Photos courtesy of Solomon Kafele
Dylan Griggs is a junior painting major here at SCAD and he is also a person who should inspire you. Earlier this month while working on a project with another student, Tyler Shuhler (one of the subjects of my first article “An Art School Without Music”), we began to talk about work ethic and our craft as creatives. During this conversation, Tyler mentioned Dylan as an example. He spoke highly of Dylan’s dedication in the past year; producing more (and bigger) paintings than ever before, having works submitted to galleries, multiplying his following count tenfold. I knew Dylan had to be the focus of an entire piece.
I asked Griggs if we could sit down for an interview and he obliged. We met on a floor he’s quite used to, the gallery floor of 1600, where he took me and photographer Solomon Kafele to his latest work, soon to be shipped to the Savannah campus for their gallery. As we walked through the halls appreciating work we all perked in agreement:
“This is like, easily the coolest floor on campus. Like out of all the buildings here.”
Dylan leads us through the winding halls and countless turns that is the gallery floor until reaching the aforementioned work resting against the wall.
“I thought they would’ve hung it up,” Dylan says with a slightly disappointed tone.
An Unorthodox Odyssey
“Let’s just start with … how long have you been painting?”
So the journey of how I got to where I am is – I would call it, kinda unorthodox. Coming from a predominantly black school, not a lot of creatives were being pushed at the school that I was at. Everybody was either going into a uh, engineering field or like an account or something. One day one of my friends from the photography club just recommended SCAD to me. SCAD had a big push in me to be a full-time creative. I started with illustration… real basic stuff just sketches in a notebook until getting to poster-sized work. From there I was kinda in this limbo “Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life?” Kinda like that, freshman to sophomore year transition is when I’m like “Damn I’m really finna lock in. I have to make a choice right now.” After giving it much thought and consideration I just learned to love art. Doing further research into creatives… talking to people. I decided to get into that painting world… Just learning as much as possible, ‘cause I knew I only had four years. Gotta make it count. With this tuition too, these tuition prices –
We all laugh in agreement,
-shit’s crazy.
“When was that first painting that made you go “this is my calling?”
I started with watercolor, I don’t think I had that click with watercolor, I was good at it, but it wasn’t until I took… a painting basics class for non-majors. I had this final assignment: the hieroglyphs, I think it’s a 3×3 foot oil on panel piece. It was when I really started taking the time out of my day to really appreciate the craft of painting … doing the all-nighters… the work ethic started to get that going. It was really humble beginnings, I had a grasp on painting but I didn’t really, y’know, I had so much to learn.
“Are there other styles, mediums of art in general, film, music … that you draw inspiration from while painting?”
I think you really hit it with the music… I guess I’ll talk about the process by which I create. I’m in this, like, home bedroom studio. It’s me, the canvas, my computer. And my computer has it has two things: The image I’m creating, and it also has music coming out of it. Definitely take inspiration from what goes through my head while I paint, the colors that I chose, and the saturation of the colors. It all depends on the mood that I’m in and the tone that’s set with the music. I always lean towards RNB and alternative, sometimes hip hop. I think it reflects on my work in a way. It’s like… taking those fundamentals and twisting them to cater to you and your audience, specifically you.
“As you just mentioned the audience … how do you balance that between what you want to create yourself. And do you have work that you would never share that you’ve made solely because you want to make it.”
Mm, not really. I think just being true to your own craft, is what you wanna make. There’s always something for everybody. If your work doesn’t specifically agree with this group of people it’s bound to agree with like, hundreds of thousands more over there. It comes down to doing what you love and people will eventually be cool with it.
“I noticed a lot of greens in your work, you got trees on your shirt, the guy, the picture in the park, big nature guy? You take a lot of inspiration from nature?”
I don’t really know it’s just kind of something I picked up from art in general. Taking a step back and seeing what works with your pieces I think nature is definitely a big inspiration. I love the color green so of course, nature makes the most sense… My room that I grew up in was green so I always kind of use that as an unofficial excuse as to why I love the color green now.
Dylan mentioned briefly his experience with sports saying his “work ethic” is influenced by it similar to practice. He spoke on the importance of “keeping your mind just as active as your body.”
The Act of Doing
“Speaking of mind… how do you channel wherever you’re at mentally into your art?”
It definitely correlates. Whenever I’m in the most,
He pauses to think of a word and lands on,
Unorthodox state of mind that’s when I would create the most. But also whenever I’m feeling the happiest I create the most as well. I don’t think there’s a set – it definitely correlates.
“Outside of painting are there any other mediums you want to explore more?”
Uh. Sculpture is cool. I wouldn’t full on switch over to sculpture,
Yeah.
but dealing with fine arts sculpture is definitely cool. Photography is cool, cool as shit.
He points over to –
Solomon over there.
The camera clicks.
I definitely want to get more into that whenever I have the resources just invest in a camera. As much as I love painting and creating I love just taking in and looking as well. That’s one of my main inspirations … my little park forest series that I’m doing now. I would go out and look at Piedmont with just my camera, take in all the scenery, and say “This is what I want to put on the canvas. The essence of what I’m looking at and feeling right now” I want to illustrate that for a lot of other people to see. Definitely photography, then sculpture, and I would go back to drawing. Can never draw too much.
As a black man, the world we’re currently in, has that been affecting the way you view your future life as a creative?
I try not to. It’s probably just a delusion. Whenever I create I’m basically in this other universe. Nothing else really matters for real. The only thing that’s with me is my paint and my canvas. I try not to let it influence my work ethic, workflow, or even just my subject matter too much. But it would be interesting to explore it because there are things in the world I feel need to be addressed. I like to keep my work in a state of disconnect. There’s a lot of evil shit in the world.
What changed in that last year? You had like two thousand followers last year and now you’re, I mean n**** you’re goin’ crazy. 20 thousand, work here, work in this gallery, that gallery, what was the catalyst?
I wouldn’t call it just one thing. It’s kind of just a combination of a bunch of things. Consistency is actually following through with what you say you’re going to do. I always had this plan of where I wanted to see myself a year from now… but it’s like the act of doing. Which is definitely the hardest for a bunch of people, especially in our generation. You can say that you’ll do one thing but when it comes down to it are you really gonna be there to follow through on it? Pushing yourself, having a good support system, consistency, and just believing in yourself. Believing you’re going to have an effect on not just the creative world but the whole entire world.
I see a lot of similarities between you and Tyler and I know you guys are pretty good peers. Do you make sure you surround yourself with other creatives who can inspire you and make you keep challenging yourself?
Yeah definitely. Shout out Tyler, shout out the dawg. I see similarities in both of our work ethics and how we carry ourselves and I do try my best to surround myself with, doesn’t necessarily have to be creatives but just people who are motivated to make a difference. In our generation, in our society in general. I feel like having productive people in your life is the first step to being productive in your life. It’s who you surround yourself around, the energy… all that correlates. I try my best to surround myself with people who have that same drive, or even greater. It’s a lot of people who just… want it. I feel like that is –
Important.
Yeah.
Are there any painters on campus who have helped you?
On my first visit to SCAD, I walked up here on the painting floor and saw this painter named Nathan Adley. He was working on this huge 7-foot painting… that shit opened my eyes. I was so encaptured by this image… I was just so amazed by the world I was sucked into in that moment. I reached out to him for pointers “Hey what’s glazing, how do you use masking tape?” Y’know little things like that, even recently “How do you write an invoice to a buyer, how do you ship off paintings?”
All these things that come with the experience. There’s a senior named Emma Brown… I would also be super inspired by her shit. It’s all valid. It’s all stuff I take in to make my own style. The influence of not even famous painters, just the people that are around you. Even if it’s subconsciously… Just everyone. Everyone in my painting classes, everyone in my drawing classes, just down to the foundation classes. Influence in some type of way.
Comparison… Is that a hurdle you had to get over in order to channel your work in a positive clear manner, or do you struggle with that?
I wouldn’t call it a hurdle. It’s motivation. I would never really compare myself in a way. I would, like you said, take inspiration from them. Building off of that and adding my own flair. To the point where the people I used to look at, I would find myself being peers with them as well. I wouldn’t call it something that… hurt me. I would use it as a slingshot.
Griggs Gallery
“Where can we see some of your work, where can we follow you at, and where can people interact and indulge?”
That’s a great –
He turns to the camera like an advertisement before realizing it’s a film camera.
Oh. It’s not. I was about to have a funny little bit. No, that’s fine, that’s fine. Y’all can follow me on all my social media @griggsgalleryy. You can also check out my portfolio and print shot at griggsgallery.com. And maybe at your local gallery.
“That’s the expectation.”
We dap.
“Anything you want to leave for the creatives reading?”
Don’t stop what you’re doing, keep going always. Keep doing it. Maybe you find an answer. You never know unless you try, you never want to live your life thinking what if. What if I decided to make that jump, that leap? Keep doing what you’re doing.
“Special thanks?”
I don’t even know, fuck, shit, shout out to everyone… Shoutout everybody. Love everybody.
A thank you Dylan for sitting down and being so open. Every artist can and should take inspiration from Dylan. He’s done what countless people dream of in the span of two years solely off of dedication. He is an artist incarnate.
