Meet Ryan Dalgliesh of RTDALGLIESH Fine Art

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Dalgliesh.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started learning to draw with my father when I was about ten. Until I was old enough to drive, my mother took me to weekly art lessons. After studying art in college in the early nineties, my life took a different turn and I left art behind. I spent twenty years traveling all over Texas as a pastor.

For Christmas 2010, my mother sent me a pad of paper and some pencils. She included a note asking me to start drawing again. I decided to teach myself to paint instead. In the meantime, I was married, had a couple of kids and was on the road at least three days a week. Tired of being away from home all the time, I asked my wife what she thought about me pursuing art as a career. She has always had more confidence in me than I did myself and was very enthusiastic about the idea. In 2015 I officially started building my art career. Where I had previously painted about ten pieces each year, I was now painting over 100 paintings a year. The last few years have been growing years in both my skill level and my reach. I have painted large pieces for a hotel in San Antonio, pieces for offices, and pieces for homes. I also paint two or three unique series each year.

In years past, I have focused on brightly colored animals, but this year I’m focusing on black and white historic portraits and landscapes. I believe in creating a narrative through each piece and series I create.

I am currently taking a break from commissions but will start taking Christmas orders in September.

Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest struggle I’ve faced is my own confidence. We are a single income family, and leaving the preaching circuit I was on to become a full-time artist at forty felt a bit like a midlife crisis. But with every piece I’ve sold my confidence has grown, and with every piece I create, I feel more certain than ever this is the permanent trajectory of my life.

As I’ve become more confident in my work, I’ve noticed the work became easier and more enjoyable. I’ve also noticed people seem to connect to the work more when I’ve painted with purpose.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the RTDALGLIESH Fine Art story. Tell us more about the business.
I am an acrylic artist, and I enjoy painting larger pieces of art. The smallest canvas I truly enjoy is 24 inches square, but I thrive when I start working on pieces two to four times that size. I want to create pieces that capture a room and aren’t just part of the decor.

The thing I’m most passionate about as an artist is helping a collector curate their own story.

Art exists as a fundamental part of our world and culture. Art tells stories and keeps history. Art drives conversation and dreams. We would do well to stand more often in quiet museum halls and working art studios. In doing so, we drink in snapshots of the artist, their work, their mood, their struggles, and their victories.

Learn to collect art. When you become an art collector you curate your private museum; a visual library built of acrylic, oils, canvas, and bronze that not only tells rich stories of the artist(s) but the collector as well.

When a collector connects to one of my pieces, they are adding a piece of my story to their own. From that moment forward, every guest who walks into their home or office will get a small glimpse into my life, but a fuller glimpse into the life of the collector. Art is richer than decoration. It doesn’t end up in the garage sale five years later for $1. Art appreciates in value and in its personal worth to the owner.

I think more than anything I enjoy helping the art buyer figure out what piece in my studio best tells their story.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I hope in the next 5 -10 years to continue painting at a blinding pace, always pushing myself to be better and try new things. I never want to move away from storytelling to just painting a piece “because it will sell”. My hope is that five more years down the road my commission wait list will be a year out, and I’ll be selling pieces as fast as I can paint them. My hope is that more people will fall in love, not just with my work, but a little bit with me and the stories I’m trying to tell.

Pricing:

• Current prices for commissions are $1.35 a square inch

Contact Info:

• Website: http://RTDalglieshFineArt.com
• Phone: 325-212-2114
• Email: ryan@rtdalglieshfineart.com
• Instagram: http://Instagram.com/RTDalglieshFineArt
• Facebook: http://Facebook.com/RTDalglieshFineArt

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