I had heard Detour’s name around Denver, and I knew he had recently written a book for artists. You don’t forget the name of an artist who goes by Detour.
After the encounter with the mural, I started seeing Detour’s name in more places.
Maybe it’s another mural, every bit as impactful as the one I watched him paint. Or there’s an article. Or he pops up on the local news.
He’s everywhere. Not just Denver. He travels to communities all over to paint murals, but he also works on canvas, and in music, installation, and sculpture.
In this episode of The Art Biz, I talk with Detour to find how he does it all. By himself and without an assistant.
We discuss his various income streams—prints, murals, corporate sponsorships, and grants—and why he doesn’t want to be limited by what he currently knows.
To that end, he’s learning how to use new technologies that will help him land complex opportunities requiring new skillsets. He’s not afraid to discover that the best way to approach an artistic problem is something he hasn’t done before.
Detour is big on collaboration and presenting himself in the most professional light. He says, “You never know who is watching.”
I encourage you to listen closely to the questions he asks himself before agreeing to take on new work. Good stuff there.
