Today we’d like to introduce you to Von Deon.
Von, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I had always created things since I was very young. I remember I did a lot of doodling when I was a kid. I grew up in the metro Detroit area, I was used to seeing people all around me making things. DIY is almost just the way of life in Detroit. I come from a family of very creative people, so it was only natural to do the thing that I saw everyone else doing, which is creating things that improve your quality of life. My aunts and cousins are very talented designers. My oldest brother was a film maker growing up and now he is a cinematographer. My father is a general contractor, so I spent time in the summers working with him and learning how to think about how materials function together. I got to watch the creative process early on. That experience gave me insight and confidence because I was able to see how long it takes to create what you want just right. I grew up playing football and spent the majority of my time training. I did have a little time to explore ceramics in high school, but I didn’t take it too seriously because of the opportunity I had to play football in SoCal in 2010. It wasn’t until I squandered my opportunity to continue playing college football that I considered becoming an artist. I was battling with alcoholism and I had to make a choice to be sober. I was blessed to be able to transfer to an art school in Chicago in 2013 where I caught my stride in my newfound lifestyle of sobriety. In a year I was working with Child, one of the hottest music video directors in the industry right now.
At the time, in 2014, I had no idea she would be so influential. Regardless of her status at the time I put all I had into the project. I spent two whole days working on album art for an artist she was working with at the time. It shouldn’t have taken me that long but after the first 24 hours I made a mistake and deleted about 60% of the project I spent all day drawing. This was one of my first big projects as an artist. It wasn’t even really a big deal, but it was to me. This led to me working on the set of MadeinTYO “Skateboard P” video directed by Adrian Martinez in 2016. I created about 70% of the artwork and paintings on set. After that experience I knew I was made for the fast pace hustle of the art world. More than anything, I think I realized what I needed to do to push myself forward in my career.
I am the self proclaimed “Flower Boy”. I developed FLOWER BOY out of the growth that I’d experienced through sobriety and making conscious choices to pursue a more positive and productive lifestyle. I love to paint and draw flowers because they are so beautiful to me. Also, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like or can’t relate to flowers. I would be surprised if I ever encounter someone who can’t relate to flowers. They show up in our lives in so many different situations and are symbols for kinds of contradicting situations. Between births and funerals, romantic encounters, celebrations and ordinary living room decor flowers show up almost daily for some people and only when times are really good or bad for others. That’s so fascinating to me. I don’t think there are any other objects in the world that are used in such a versatile way. Food maybe, but we need that to survive. Flowers also remind me of people because we go through seasons and depending on our experience and where we are in the particular season we may or may not plant seeds. Like annuals and perennials. Some of us are like perennials, we continue to go through growth cycles coming back year after year no matter what. We have deep roots and can survive the winter or the difficulties of our mistakes. We are aware and it’s what we do. On the other hand some of us are like annuals. We may or may not come back with the same passion, strength or confidence the next year. It all depends if we plant the seeds we need to continue to grow. It’s a lot to think about, but that’s what my work is rooted in. The idea that you have the ability to grow from your difficulties and continue to plant new seeds for the future or get better at what you do and make less mistakes overall.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My journey definitely hasn’t been smooth. In 2013 I got myself in trouble with alcohol and resulted in me having to report to jail for six months in 2016. I was in the middle of a DUI case where I caused a non-fatal accident. I had to face the fact that I hurt other people and myself because I could not control my drinking and my behavior. By the time I had to report to jail I was already 2.5 years sober. In jail I had to make a decision about what I wanted to do with myself. I had come to terms with what I had done. I accepted that, I did all I could do to make things right for the parties involved, so I chose to do what I know how to do best. Make art. I spent all day everyday practicing drawing and I made it a goal to sell all of the drawings I created in that six-month period. I think being an artist is always challenging. I’ve always had the natural ability to create art but creating art with a strong voice and connecting with strangers was the biggest struggle I faced until I finally figured it out for myself.
Please tell us about the company.
Thanks Canvas is an online gallery that gives artists the ability to sell their original artwork at the price point that they feel good about through payment options that make it more comfortable for their customers. I know too many artists who have sold themselves short because their customers may not be in a position to purchase original art. My hope is that I can create an environment where both the artist and customer feel happy about their transaction. Original artwork is available along with digital recreations of original artwork. Right now we have 4 artists including myself, and I am just now starting to invite other artists into the gallery. The company is based on gratitude, because of sobriety I have been able to find things that I am thankful for daily. I am thankful that I was able to find purpose through art.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I think I would have started making a lot more art sooner. I think the formula to success is continuing to consistently pursue your goal daily. The more time you have to do that, the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Thankscanvas.com
- Phone: 313-727-0560
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Deonsxx & @Thankscanvas
Image Credit:
Personal Photo by: Naato
Artwork Photos by BCD MEDIA GROUP
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