Today we’d like to introduce you to Domonique Brown.
Domonique, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m a 26-year-old portrait artist from Pomona, CA. I’ve always loved to draw and was encouraged by my family when I was growing up. It’s been a natural progression for me.
My love for art led me down a path in my college years that circled me wanting to have a creative career where I can express myself artistically. I have an Associates in Graphic Design from Mount San Antonio College. Earned a Bachelor’s in Communication with a minor in Public Relations from Cal Poly Pomona. This year, I finished my schooling with an MBA in Marketing from Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Now, I am a marketing specialist in the morning, at night I am working as an entrepreneur to get my artwork out to people all over the world. In my 20s, I am simply trying to do both, have a career and still have a personal life of creating artwork. If you were to ask me where I see my work heading in the next few years. I would answer that I am not on a particular path, I’m just along for the ride.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For a while, I couldn’t call myself an artist. I always felt my artwork was not “good enough.” I placed the value of my work on the lack of people buying it at the beginning or even sadder in this world of social media, how many likes each artwork post was getting. I would feel sick when imagining someone viewing and judging the most vulnerable parts of myself. To get over that “sickness” and lack of respect towards my artwork, I had to find my voice. I had to find my style. Those two together allowed my artwork to stand out. Once I began and started to work as what I defined as an “artist,” it was when my artwork started to gain attention. Within the last two years, I have exhibited and sold artwork in over ten venues all around the Los Angeles area.
As I grow into my person, it is now thrilling to pour myself into a stranger whenever they comment on my work. It is thrilling to go online and see that people are buying original artwork, prints, and products with my artwork imprinted on it every day.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
Instead of just being a portrait artist, I decided to tie in my education in graphic design to create my own company, DomoINK. I wanted my company to be unique. I’m drawn to the unconventional, colors that don’t “go together,” blue bushes and orange skies. I aim to create honest work that encourages viewers to cast off expectations and their truths about art. The weirder and more diverse, the better.
DomoINK consists of my original artwork, prints of it, and accessories including pins and earrings. I want my artwork to be fulfilling for me. I can do what I like, transform it into products, bring joy to people and profit from it. I enjoy all the steps of the creative process. The path between nothing and finished work is a difficult but very pleasurable adventure. You push yourself to your limit and are always trying to evolve.
If one was to ask what sets DomoINK apart from another art business is that my artwork represents diversity. It all started two years ago when visiting well-known art museums in the Los Angeles area. As I viewed the sprawling collections, I noticed the lack of people of color on the walls, I usually lean towards subjects to paint. My a-ha moment came when I first saw the works of Basquiat in a museum. It proved to me that African American figures belonged to museum walls, too. Besides African-American figures, people of color deserve to be represented on museum walls, festival booths, and more. I want to be apart of the movement of showing that everyone is worth being drawn in this world. I had someone approach me one day stating that I should stop drawing black art because it does not sell. Every piece of art I sell disproves that person’s notion.
My proudest moment as a company was doing my first multi-day festival, 626 Night Market. In August 2019, I exhibited my artwork, prints, and accessories. I sold multiple original pieces, sold out of prints, and sold more than a hundred pins and earrings. It was a reminder that my artwork sells and that DomoINK is not a waste of time. It is an opportunity for me to get my artwork to the masses.
I think the biggest thing I want to express is myself. More than anything. I like making art that makes me happy. If it makes other people happy too, that’s a bonus.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Having my first solo exhibition in my hometown of Pomona in November 2018. There was nothing else on the walls in that gallery but my artwork. There were no distractions. People could focus on my artwork alone. And, being a “fly on the wall” in my exhibition was magical. I didn’t hear one ill comment about my artwork. I had dozens of people come and talk to me on opening night to talk to me about how beautiful and unique my artwork was. Seeing those who spoke and did not speak to me, buying my artwork and prints, let me know that the ink I lay down on multiple sheets of bristol to create portraits was not in vain. It was inspirational.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.domoink.com/shop
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/snoopdoggydom
- Facebook: facebook.com/inkbydomo
Image Credit:
*Photos that include me
Operation Candids, photography taken by Sharonda Brown
operationcandids.com
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