Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madison DeHart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Madison, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

My entire life, I’ve been drawn to creating. As a kid, I loved to draw on anything I could, and even tried pottery at one point. However, as I grew older, I felt discouraged to pursue art as a career. I am autistic, and in high-school my art was deemed a distraction to my productivity.
I ended up pursuing other careers that are considered “normal” careers. I worked as a veterinary assistant, waitress, bartender, CNA, and receptionist… and always felt like something was missing. I always felt like I couldn’t fit in anywhere I worked, and like I was a fish swimming upstream.
After a decade of working jobs that drained my life from me, I felt lost and hopeless. I felt like I didn’t have a place in the world. My husband, out of concern for my mental health, suggested I find a hobby to give me something to be excited about. The next night, I stayed up the entire night making a gigantic painting. I cried the entire time and put everything I had into it. I poured all of my unhealed trauma, depression, anger, and grief onto this single canvas. I didn’t know how to paint, but it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever created. After that night, I couldn’t stop painting and drawing. It became an obsession for me. Any down time I had I spent painting, drawing, or researching how to do it better. After more than a decade of denying myself and trying to be “normal”, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my chest.
A couple months later, I met the owner of a locally owned coffee shop called “The Coffee Grinder” who took an interest in my art. He allowed me to hang my art in his shop, and encouraged me to produce more pieces to decorate the walls. Thay was when I decided to turn this life changing hobby into a career.
It was rough at first, as I don’t have an art education and come from a family who is not artistic or entrepreneurial. However, I made some amazing and talented friends through an art-related job I had taken who helped me learn and grow my expertise. These friends are also my biggest supporters! Until I pursued art, I very rarely was able to connect with people and form friendships, but through art I built a community of quality people around myself.
Art truly changed my life.
It’s been almost 2 years since that first painting was created on my bedroom floor, painted mostly woth my fingers and with smudges from my tears. I am now am learning how to build a business, and paint everyday.
I felt like it was too late for me to choose this path, or that I was unqualified to chase this dream, but I’m learning now that it just takes one first step to build a life worth living.

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?

I am an acrylic artist. My passion lies in bringing the ideas, emotions, and causes of myself and others to life in a physical form. In my paintings, I try to tell a story, express a feeling, or show love and honor to the subject of my paintings. My paintings often lean to the dark and dramatic side, often showcasing powerful emotions.
I paint nearly everything including people, animals, landscapes, and still-lifes. When I speak with a client about a commission, I ask more than just what they want painted. I ask for photos or a description of the area where the painting will hang. This allows me adjust the composition, lighting, saturation, and many other things to make sure that the painting will shine in the space they have allocated for it. I also try to get to know my client. Learning details about my client helps me create a work specifically for them. For example; if my clients favorite color is green, they enjoy caring for plants, and they have a rustic feel to their home; that information helps me understand to use olive undertones, some subtle floral patterning to the backround, and possibly copper foil to make the painting they will truly love.
I want to create art that does more than copies a photo. I want to create art that people connect with and feel.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

In my creative journey, I have two goals. My first goal is simply to produce artwork that reaches people’s hearts. There is so much that can be said with a single illustration. I think it’s a beautiful thing to be able to tell a story with no words.
My second goal is to reach people like me, the people who abandoned or neglected their creative side, and help inspire or even mentor them to give their passion a second chance. Art changed my life and gave me a new life that I could dream of. It’s never too late to start. Even if you feel like you don’t have talent, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t take the first step today. I wasnt born a good artist, I don’t have the natural talent that so many around me have. I practice everyday, everywhere, constantly. Every journey begins with a single step.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

At the start of my creative journey, I didn’t have a clue where to begin. I fumbled through my first few paintings without any idea of how to refine and improve.
That changed when I start asking questions. I started reaching out to other artists, locally and through social media, and would ask questions and for critiques of my artwork. Eventually, this helped me build a community around myself of friends and mentors.
Attending any and all art events and just socializing and talking to people helps build this community. If there aren’t any art meet-ups in your area, host one. People will come!
Art is a pretty lonely thing to do, but it doesn’t have to be.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: DeHart Art

Image Credits

DeHart Art