Today we’d like to introduce you to Red DuMonde.
Hi Red, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember. I come from a creative family, and studied painting and photography at the University of South Carolina. Back then my work looked like a Caravaggio and Jackson Pollock collaboration, very figural and textured. After school I felt pretty lost, and for seven years I tried and failed to make a career as an artist.
I tried various avenues and traveled, and eventually made my way back to my hometown of Columbia, SC where a couple friends suggested I try a tattoo career. I got lucky with a good apprenticeship, and then moved to Richmond, VA to grow as a tattoo artist. Tattooing was very different from the mediums I used in college, and both the medium and the business taught me a lot about myself and challenged me in ways other art forms couldn’t. I had to pivot hard from fine art, and focus more on illustrative imagery to make tattoos.
Unfortunately, I knew early on that tattooing wasn’t going to be a long-term career for me. In 2022 when my partner and I moved to upstate South Carolina, it seemed like the right time to bring fine art into my business. I built a website, applied to shows and markets, and started sharing more of my fine art online.
The last few years have been a slow, arduous transition as I’ve focused more on fine art, and scheduled fewer tattoos. Today, I’m fully focused on fine art, and my work is more colorful and focused on plants and animals rather than the human figure. I run my online shop, a Patreon account (monthly postcard, bookmark, and podcast), a YouTube channel, as well as various markets, shows, and stockists. My work is currently available to view in person at Bodega Noir, Atomic Furnishing, and Rustic2Refined.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t know too many artists who have had a smooth road and my story is no exception. In the beginning, the struggle was knowing what to do. I knew how to make art, but I had no idea how to make a career with my art.
When I began tattooing, the struggle became teaching myself how to make art that would work for tattoos, and applying that art to someone’s body.
Now that I’m not tattooing anymore, the struggle is finding my fine art voice again, and generating enough income streams to make this the sustainable career I know it can be.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a painter and mixed media artist. I work mostly with acrylics, and incorporate graphite, marker, oil pastels, and other mediums for some added texture and visual interest. I also work with watercolor and gouache.
I’m most well-known for my local landscapes and paintings of plants and animals. I’m passionate about permaculture and naturalism, and I will often grow plants to paint them, and paint the local flora and fauna I see around me.
What I am most proud of isn’t any one piece or body of work, but rather sticking with it and not giving up on myself.
I think what sets me apart from others is my use of color and lines. It’s interesting because I don’t notice it too much, but folks often comment on my color and line work.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Oh man, a loaded question! So many things make me happy. Fresh air, a good hike, water, seeing a happy animal, a fresh cup of coffee, time with loved ones, seeing someone light up when they’re stoked about something, the magic of lightning bugs, a delicious meal, traveling to a new place, music, learning, building something, baking, the list goes on. There are a lot of tough things in the world and throughout life, so to counteract that I am very liberal with the things that make me happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reddumonde.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reddumonde/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@reddumonde
- Other: https://patreon.com/Reddumonde
