Mark Dye shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Mark, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
I really love this paradigm because it’s occurred to me lately that intelligence, while obviously offering a huge advantage in any given area, is also a contributing factor of profound unhappiness. Our thoughts run away from us, and we try to think our way out of problems, rather than tapping into some other potential source of peace (art, instinct, nature, mindfulness, etc.)
So I would have to choose energy. It’s one thing to have a talent, but it’s another altogether to have the energy and ambition to pursue excellence with it. There are so many comfortable distractions I can enjoy rather than upping my game, that I’m always looking for ways to up my energy level. That and I’m just getting older and am desperate not to lose a step.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
The term I’ve settled on for my art is “geometric pointillism.” It’s a style I’ve been developing as early as high school, in which I use fine-tipped markers to create intricate geometric (almost maze-like) details that makeup a bigger picture as a whole. What most of my clients love most are the hidden images and words that I work into the designs because every time you look at one of my pieces, you’ll find something new.
What I’m most proud of is that I’m pretty much a one-man-operation. Although I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my wife and extended family, and although I’ve occasionally had my sisters or dad help set-up and sell at a couple of art shows, it’s mainly just been me chugging away at building a brand and making a name for myself. I’ve been treating it as an experiment to see how big I can fan these flames with just two hands. I’ve had to learn a lot from the experience: marketing, graphic design, bookkeeping, merchandizing, wholesale, retail, and the creation of the art the itself.
Until now, my philosophy has been to do as much as possible with as little as possible. For instance, I engineered all my art booth equipment to be able to fit in the trusty old mini-van so that I don’t have to rent a trailer. And I’ve kept all my art shows local to Dallas-Fort Worth to cut down on travel time and expenses (luckily there’s a lot going on in the metroplex!) But moving forward, my plan is to use the profits I’ve slowly grown to expand the brand and start taking on more ambitious projects, like getting my products into retail stores, and more of my originals into art galleries. And in the next 5-10 years, even become a recognizable name in the DFW art scene.
On top of that, I’m pairing my love of drawing with my love of writing, and have developed several picture book concepts to begin pitching to agents.
The dream is to turn my side-gig into my main gig.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
We’re really getting into it now, aren’t we! I’ll lay down on the therapist couch, and just be honest about it. I’ve always struggled with feelings of inferiority, especially when it comes to my artwork. I have no formal training, and I didn’t consider my style to be ‘actual art.’ I honestly assumed it was something anybody could do if they wanted to. After all, it was really just doodling. But I can pinpoint the moment it changed. In the fall of 2020 I drew my “Wild Turkey” piece, and when I was done, I looked at it and thought, “Oh, yeah, that’s a unique piece only I could have produced.”
So as a child I believed I needed to set myself on a kind of safe and predictable path, but now I realize that if you have that spark to strike out and do something that’s a little audacious, you should do it.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Oh, yes. At my very first art show, I almost threw in the towel right then and there.
I had no idea what I was doing; It was too long of a drive, for too small of a show (I easily could have found comparable ones closer). And I had all of my stuff priced WAY too high. I remember seeing a man browsing and his eyes popping at the prices and quickly realizing I needed to put big “FIFTY PERCENT OFF” signs everywhere. Even so, the only items I sold were to family members who came out in support. Worst of all, I had drug my sister out for the show, and I was MORTIFIED by the whole experience. It was Saturday/Sunday event, and I just remember Saturday night thinking I shouldn’t even go back for the second day.
Luckily I had already booked my next show, or I honestly might have just pulled up stakes. The second show wasn’t much better, except that a young couple came by, saw one of my prints, and thought it would be the perfect gift for the man’s father. Ever since then, I was hooked. Someone WANTED a piece of art I had created! I barely broke even at the event, but I got tips from other friendly vendors, and since then I was off to the races.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Don’t we all live many lives?
I think despite the need to code switch in different situations, a person can have more than one authentic self. Having started up a small business, I’ve been struck with how much it incentivizes me to be my best self in certain ways. That is to say, you want your clients and customers to be comfortable and happy with buying something from you, and so it literally pays to be gracious, friendly, and kind. And I have never felt more gratitude than when a shopper walks by and finds real joy in my work. So if my public self isn’t the real me, it’s at least who I strive to be.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Well, I’m sorry to be vague, but let’s just say it isn’t only simple pictures and phrases that I hide in the details of my artwork. I might be sprinkling in little breadcrumbs here and there, that might eventually lead to something fun later on in my career…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artbymarker.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markdyeart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.dye.165
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@markdye5100
Image Credits
Lauren Danhof
