Fast-forward a few years—and
a multitude of jobs, including book
illustration—and Darlow became
head of design at a TV advertising
company. It was a job that entailed
photography and digital design, and
he found that—given the reliance on
computers—his background in the
arts gave him a decided edge.
And then the UK recession hit
more than a decade ago, and Darlow
was laid off. He approached all of
his contacts to look for work, but
people were being laid off left, right
and center. And then he received an
invitation that would again change
his luck—and career trajectory.
A NEW GIG
In the midst of searching for a job,
Darlow was contacted by his local
Blackpool, Lancashire, art group to
do a pastel demonstration. He wasn’t
too keen on this proposal; watching
managers give presentations in an
office environment used to make
him feel physically sick for them.
“I suffered panic attacks just think-
ing about doing a workshop,” he says.
“I said, ‘Well, I’ll do one, but I won’t
give you a price, and if you like it,
you can pay whatever you think is
appropriate.’ That took a little bit of
pressure off me having to perform,
and I could just do a painting.”
Darlow’s love for the pastel
medium had first developed when
his sister bought him some sticks as
a Christmas present. He found that
they enabled him to paint quickly,
which gave him his first taste of
painting impressionistically. “Pastels
turned me from an illustratorinto an artist,” he says. “I like that
pastels are instantaneous, maneuver-
able, vibrant; these are such great
characteristics.”
He’d exhibited works in and
around Lytham St Annes, near
Blackpool, and sold quite a few, so
people were aware of him as an artist.
Hence, the approach to lead a work-
shop. “At the time, I was thinking,
if I did one workshop a week, that
would completely sustain me as a
business, and it would be perfect,”
he says.
Darlow embraced his fear and did
the requested pastel demonstration,
which led to doing more. He says
the workshops have had a positive
impact on his painting, enabling him
to travel and paint more, and they’ve
opened him up to new artistic influ-
ences over time.ArtistsNetwork.com 33