S1 E28. In this episode, NYC-based artist, graphic designer, and life coach Demarcus McGaughey provides us with encouragement and wisdom so that we can show up with even more confidence. After gaining international recognition as a mixed media artist, Demarcus attributes his success to consistency, community, and embracing possibility. Here’s what we discuss:
1. What led Demarcus to transition from a full-time graphic designer in Texas to a New York City-based mixed media artist.
2. Strategies for building your confidence, stepping outside of your comfort zone, and becoming the artist you truly want to be.
3. Why Demarcus values community on such a deep level, and how he’s grown his network over the years.
4. The personal shift Demarcus experienced when he began painting visual narratives to tell the stories of those around him.
About Demarcus:
Texas native and Brooklyn-based mixed media artist Demarcus McGaughey captures the beauty, strength and vibrancy of people of color with both insight and passion. In the early days of his career, the artist employed his talents in the worlds of graphic design and advertising but it was through painting that McGaughey discovered an avenue through which to tell stories in his own visual language.
A lifelong student of human nature and psychology, McGaughey assumes the role of narrator in his paintings, telling heroic stories of his subjects’ self-actualization and determination. A certified life coach as well as an artist, McGaughey empowers the viewer to believe that life is what you create it to be and his portraiture work reveals triumphant tales of African American subjects who manifest their destinies, their eyes revealing their souls. The artist also pays homage to cultural influences using elements of pop art, mass media, comic books and advertising – and the through line found in all the work of this exciting young artist is, indeed, the illumination of inspiring stories of Black resilience and triumph.
McGaughey received his Bachelor of Arts from Prairie View A&M University and his work has been featured in numerous galleries and publications in the U.S. as well as in Spain. In addition, he has completed art residencies with Mas el sigols in Barcelona, Nfinit Foundation Arts Residency in Brooklyn, ArtCrawl Harlem in New York City, Chateau Orquevaux in France and Ma’s House in Southampton NY.
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