ultimately set the tone for my behavior anyway. I’m not too sure if my mom knew exactly what she had signed me up for. The first day I came home from class, both, my grandmother and mom asked me what we worked on, so, I showed her, without hesitation. in-between their smiles and jokes, they were proud. That’s what made the difference.
With my coming and going in the art world, I found myself bored of drawing and painting- because of course- what else could I be taught at (only) 17? Well, life got in the way and I lost my way. Between friends, first loves, and just all-around troublemaking I stopped making art altogether. This was already a very dark period for me. Years went by and I barely picked up a pencil, unless it was to show off, it became more of a party trick to draw anything.
I met one of my closest friends, Ian. Ian and I didn’t start as friends though. I really didn’t care to much for him in the beginning. He would often tell me “One day we will be best friends” I just laughed. Ian and I did get closer and it was through music, I had just started messing around with recording and producing, I remember us talking one day and he told me how he produced and how “we should make some music”. After some time, Ian ended up moving in with me because of our love for music and him needing a place to stay while he was back from college. So, if he helped me, I’d let him stay at my place. He taught me how to make beats, and how to express what I was feeling, which is what I was ultimately missing from my art.
Through the process of making music, I learned how to re- open my creativity. For the first time in YEARS, I started to draw again. More years would pass and my love for art grew. As music fell to the back burner, Painting grew to the forefront once again. Sometime before the pandemic hit, I found myself searching for a new path. I had a daughter now and I needed to find what was going to take me into MY future. I had had enough of the regular jobs and not really enjoying where I was in life, I decided it was NOW, I would take my life -and future- into my hands and create. Create the path I wanted. Unhindered, motivated, and full of senseless optimism I took the risk.
Now, I’m working with Galleries, working on murals, and working on my next collection that will help define me as an even more legitimate artist. I have no plans on stopping and all the plans to keep growing.
At this point there are so many projects and shows I’ve been apart of that mean so much to me. They have helped me tremendously, the best way for me to explain it, would be to show you. But I do have to mention the biggest help in my artistic journey came when I worked with the really amazing people who started 83 Gallery, in Columbus, Ohio. Specifically, Nick, Maddy and Geoff. Geoff Collins and Maddy Beaumier- pretty much found me/ connected through a friend and plugged me right into the “Death, taxes, 83 Reunion show” they were curating and producing. Both so helpful in cultivating this connection. Maddy took me right in. I learned a lot on how to set up and run a show just from being with them and interacting closely at the “Reunion show”. This lead me to meeting Nick stull, who was also curating and producing that show but is also and amazing muralist and artist. Nick has done so much to help me grow and network within the scene. at this point I would definitely consider him a mentor. I encourage everyone to also check out his work on Instagram @Nick_stull_art , it honestly speaks for itself better than I could.
If you have social media check out my Instagram as well! @the_outside_artist or send me an email @[email protected] , I would absolutely love to go in depth about any project or piece.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
As grandiose as it sounds, my only goal is to be great. I want to make paintings and other works that will be remembered far after I’m gone. I would like to be someone that my daughter can always look up to and be proud of. To me, being great isn’t just about what I have done – but its also leaving everyone and everything around me better than they were before. That means not only should my work be grad gestures, but so should my relationships. The creative journey isn’t just what I do on a “canvas” it’s how I think, how I act, and how I see the world. I’m truly inspired by the everything around me. some moments I’m swept up in historical ideologies. Wanting to paint like Caravaggio or caught off guard by the mysticism of the world around me, making me view it like a Dali. How its somewhat abstract like a Picasso and very delicate like a Mary Cassatt. Its easy to see the hatred in the world but if you look a little closer, you can see the beauty too. And that’s what I strive to amplify.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
There is a moment when I’m painting, the world fades away and you’re truly (just) in the moment. Negative thoughts fade, Positive thoughts fade and all that’s left is being poured onto the canvas. Most of the time I feel like I don’t get to experience the actual painting process. In that moment its like suspended animation. But, a close second is when the work is done and I get to absorb the whole thing. The process of work is always very rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @the_outside_artist
- Facebook: Joe Dulin- Didonato
- Other: email: [email protected]