Today we’d like to introduce you to DeLoné Osby.
Hi DeLoné, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I always drew and doodled growing up. Nothing professional. I loved anime as a teenager so I really enjoyed drawing those characters. I didn’t seriously pick up a paintbrush until 2009. I had just lost my baby. It triggered some childhood trauma I had been through. Tack on an eating disorder and the combination almost destroyed me. I wanted to destroy myself. A friend introduced me to Frida Kahlo. She said Frida used the pain from her life to fuel her work. She bought me a canvas, paints and brushes. Once I realized this could be a healing tool, I never looked back.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Although painting and art came naturally to me, the road to get to where I am today has been a hard one. I went through a divorce and packed up whatever would fit in a little Kia Soul & a 12ft trailer. I grabbed my dogs and we drove from DFW to Portland, Oregon. I started to find myself there. My voice slowly got bigger despite falling into patterns most survivors of childhood trauma fall into. Emotionally abusive relationships. A physically abusive relationship that led to me coming back to Texas. Art was the one thing that kept me sane. It was my one constant. It was what I looked forward to and it kept me going.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an artist. I didn’t start showing my work until 2018. What started as a tool to help me heal has now become a passion and a source of income during this time. I started painting with acrylics and have since fallen in love with so many mediums. I love mixing them in work. My latest obsession has been pyrography or wood burning. Over the years, I’ve developed a style that is my own. Using some the swirls and squiggles, I doodled when I was little and incorporating it into the hair of my subjects. I guess what really sets my work apart is the healing & spiritual aspect. When I create work, I create it with intention. I use dreams I have had and messages that come to me. I share them because I know there are people like me out there. People who have seen and been through terrible things and just need something beautiful to tell them, “I see you.” Sometimes I create things that are just fun, but 90% of my work has a meaning behind it. If I’m proud of anything, it is when someone messages me and tells me what a piece meant to them. Knowing I am making that impact is more than I could have ever hoped for. What was healing me is now healing others.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I never had a physical mentor. I watched Bob Ross as a kid if that counts? I had to trust in myself and my spirit. I listened to my ancestors and my dreams when it comes to creating. What worked for me as far as making a name for myself was staying true to me and what I knew. Then a few people took notice. Those few people believed in me enough to give me a chance, put me in shows, include me in events and gatherings. The lovely thing about art is we are all artists. We don’t need anyone to tell us we are. We just need to believe it for ourselves and be brave enough to put ourselves out there.
Contact Info:
- Email: paintbydelone@gmail.com
- Website: www.paintbydelone.com
- Instagram: @pain_t.by.delone
