Today we’d like to introduce you to Derrick White.
Hi Derrick, 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 began my quest in visual art at Cedar Valley Community College after graduating high school in DeSoto, TX. I transferred to The University of North Texas, Denton, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree both in painting and drawing with minors in marketing and printmaking. I now work as a professor and the art department chair at Tyler Junior College working to create a safe and nurturing environment for students to be vulnerable and discover their unique creative voices. I am also constantly pursuing my own artistic goals and developing my creative processes. I share my artwork in regional, national, and international exhibitions.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Committing to life in the fine arts always comes with its share of challenges. Something I communicate to students, and especially parents of students, is there are obstacles in every single pursuit. I have had struggles and financial hardships, but I also believe I have the best job in the world making a positive impact on the world through my interactions with people and I cannot imagine my life without the creative, therapeutic outlet being an artist allows me. As Jim Carrey states, “You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” At Tyler Junior College, when a student gets inspired to change their major to art, an expression we have is “Derrick White Ruined My Life.” This is in reference to an exhibition of my paintings where I discussed being an artist has not ruined my life but actually saved it and given me the best, creatively healthy life I can imagine.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am constantly working on my art and taking ideas and inspirations from my daily life and the lives and world around me. I am attracted to the unstructured results of actions and the inherent nature of materials, for example, drips of paint or the flow of wood grain. I want my work to be engaging and fun but to also reveal its sincerity through form. The biggest lesson I have learned in my art career is perseverance. One must appreciate the good things and opportunities when they arrive but also endure and commit to one’s artistic pursuits even when things don’t seem to be falling into place. I have exhibited my work in hundreds of exhibitions over the last three decades and have been honored with several Best in Show awards. The show I am most proud of is my solo exhibition at the Tyler Museum of Art in 2011. I want to actively engage viewers with the composition of my paintings and have them develop their own interpretations but also sense a connection to me and my processes. I work and re-work paintings (acting and reacting to mark-making) and address difficulties, comedies, and anxieties of life. I hope people feel these connections in my work and know they are not alone.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The COVID-19 crisis was eye-opening about how precarious things are and how much I was taking for granted. Going to a grocery store with empty shelves and feeling a general distrust from my neighbors was disheartening and something I do not feel we have recovered from yet. I want to work to bring trust and support back into our communities. Our Art Club is active in community services with charity fundraisers and a fall and spring food drive benefiting the East Texas CARES food pantry. We also partner with The Worthy Ones for the Bus Stop Water Project, providing free cold-water bottles at city bus stops during the hottest summer months.
Pricing:
- Small Paintings 12” x 24”- $100
- Medium Paintings 30” x 40”- $300
- Large Paintings 36” x 48”- $600
Contact Info:
- Website: www.canvashead.net
- Instagram: @canvahead
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DerrickWhiteRuinedMyLife/
