Meet Edward Dennis in Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Edward Dennis.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Edward. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started to create art at a very young age. By the time I was 10, I had already taught myself how to paint and draw realistically. I soon became very bored with that and started to teach myself other mediums like airbrushing and sculpting. Around the time of high school, I would spend all my time learning and practicing. My first year at Arizona State, I started to teach myself animation and digital art. Currently, I’m working on four children’s books, several commercials, and other various projects. My family has always been supportive of me as well I’d like to mention, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest struggle anyone faces when pursuing their dreams is the question “How bad do you want it?” Most of my time so far in life has been spent creating art. Most have been failures if I’m being 100% transparent. But you can only appreciate your victories if you know failure intimately. People on Instagram see me make a 60-second video of me creating a portrait, they assume it’s easy for me. And while it takes me around 2-3 hours now to do a digital portrait, it used to take me 15-18 hours. But through dedication and perseverance, we learn how to perfect our craft. So, I think with anyone wanting to learn anything the biggest struggle you’ll grapple with is literally “how bad do you want to succeed?”

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I would say I’m most known for my digital art. I can do many things but I really only market myself for the digital art aspect for a few reasons. And I would say what sets me apart from many other digital artists is that I create videos of me creating the actual artwork. Sometimes, I narrate them to let people know what I am thinking as I make it. This is different because, with many things, digital art is very easy to cheat with. Now, if you like to trace and everyone knows that, great! But for me, I don’t, it’s taken me 27 years to perfect my style I’d say and I want people to know that I work hard.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Phoenix is a great city for many things, especially the arts. It’s certainly not Seattle or L.A. But Phoenix is becoming like those cities, the only issue is many companies that an illustrator could be employed by simply don’t operate out of Phx. I also noted this because, in October, I’m having my first solo art show with all digital art. This will be one of the first all-digital shows if not the first in all of Phoenix. Let that sink in, I’ve been doing digital art since 1994 when I was in 4th grade, and it’s 2019. So, the city definitely needs a lot more work when it comes to digital art and things like that. I also feel some of it could be that it’s something usually relegated to the entertainment industry that they just don’t know about it. When I was an undergrad at ASU, no one at the campus did digital painting either which I thought was interesting.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ArtofEdwardDennis.com
• Instagram: @EduardoDenniz

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