Conversations with D Marcell

Today we’d like to introduce you to D Marcell.

Hi D, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Thanks for the time! Well, I started early, like 3rd grade. That was my first art memory. I painted some crazy rainbow with sparks shooting from it. We had a water painting activity in class. Apparently my teacher loved it and entered it into some contest and it ended up at the children’s museum for some time. I didn’t get why my teacher liked it so much, but it let me know maybe I had something.

Time goes on and drawing and painting gets put in the back seat for a while. I began this…search for my voice, I guess you can say. I didn’t realize that in the 3rd grade, of course, that art is such an expression of your inner voice… or can be. So, while painting was riding chilling in the back seat, music started riding shotgun. I loved creating music – still do – but the business side was too distracting, which smothered the beauty of expressing yourself. So, I put music in the trunk.
After I closed that trunk, I was cool just driving in silence – which is what I did for a while. I soon realized is that if you’re a creator, that search for expression will keep pulling at you in some shape form or fashion. So, one day I went to the art store, picked up a canvas and some oils – which I had never worked with before then – and began to make horrible art. But I loved the way it made me feel as a creator. It was like I had finally found my voice – or the perfect music to ride to, metaphorically speaking.

I’m 42 now and have been painting seriously for about 4-5 years. It’s been an interesting and fun artistic journey so far.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth as in…Off-Road tires required? Just kidding. I mean, if it had been smooth, I’d think God was playing tricks on me. I remember being in high school wearing size 42 JNCO pants cut off at the bottom. Or, walking into my first real job interview with a blond afro and piercings all in my face like it was nothing – and this was before it was cool! It’s funny thinking about that now, because I think it was at the time the only way I knew to express myself. Growing up there was always this desire to speak or express myself that clashed with the norm and caused me to withdraw artistically.

I think the art that I did during that time reflected that. It was all over the place and honestly not that great. Everything was noisy. The music I was creating, the paintings I was painting – everything was just dark and muffled. I think those seasons were my biggest struggles of as an artist. A) I didn’t think of myself as an artist, ya know? I was just trying find a way to get these emotions out. And B) I didn’t even know you could make it as an artist…especially if you weren’t in LA or NY. Basically, I almost got swallowed up by life.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that my struggle was remembering that I’m a person that MUST create. Life always has a way of getting in the way and making things way harder than it needs to be. It’s supposed to. The key is to evolve with it, not getting in the way of it, and trusting the process.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think what sets my art apart is the style and feel. I use a lot of exaggerations in my paintings, which are all meant to be metaphors or clues in a sense.

I’m honestly most proud of my journey as an artist and the growth I’ve seen in it.

So, I’m on a quest to paint the colors I’d see while making music. Sometimes when you make music it’s almost like painting on a canvas. Each sound, instrument or plugin may mentally, and sometimes emotionally have color assigned to them…whether the listener or producer realizes it or not.

Each painting to me is like a song almost. Thats what I aim, I want you to feel like you listened to their new favorite song.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I don’t think so. I really appreciate your time. oh! Follow me on instagram @dmarcellart. I’m in the process of redoing my website, so for now instagram is where to see my newest pieces.

Contact Info:

• Email: wavyhuxtable@gmail.com
• Website: www.dmarcellcreations.com
• Instagram: @dmarcellart