We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Slevin Mors. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Slevin below.
Slevin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.
I think the biggest thing I do different from large corporate work is to follow my heart. I do this creatively when I conceptualize my art as well as when I am producing a final product. I look for ways to keep my art small and hand made. I find creative outlets for the final products to take things that may be mass produced and make them unique and more hand made. It can be hard with photography (especially selling prints) but there are ways to bring a touch of hand made to the final product. I do this by designing and building my own props or sets when I can or by making or customizing frames by hand so that the final result feels more special and unique.
Slevin, 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?
I am a professional photographer and artist known for my tactful juxtaposition of dark and light who inspires my viewers to dive deep within themselves and embrace every facet they discover—even the macabre. Candid yet low-key in my approach, the beautifully haunting artwork I create pays tribute to the literary masters of the past like Edgar Allan Poe, Clive Barker, and The Brothers Grimm. My creative works also revive old world lore and the vibes of Victorian times.
Since I first held a camera in my hands as a child, I’ve had an unwavering affinity for capturing the countless beauties that lay dormant amongst the shadows; the places where my friends and most other people would dare not look. During high school, I would spend a bulk of my days deep in the realm of noir and dark comedic entertainment. Two decades later, my love of photography and all things gloom has only grown, and my sights are set on becoming a full-time fine art and model photographer.
Currently, I reside in the heart of Orange County, California, but my true home lies within the shadows, mists, and stormy night skies.
In 2013 I started a series of images titled the “Blood Series”, which were a fine art nude set of images to push my boundaries as an artist. These were purposely done devoid of any sexuality so as to focus on the human form itself and its differences. The subjects were then covered in blood (fake, Halloween blood) and they posed and brought a little bit of themselves to the work. I created a small solo show of the early work in 2016 before I pushed through a self-published book in 2018 that contained more recent images from the series.
With the pandemic in 2020 I started to explore new fine art photography avenues that did not require people but kept my dark flair. With that I added 2 new bodies of work to my portfolio. First was “Garden of the Dead”, a black and white landscape series of cemeteries and graveyards. These images were heavily inspired by my childhood growing up surrounded by the work of Angel Adams. Second was my “Memento Mori” series of work which is inspired by the old European painters of antiquities. These over reaching theme of myVeritas photography is to remind the viewer of the impermanence of life itself.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
In my life there have been long periods of time where I stopped creating in my 20’s. When that happened I found myself slowly dying and becoming a terrible person. For me the creative process is like a life’s blood. I NEED to create. I need to find ways to use my creativity because if I don’t I can truly whither and die. Now that I have been doing this as long as I have I find I cannot go more than a few weeks without finding an outlet for my creative side. Anytime I do I become a shell of my true self.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media is an ever changing landscape, especially in the last few years. Something I have noticed is that each platform seems to be chasing the latest fad or algorithm and as a small business owner who does this all solo it is daunting. The best advice I have for other small business owners is to find your voice and stick to it. That’s not to say you can’t find new outlets or ways to express your voice but don’t chase the fads or algorithms. Stay consistent within your brand and you will build a following. It wont come overnight for most but the long term growth is far more important for your business than trying to grow social media overnight.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://slevinmors.com
- Instagram: @slevinmors
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/slevinmorsofficial
- Twitter: @slevinmors