Tails of Whimsy with Daryl Slaton [Ep8]

In this episode of Artsville, we welcome one of the driving forces behind this Asheville-based project, the inspiring and wonderful Daryl Slaton and his tails of whimsy!

Daryl is a lifelong artist, having worked in many different spheres, including periods as a commercial artist for some of the biggest names in corporate America! As is apparent throughout our conversation, Daryl is young at heart and full of fun and laughter. He is also husband to our very own Louise Glickman!

In our chat today we chart some of Daryl's journey as an artist, all the way up to the new and exciting work he is now doing with the latest augmented reality technology. Our guest talks about the hard work and long hours that go into developing a creative skill, and how he approaches finding inspiration. We also touch on some of the exciting things happening in Artsville right now, and his involvement in these, so to hear all of this and a whole lot more, tune in!

Tails of Whimsy - Episode Key Points:

• Daryl's goal of bringing positivity into the world through his art and characters.
• The importance of community and the amazing network of artists in Asheville.
• Daryl's early years in North Carolina, and his childhood fascination with cartoons.
• The first drawing that Daryl remembers; depicting a trip to the toy store with his mother.
• Daryl's career working as a commercial artist in corporate America.
• The revealing of Gallagher's character; Daryl speaks about how he discovered the tiger.
• The themes that Daryl likes to explore through Gallagher's adventures.
• How the global pandemic impacted Daryl's work and creative routine.
• The new dimension that augmented reality brings to an artwork; Daryl explains his excitement.
• Unpacking Daryl's creative process and its beginnings in pencil drawing.
• Daryl's investigation into the world of NFTs and environmental improvements in the space.
• The work that Daryl is currently exhibiting in the Artsville Gallery Space.
• Thoughts on the warehousing of unsold artwork, and what this means for digital artists.
• Where to find Daryl online, and more information about the Artsville Gallery Space in Asheville.

Longer Quotes:

“There was a time back in the '90s and the early 2000s, you did everything you could to make everything as crisp and as clean as you possibly could, and now people like the textured look, which I do. Which is a flip to it. I suppose everything being so crisp and so precise, they like to see the wrinkles and the dots patterns and stuff.” — Daryl Slaton [0:34:01]

Tails Of Whimsy Tweetables:

“When you are doing something new and it's deep and there's a lot of layers to it, you also want to include something that is familiar.” — Daryl Slaton [0:25:22]

“This is short-attention-span theatre at its techiest!” — Daryl Slaton [0:30:04]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Tails of Whimsy Episode:

Daryl Slaton on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/darylslaton/

Tails of Whimsy — http://www.tailsofwhimsy.com/

Artivive — https://artivive.com/

Marquee — https://marqueeasheville.com/

Scott “Sourdough” Power — https://www.notarealartist.com/

Louise Glickman — https://www.louiseglickman.com/

Daryl Slaton — http://www.tailsofwhimsy.com/

Crewest Studio — https://creweststudio.com/

Sand Hill Artists Collective (SHAC) — https://sandhillartists.com/