Interview
Deauntey McCray
Deauntey McCray is a versatile artist whose work resists easy categorization. His style transcends specific mediums, embracing a variety of genres, predominantly Realism and Contemporary Art. He draws inspiration from film, music, literature, and a profound cultural heritage. Through his art, he aims to weave in raw and powerful themes and visuals that capture the viewer's attention and offer insight and inspiration.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“From a young age, I embarked on my journey into the arts, and as my creativity blossomed, the world around me enriched it further. This growing curiosity inspired me to explore an avenue that would become a significant and uplifting influence in my life. This newfound passion for the arts would take flight and fly with me throughout my day-to-day life, helping me find solace and refuge in unfamiliar territory. From then on, I would draw, nearly every day, anything from figures to landscapes, abstract patterns, and even the spaces around me. However, it wasn’t until middle school that I became more serious about improving my craft. I began to seek inspiration and knowledge by studying and observing artists of the past and even of the present. My exposure to all of these different artists and movements would assist me in carving out the path that I wanted to take with my creativity and my art, with that being a path that wasn’t defined by one singular style but by many styles. Seeing my skill and desire to improve led an art teacher to include my work in the Allentown Art Museum, a highlight that inspired me to continue my craft. This same teacher also enrolled me in the Baum School of Art summer courses.
While a relatively short-lived experience, it brought me the much-needed structure I wanted and gave me a proper introduction to painting. These lessons led me to create my first official painting at 14, titled Belly of the Swan. While relaxing, I found paint unruly and hard to control, so I focused instead on mastering pencil and marker, which would be my most utilized medium for the remainder of my middle and high school years. I would then study anatomy, color theory, perspective, shading, and values, all of which proved invaluable in taking me further as an artist. With inspiration often came a struggle to find direction; despite being in the sprawling metropolitan of Allentown, there was little to no opportunity for me to latch onto, and I was once again faced with where to take the next step in my Art. This led to infrequent practice, which caused me to cease creativity and focus primarily on my studies. This decision proved wise and helped me graduate with great honors, gaining acceptance into the University of Los Angeles School of Arts and Architecture. This was a dream come true for me, and I knew that I would most certainly find the opportunity I was looking for in the vast and expansive city of Los Angeles, but I knew that before I could leave Allentown, I would have to prepare myself. Prepare myself for what exactly? Things that were both good and bad would make my departure so much harder and delay things further than I anticipated, a harsh delay that forced me to grow as a young man and a creator with many things to say. This struggle and resilience in my journey have inspired me to keep pushing forward, and I hope it can inspire you, too.”
What inspires you?
“Everything and anything, for me, inspiration is a never-ending river gifting me boundless amounts of creativity, and what I pull from that river has its roots in many things. Those things can be history, whether my own or that of the world, or even my love for film, literature, and music; my inspiration can even come from others whose stories or works have inspired me personally. All of these diverse influences help me form ideas and concepts that fuel me to create and put what is on my mind into reality on paper. But if I had to choose one thing that keeps me moving forward, my journey inspires me to keep going the most, to keep pushing, and to become the great artist I seek to be. So far, things have been undoubtedly unconventional, full of twists, turns, and setbacks, and if I'm being honest, some days, I cannot fathom how I manage to keep going. However, when I look to the past and remember when I felt all hope was lost, I look to the present and see that I'm still here, grounded and much more improved and prosperous than before. Those successes make me look to the future and say, ‘My time has only just begun.’”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The themes I explore are often grounded in various aspects, including identity and self-discovery - reflecting my feelings, thoughts, and desires, or even themes of resilience and empowerment. My mission is to make the viewer feel what I felt in that moment, whether good or bad; if I can evoke some feeling, I know I have done my job and got my message across. To be more concise, I would say that my works often have more than one meaning or underlying message, and sometimes, I leave my works up for interpretation, which helps me see from others' points of view.”
How would you describe your work?
“You know, I’m not sure if there’s even a way to describe it; perhaps there’s nothing like it, but I will say when it comes to my work, I’d compare my style and subject matter to a stream-of-consciousness that feels like a dream, either that you won't forget or want to remember. Since I work with many different mediums and utilize many different methods, be it traditional or digital, categorizing it is rather tricky. If I had to say which genres I operate within the most, it would be realism, surrealism, romanticism, and even classicism; there are so many isms that I can barely keep track of them all. You could even throw in contemporary art just to keep things current. I often like to include references to popular culture, be it from a book, poem, film, lyric, or historical event. My work is open-ended, leaving room for interpretation and inviting you to explore its depths.”
Which artists influence you most?
“When I think about what artists have influenced me the most and have undoubtedly left a mark on me and my work, I think of Gustave Dore, Kentaro Miura, and Michelangelo. These three, for me, go hand in hand because the powerful, dark, and otherworldly stories they told with their art blended reality and fantasy in ways that I never thought possible. The brush strokes, the ingenious ways they used perspective and anatomy, and the twisted ways that they could bend art into their will and capture the emotional depth of subjects in their artwork inspired me to pick up a pencil, a pen, and a brush and get to work. Their dreamscapes, whether heavenly or hellish, forever engraved themselves into my mind and showed me how influential art could be, and that inspired my desire to create art with powerful imagery and a powerful story and message to boot. I remember being in Barnes and Noble and seeing Dore’s work for the first time laid bare within Dante Aligheiri's Divine Comedy; from that moment, I knew I had to have it and ended up taking it to school the next day to read, and it wouldn't be too long before I found Kentaro's art through Berserk as well. I couldn't help but notice the parallels between them; as for Michelangelo, everyone knows about him.
But the inspiration doesn't stop there; within the past 3 years, amidst bouts of unproductivity and stagnation as an artist, I came across a few more creators who've also inspired me greatly to not only continue my craft but to continue in a different direction, a hyperrealistic direction. Those phenomenal artists are Calida Rawles, Arinze Stanley, Jono Dry, and Harmonia Rosales. It would be an understatement to say their work affected me because they are a pinnacle of artistic freedom. Calida, Arinze, and Jono captured me immediately with their hyperrealistic work and how they take it beyond just being a simple photo and add elements of fantasy, storytelling, and emotion to their work. Harmonia, to me, is most certainly a modern Michelangelo, so her genius needs no further introduction; however, what inspires me about her is how she takes such rich stories and mythological events and uses her heritage to reinvent an often whitewashed narrative and displays not only brilliant brush strokes but empowerment. In the end, all of these great artists inspire me not only to keep going but to improve and find new ways to challenge myself, and because of them, my journey isn't so wayward anymore but crystal clear.”
“The themes I explore are often grounded in various aspects, including identity and self-discovery - reflecting my feelings, thoughts, and desires, or even themes of resilience and empowerment.”
What is your creative process like?
“It is much more straightforward than you think; I plan everything in advance and think of it like a factory. I think of concepts, things that have inspired me, things that I want to depict, choose the style/medium in which I want to depict it, and go from there. If the piece is more complex, I do a rough sketch on my computer or paper to understand how I want it to come together or utilize references related to the subject. When your head is always full of ideas and concepts, it's easy to imagine and picture, but the actual task comes when you have to take a step and translate it to a surface.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“You know, I think about this all the time, and I always say this: an artist's role is to display, record, depict, and preserve the world around them in their own image; it has always been this way. The only reason we have such rich and detailed ideas of what the past was like is that artists of the time before technology depicted what society was like back then: the poor, the rich, and the royal; they depicted it all. The wars, religion, social issues, and so much more; they were the reporters, the cameramen, and the keepers of culture alongside the poets, musicians, and writers; the Renaissance was necessary for a reason. In this age of information full of discord, misinformation, and censorship, depicting the world as it is is critical because it helps combat harmful narratives and show our world as it is. When it comes to how the artist's role evolves, I’d say it already has via accessibility and technology; think about back then, to maximize your potential as an artist, you usually had to be born into a wealthy family or lucky to be chosen as an apprentice now nearly anybody can become an artist and get started either traditionally or digitally. Look at animation, look at music, look at film, and look at literature; artists have already evolved. Now, more people of all classes can share their talents, take their approach, and create freely. But with a new age comes new threats, and just like how creative industries have evolved technologically, people's abilities to spread chaos has evolved as well via AI, the new and rightfully controversial tool that has been used for more evil than good, but that's another discussion for another time.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“Yes, recently, my work was exhibited via The Camelback Art Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona; it was my first significant exhibit and competition in which I won first place for their My Best Work of 2024 competition. It was an exhilarating and rewarding feeling to be selected, something that I was very thankful for, and to top it all off, it came right before the New Year.”
Website: cara.app/dm711
Instagram: @themaroon803
