We were lucky to catch up with Kalief Dinkins recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kalief , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Im a 25 year old full-time Black Visual Artist from the Southside of Chicago that achieved a dream I didn’t even know was possible. A dream I didn’t even know I was chasing because I didn’t have any examples of the future I was heading for. I am still creating my own path as I go through my journey and there is not a guide book to success, especially when you do not have examples of people who look like you to follow. A whole new world has been exposed to me through doing what I love to do, art. A career I did not know existed I now have. A lifestyle I did not know was achievable I now live. Opportunities others, even in the same city, are aware of since a child I did not discover until I was a young adult. 7 years into this path in this city and I don’t feel at home in these spaces because they don’t look like me or share the same struggles it took to achieve things others are often handed.
Art is my profession, but it’s much more than that in reality. It was my opportunity to make something more of my life than what society provides to me. It is a privilege to do what I do and I do not take it for granted because I know that where I am from this is not the path that was made for me it was one I had to take. A path many others from my side of the city do not get the opportunity to see let alone achieve. I am not any different from any of them. They deserve the opportunity to be aware of the possibilities life has to offer. They deserve to believe that they too can achieve great things. We deserve more and are often overlooked and not spoken for.
My mission is to represent, inspire, and speak for every kid that’s from the same circumstances I’m from because we too deserve and are capable of achieving great things. The goal is to be transparent and show the reality of what it is like to chase your dreams because we don’t have real examples to follow. Leading by example is what I do and I did not choose that for myself. Through my journey I have learned that others have been inspired and gained hope for themselves by watching me grow into who and what I am today. I don’t take that lightly and I use my art as a voice to speak for us and to show that it is possible. Not just for Artist, but for every kid that has a dream they wish to chase.
Kalief , 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?
I am, Kalief Dinkins aka Kaliefs Kanvas. I am a 25 year old visual artist & creative director from the Southside of Chicago. My work expands from fine-art canvas paintings to fashionable art to murals. My work often depicts black people chasing their dreams and being parallel to plants. The idea is that the we are not much different from plants. They do not blossom overnight and neither do we, it takes time and nurturing to achieve growth. Life is a journey of constantly growing and changing and that process is similar to life cycle of plants. Art is more than aesthetically pleasing visuals, for me it is my voice to speak for and represent every kid like me growing up. Achieving your dreams is possible even when the odds are stacked against us. The world is your Kanvas and you can make it whatever you desire.
I have been painting since 2017 and the first thing I ever painted was a pair of Air Force 1’s. I started painting clothing and shoes because I wanted to create things I didn’t have. I even sold these paintings out of my locker in high school. A paintbrush allowed me to create a reality that was once a dream and I did not limit myself as to what that looks like. This allowed me to go from painting shoes to painting at least 5 murals around Chicago and being featured by The Smithsonian in 2022. It is a privilege to be able to do what I love for a living and I want everyone to have an opportunity to experience what it is like if they choose to. Hope and Inspiration are the best gifts I think you can give and my goal with my career as an Artist is to simply do that.
Along my journey I have often been the creative mind and friend for others to help them create a business or execute an idea that’s been in their head. This lead me to create my company Kaliefs Kanvas where we bring ideas to life through art + design. Ideas often don’t make it out of our heads and I wanted to help people get closer to achieving their dreams by providing my talents. During the pandemic people found time to focus on ideas and dreams they’ve always wanted to do and even start businesses. Businesses need logos, merchandising designs, social media graphics, business cards, advertising, etc. There’s not a lot of resources for this with high quality that is affordable for small businesses that are also willing to help with the learning curve of starting a business. My degree in Advertising and Business Management from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign along with my art talents made me a great resource for those around me to help them with this. I now offer my services to anybody in need whether you’re 5 years old or a fortune 500 company.
Im not the traditional Artist as I am self-taught and everything I have learned has been through trial and error. I didn’t personally know any artist growing up and I didn’t have much help along the way because I didn’t know being a full-time Artist was achievable. I honestly often feel like I don’t belong in certain spaces because much of them don’t look like me or come from the same circumstances. I’ve grown to realize that this is all the reason I do belong in these spaces and my goal is to bring as many people with me as I can. What is Art if it is not disruptive?
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Life as a Creative is often misunderstood by those who are not familiar. Life as a full-time creative is even more misunderstood. I’ve been a full-time Artist for the past 5 years and I’ve noticed in conversation that nobody really knows the level or extent of how I do what I do. Friends, family, or spectators. Everybody see’s the final product of what you do, but nobody quite sees everything behind the scenes that got you to that final product. Everything that happens behind the scenes is the most important part. When you are a Creative what you do is not “work” it is your life. I don’t think people truly understand that. They don’t understand the lifestyle, the work ethic, the sacrifice, or the mental power that goes into being a creative let alone a successful one.
I believe people often think working for yourself is more lenient and easier because you don’t have to answer to a higher up, but it is quite the opposite. A normal 9-5 allows you to clock in and clock out without worry about work once you are gone. The money is often guaranteed as long as you show up and problems can be disperse amongst coworkers. When you work for yourself it is a 24 hour job everyday. The money is not always guaranteed as you can work for days without pay to make a potential sale. When you work for yourself everything is your responsibility, even things you are not knowledgeable of yet because you’re learning as you go. There is not a guide book to being an entrepreneur especially in the creative field. When you start your journey as a creative you start at ground zero and have to believe in yourself to continuously climb the ladder to success, which is also not guaranteed.
Creatives often create something out of nothing. As an artist that is exactly what I do, but to make a living from it I must create what people want. I am not the only artist in the world and people do not have to like what I make. Creating and idea from your head and sharing with the world is very vulnerable act. People are able to react in anyway they see fit on work that took hours/days/months to make and you can still not make any money from it and you have to be okay with that possibility. In those times when sales are low you have to be strong-minded in believing in yourself against all odds. Even when sales are high there is still a constant battle and pressure to continue putting out great work. This is generally an everyday battle in my experience. There are not any off days, sick days, or distributing of responsibility. Everything falls on you.
Everybody is not prepared for the journey of being a creative and that is the reality. Everyone is capable, but you have to believe in yourself against all odds that you can do this. There are times and sometimes often when you will feel like you can’t do it and you must find ways to reel yourself back in. All of this while life continues to move by. This life is not a simple one and the talent alone does not make the journey easier. You still have to get up and do the work everyday whether you feel like it or not without any reward. Yes, you get to do what you love but that same thing is also what keeps food in your fridge. That is a difficult relationship to have and can easily make you fall out of love with your craft. Being a creative is great and I love it. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, but everything that is great has its downsides. If you ever wonder what a creative is thinking this is the side we often don’t share because others think we just create nice pictures.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is seeing adults and people who have been through life light up like children when they are inspired by pieces I create or things I do. Everything I do is to satisfy my inner child and I know how important and uplifting that is for me in my life. To be able to give that same feeling to someone else is one of the best things in the world because you see the kid in them when they were overly optimistic and believed nothing in the world could stop them. You get older with time but that kid is always within you and the opportunity to make them happy is always possible. People often think they are running out of time and too old to achieve certain dreams they had when they were children. I believe there is always still time to achieve that dream no matter how old you are. You just have to believe it. I know it is often difficult to believe that so when my art awakens that in people it means a lot to me.
Im only 25 and I always feel like I’m running out of time so I can only imagine how others twice my age feel. A kids belief in what they can achieve is often determined by the adults they are surrounded by. These adults were once those kids. Every adult that I can awaken this feeling within not only pleases their inner child, but hopefully it allows them to motivate the children they are around as well. I was once that kid and I still am and I believe that satisfying our inner child makes the world a better place. My art playing a part in that is the biggest reward I could ever ask for.
Contact Info:
- Website: Kaliefskanvas.com
- Instagram: @kaysean_ + @Kaliefskanvas
- Facebook: Kalief Dinkins
- Linkedin: Kalief Dinkins
- Twitter: @kaysean_