Expanding Your Skillset to Respond to Opportunities with Detour (#128)

Detour travels to communities all over to paint socially impactful murals, but he also works on canvas, and in music, installation and sculpture. How does he do it all, and do it all by himself?

In this episode of The Art Biz, I talked with Detour about his various income streams from prints and murals to corporate sponsorships and grants. He is adamant that he doesn't want to be limited by what he currently knows, so he's always learning how to use new technologies that will help him land complex opportunities. He's not afraid to admit that the best way to approach an artistic problem is probably something he hasn't done before. And Detour is big on collaboration and presenting himself in the most professional light because, as he says, you never know who is watching. Be sure to listen for the questions he asks himself before agreeing to take on new work. This is an inspiring conversation that you won't want to miss.

Highlights

• Carving out new and alternative paths in the art world. (5:00)

• Merging your career skills with your creative opportunities. (9:09)

• How Detour found his artist voice while creating interactive art 'for the people.' (11:40)

• Detour's active and passive income streams. (17:22)

• Planning for sporadic paychecks in advance. (22:15)

• How Detour's MBA has benefitted his artist endeavors. (25:38)

• The importance of building relationships with everyone in your artist community. (28:09)

• Collaborating with other artists to add value to your work. (32:24)

• Questions to ask when considering—or turning down—opportunities. (34:53)

• A look at Detour's typical week. (37:05)

• Finding fun and balance in the work of every day. (40:18)

• Why is it important to be an artist who helps other artists? (44:44)

Mentioned

• Detour's book, Be The Artist

• Hiero Veiga

• IamDetour.com

• @Detour303 on Instagram

• I Am Detour on YouTube

The Art Biz Connection

The Wildly Productive Get Organized Challenge for Your Art Biz

Resources

• Show notes, images, and listener comments

• How to Price Your Art free report

• Art Biz Connection artist membership

Quotes

• "I want to make sure when I'm presented with an opportunity to solve an idea creatively, I'm not limited by what I'm used to doing." — Detour

• "You never know what will work until you throw something out there and it sticks." — Detour

• "When you do art you never know exactly who's looking at it." — Detour

• "Everything I do in life is related to art making and sharing." — Detour

Guest Bio

Thomas Evans, a.k.a. Detour, is an all-around creative specializing in large scale public art, interactive visuals, portraiture, immersive spaces, and creative directing. His focus is to create work where art and innovation meet. A born collaborator and "military brat," Detour pulls from every conceivable experience that shapes his landscapes and perspectives. Explaining Detour's work is no easy task, as ongoing experimentations in visual art, music, and interactive technologies have his practice continually expanding. With his ever-evolving approach to art, Detour's focus is on expanding customary views of creativity and challenging fine-art paradigms by mixing traditional mediums with new approaches—all the while opening up the creative process from that of a singular artist to one that thrives on multi-layered collaboration and viewer participation.