Meet Trailblazer Dymond Starr Boutte

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dymond Starr Boutte.

Dymond Starr, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Today I am a self-employed artist working independently through my own artwork and working some freelance. In addition to showing my paintings in art galleries, traveling to pop culture and niche conventions. My practice currently consists of traditional dark artwork. Portraying women be it demonic, witchy, and or nude in a limited color palette. They’re mixed media mainly with oil paints or drawn often in graphite. I enjoy focusing on female faces, symbolism and the darker side of life.

My path to becoming an indie artist has been an unexpected journey. As most personal and creative career driven journey’s go. At some point in college, I realized my focus should be getting a job in the entertainment industry for me that was video games. When I first entered into college, my goal was to find a career as an artist in video games and maintain my love for traditional artwork. Because let’s be honest, the secret goal or dream was to just do what I wanted to do creatively – who wouldn’t want that. But it felt to be a dream far away. I chose the career path in games because ever since I was a little kid, I absolutely loved video games. They were the first thing to show me that you can make it as an artist. I know for many it was animation but for me it was games. To me, games are a form of interactive artwork. They are escapism, they make imaginative worlds come alive. Being a part of that sounded fantastic. At the time, my stylistic goals were a form of high fantasy realism. I discovered there were game companies out there that wanted realistic styles. I thought games were the perfect balance to help facilitate my desire to create concept drawings and fantasy illustrations.

While embarking on this conquest, there was a fantasy strategy card game I was introduced to my peers in high school, Magic the Gathering. I figured it would be the best fit for me for what I was trying to achieve as the artist I was then, or so I thought. And set my sights on working for MTG. After I graduated from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in 2013, I was able to acquire an (unpaid) internship at a local game company here in Denver, Dire Wolf Digital. (By the way, they do not do those types of internships anymore.) It was absolutely exciting to have my first foot in the door and to learn what it was like to work in a “real studio” as an illustrator. And working on a strategy card game no less!

As the internship came to a close, I needed to find a job and one that would hopefully apply to my career path. And unfortunately, at the same time, I was met with a financial crisis. I needed to find something ASAP. I was not yet ready to be hired by Dire Wolf at the time and I expected as much. I saw it as a learning opportunity and for connections. During my job hunt, I found a California based company with an office out here as well, called Fuhu. They made kids education tablets and games for their nabi tablet products. They needed somebody they could mold to fulfill their artist/ game developer position. I saw this job as an opportunity to get my foot in the door once again and learn new things. My first trial acquiring this job was to make a game. I spent an entire month making a little level for side scroller game. I had no knowledge of how to do this aside from just playing video games. I watched numerous YouTube tutorials. I created my own character, animations, art, VFX, little obstacles and I copied and pasted in code I found to make it all work. They wanted to see if I could manage it, work in the game engine they used Unity, and see if I could communicate with them if I needed help. I was so proud of myself for making something that resembled a game. Regardless of how terrible it looked and functioned, it was my terrible game. It ticked all the boxes for them and I was hired for about a year and a half until Fuhu went under. The work I did there was primarily basic grunt work on their art assets in photoshop, in addition to concept art and creating art UI/UX. I did learn a lot. In the meantime, art and getting better at art did not escape me. On a daily basis, after work when I got home, I would work on my art skills and my portfolio. Focusing on digital painting in photoshop, and honing my skills attending community events like life drawing here, ran by the Denver Illustration Salon now Denver Illustration Studio.

After working part of a summer at a screen printing shop, I found myself once again back at Dire Wolf Digital in 2016. And this time as an artist, game developer or as the job title stated digital artist. Applying the skills I had learned at Fuhu and more. Roles I mostly fulfilled was fixing visual errors, aka bugs. And working on their UI, UX and creating VFX. For clarity UI is user interface it’s basically the buttons and menus you see on a screen. UX is user experience, it’s how it all flows and feels for the end-user. Their primary projects were online strategy card games. As I mentioned before being an illustrator for strategy card games was a goal of mine. I felt like at least being involved in the production would aid in my goals. I also enjoyed working with the many artists there I had known for some time. The projects I worked on at Dire Wolf were the Elder Scrolls: Legends, Pokémon Trading Card Game, and their own IP, Eternal.

For years, my now husband Brent and I had wanted to move to Seattle, WA. For me I wanted to go for the entertainment industry, art community, culture and the opportunities it had. He wanted to support me in that. And felt the culture, art and music scene would be great for him too. At the end of 2017, he found an opportunity to pursue his dreams as a traveling musician and go on tour in Europe. We sold our first house and made the trek from Colorado to Seattle in December of that year. And not too long after, I found a job due to my connections from working at Dire Wolf. Often, some of the individuals who have worked there made the transition to a company called Wizards of the Coast. It was the company I had been after for years. They create various IP’s, like the one I adored so much Magic the Gathering, a fantasy-based strategy card game. I didn’t expect to get a job there, at least not immediately. But it was a momentous moment to truly have ones “foot in the door”. I was so much closer to achieving that goal I set out for myself in college. Again, the job I got there was working as a game developer artist, and with a few familiar faces from Dire Wolf too. I was working on their online version of the card game called MTG, Arena.

At the same time, when I had first moved to Seattle, I also started a mentorship through an online program called the Visual Arts Passage. Ran by renowned artist John English. I was mentored primarily by editorial and well-known artist, Edward Kinsella. I felt I needed the program to help improve my art-making skills, process and my artistic voice. Before I had moved, in the last half of the year, I was slowly making more and more traditional art. The amount of time I felt I was in front of the computer between my day job and working at home on my art was draining. I started to feel that more honestly, as I entered into the new year of 2018. So much so, that I started taking a more serious look at my art direction in the mentorship, and how I felt about it. Asking myself questions like was I enjoying the work I was making anymore. Was there something else I wanted to do and say with my work. I had been so focused on this goal to work for MTG that my taste and artistic voice was changing whether I could see it or not.

When I drove up to that building, when I arrived through those doors and found myself in the place where I had always wanted to be, or where I thought I wanted to be there was a sinking feeling in the back of my head. A feeling I knew was growing well before I arrived. I still greatly adored the fantasy genre, the various IPs that were made there. I still felt this sense of accomplishment and excitement. I was going for it! I don’t think I fully grasped where my head was at since everything was changing at once. Looking back now, I can see it more clearly. There was a sensation when I finally “made it”, it felt like a missed high five. An almost criss-cross of intentions that didn’t quite meet. If only a year prior would I had made it then, how I would have felt so much differently. But I couldn’t of changed that. And still, the novelty of being there did maintain my enthusiasm as I worked there.

During a break in the mentorship in the summer, I went to the Visual Arts Passage home base in Kansas City. I attended their workshop the Illustration Academy. It was a five-week program, sadly I was only able to afford one of those weeks. My mentor recommended the first week. I met amazing professional and up and coming artists in the program. I even got to meet some of the people from the online program in person. And some of the artists I met I am still friends with and follow their progress today. It was an inspiring time that further strengthened my artistic growth. Throughout the year as I was in the mentorship, it truly gave me what I was secretly hoping for. And in an obvious and almost embarrassing way, it gave me permission to be myself. To create the work I wanted too. This changed a lot of how I viewed what was acceptable in the art world. To realize there were companies and clients looking for traditional artwork, unique weird, and something good with a voice. The mentorship showed me how I could be a part of that. It seemed as though it came at a great point in my life as I was craving change. And as I worked the coveted day job, I continued to work on my own art too. Most of that art was part of the mentorship. Living in the Pacific Northwest there were also more opportunities for me to sell that artwork at conventions and niche pop-up markets. I was selling my art more frequently than I had ever done. Before this point in my life, I was really only selling my art on the side, once a year at Denver Pop Culture Con, since 2014. Being part of the mentorship and selling my art at events showed me there was a different life that was possible. And part of that thinking was also influenced by a group of indie artists who I followed on a Facebook group and on YouTube, called One Fantastic Week.

One Fantastic Week is “a weekly web show about current business, creativity and the all import question how’s your week”, as they say on the show. Hosted by two known artists in the fantasy art community, Peter Mohrbacher and Sam Flegal. They often talked about their successes, failures, and what they learned as self-employed artists. They’ve also had guest artists speaking to a similar tune on their show. They had attracted a collective of artists talking about the struggles and process to becoming or being a self-employed artist. Over the years as they grew it showed me what I had first believed was mostly impossible to be possible. I flirted with the idea and it had my wheels turning ever since I discovered 1FW several years ago. I started applying what I had learned from them more seriously last year and this year.

Around the fall in 2018, my husband realized being a touring musician was not what it was all cracked up to be for him. Starting over was difficult. Finding a job as a photographer with basically no network was almost impossible. We made a conscious decision to move back to Colorado. Right before we moved, I also went to another workshop run by 1FW to learn more about the indie artist life. Moving back to Colorado did not mark the end for everything, I was able to maintain my contract for some time and work remotely for Wizards of the Coast. It was a bitter sweet move. Seattle represented so much for me not just as a move upwards in career path, but growth for me as a person. But I also needed to be back home for the happiness of my husband, and to be nearby for my family, because my grandfather was placed in a nursing home.

At the beginning of this year 2019, my mentorship eventually had to end. Though I felt I could of been a part of it forever. My mentor Ted, and all those involved in the program gave me more than I think they realized, especially Ted. It meant the world to me. Throughout the year I got myself a studio space at the Helikon Gallery for a time, I attended even more conventions selling my art. So when my contract came to an end I had to make a choice to either find another job or to keep going. To take that leap as a fully independent artist. And I knew there was no shame in taking a part time job or otherwise to keep on living a decent life in pursuit of my art. Currently as I step into 2020, I am working as an independent artist. I sell my artwork as prints at events, and take freelance and commission work selectively that fits my art style. It is exciting, terrifying, and an exhilarating feeling to be an indie artist. Wish me luck embarking on this new chapter of my life.

Great, 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?
As an artist with little confidence, working in mostly a male dominated industries it had its moments. I felt I was underestimated for my lack of confidence, natural quiet nature, and being female. I think as females we are trained to be a bit more subdued and especially when expressing our opinions. I experienced sexism, and blatant disregard for my knowledge over a male coworker who was otherwise more charming and outgoing than myself. My advice, don’t be afraid to speak up. Say what you mean. Talk to higher ups and say what you mean. If they won’t do anything about it, that job, that position is not worth it, get out.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself or express your opinions. You might find you will garner more respect and grow further in a company than if you played nice all the time.

Tell us about your work– what should we know?
My main body of work consists of oil paintings and other mixed mediums. The subject of mysterious women emanating power has always captivated me. Some people have described my work as demonic, dark or witchy. The witch has been a powerful and controversial symbol throughout history. I taps into that motif by depicting women frequently appearing magical, nude, or ethereal. I also pull from research in astrology, the occult, old stories and ancient practices from different cultures around the world. Through those subjects my artwork often reflects upon the feeling of poetic language and symbolism.

I find my work fit’s in a niche market that speaks to a specific audience. It’s experimental and breaks some boundaries perceived as acceptable art in the illustrative and fine art worlds.

Which women have inspired you in your life?
My grandma most of all inspired me. She pushed me to pursue my dream as an artist, and she has aided in me whatever way she could throughout my entire life. Sometimes she hasn’t always understood what my jobs entailed but she has been there rooting for me.

And in college learning about the entertainment industry within video games I looked up to some women who were killing it. To name a few Karla Ortiz, and Cynthia Shepard two thriving artists and leaders in the gaming, entertainment industry.

Pricing:

• “Soul Fire” Print 12x12in | $40
• “Dark Accession” Print 11x14in | $40
• “Blood Mistress” Print 12x12in | $40
• “INGUZ” Limited Edition Gold Foil – Embellished Print 12 x 18in | $40
• “INGUZ” Oil painting on Gesso Board | $1,100

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dymondstarr.com
• Email: hello@dymondstarr.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dymond.starr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DymondStarrArt
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DymondStarrArt

Image Credit:
The photos of me were taken by Brent Boutte of, Boutte Photography and Design
https://www.boutte-design.com/

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