Issue 6 Writer Spotlight | Dylan James
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Dylan!
DJ: I work full-time at one of the largest dog shelters in the Midwestern United States. I love my job, and I love meeting so many unique, incredible four-legged friends—marketing them and finding them forever homes all the while. When not working with the pups, you can find me writing or reading or hanging out with my dog, Bo. Writing and reading and animals make me the happiest. I'm endlessly grateful for my career and for my second career: writing.
C+B: How has your relationship with your work changed since you first started creating?
DJ: When I was younger, I fell into the pitfall of overthinking a lot when creating. Now creating is meditative to me, unconscious even. I enter a flow state and just write. I can't tell you how much success I've found in doing this, and how personally rewarding this process has been. Writing is a peaceful happening in my life. It's something I look forward to every day.
C+B: What has your experience been like receiving feedback or criticism of your work?
DJ: I openly welcome feedback and criticism. I think doing so is the only path that an individual can take to self-improve, or to certainly reach new heights in the world of writing and publishing. I want to hear everything and use this insight—ponder it, filter it, apply it—to become the best writer I can become.
C+B: Which creator (present day or in the past) do you most admire and why? What draws you to their work?
DJ: Currently, I'm really into the paintings of Chaïm Soutine! Man, if you haven't checked out his work, I recommend giving it all a look. Soutine's work is so original, and it possesses this palpable, strange energy that blisters right off of the canvas. I admire the originality in his work, and how he painted whatever what he wanted to paint. He even did a few still lifes of dead ray fish. They're bizarre and beautiful and gosh I love them. I find so much inspiration in people who do things their own way. Soutine left our world a long time ago, but his innovative spirit is something I really appreciate.
Find and support Dylan here:
Dylan James
My ideal creative retreat would be: My ideal creative retreat: a remote cabin, snow falling outside, and candles spread about the cabin dimly lighting the place up as the darkness of the night is thick. Generally anywhere cold and dark...hahaha!
One word that describes my most recent work is: Snowballing!
A quote that inspires me is: "No longer shall I paint interiors with men reading and women knitting. I will paint living people who breathe and feel and suffer and love.” My favorite painter, Edvard Munch, said this. I admire Munch so much because he strived to capture the soul of people in his work, by expressing emotion both uplifting and dark. In so many ways, artists are actively pursuing connection with their viewers or readers or listeners. Munch did this as good as anyone ever has in my humble opinion.
My hope for those viewing my work: I hope my readers take away positivity, even through the darker subject matter in my work. If my readers can do this, I feel like a million bucks.
