Meet Darin Wood | Artist, Muralist, Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Darin Wood and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Darin, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
I have to go with work ethic. It is so important as a painter and an artist to continue to try to evolve your style and body of work through making pieces. Each one teaches you something. Most likely your work will be unified if it is coming from you. You can’t do the same thing every day and be satisfied. That is where change and contrast need to come in. Your work, if you continue to create a huge body of it, will evolve. We relish that change and difference as humans. Xenophobia is not an evil word. We are unable to ignore that which is different. We attend to it. We, as artists, have to inspire our viewers to look at the world and see how beautiful it is through our lens. Contrast is beautiful. Our differences are beautiful. Showing that requires an enormous amount of mindfulness of one’s craft. It also requires a lot of work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to celebrate light in nature. I love reflections, color, shadows, and texture. I like to blend realism, impressionism, and abstract parts together. It reminds me of animals camouflage and how they can hide in plain sight. My work shows space between things that are visible for a moment and then seem to disappear. I love that fleeting moment of joy at witnessing something unexpected in nature.

The work comes easily. Selling does not. As a business, art is fickle. Those who are professionals at following it have difficulty nailing down trends and reasons for people collecting certain artists. This is the big challenge I have had to overcome. Getting into galleries to show isn’t easy. So, a couple of friends an I created a pop-up gallery to avoid the brick and mortar overhead. We show once a quarter and are considering doing it once a year. The most interesting part of the journey has been that there is no prescribed route to being successful. But, you do have to take advantage of the right opportunities that arise.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Every trip to Dallas must include visits to the Dallas Museum of Art and Dragon Street. The museum has 5 of the pivotal pieces that Piet Mondrian created that chronicle his evolution as an artist. They are displayed in order and seeing them all together is like being in a time capsule. Laura Rathe Gallery on Dragon Street is one of my favorites. My friend, Gil Bruvel, is an artist that shows his amazing works there. I am Canadian. No trip to Dallas is complete without seeing the Stars win a hockey game.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Mandy is the rock in my life. She is my girlfriend, best friend, critic, and cheerleader. She is scathingly honest when I have artistic flights of fancy and keeps me grounded. She also supports the things I have done that have been successful and encourages me to build on that success. In business, I think we take stock of our success yearly. We also have check and balances emotionally throughout the year. She reminds me that the success of an artist is not always monetary. She reminds me of the economy of time to get something done is just as important as frugality.

Website: darinwoodfineart@gmail.com

Instagram: @darinwood7135

Twitter: @starvi_ng