PK 036: Simon Dyjas on Photography, Art, And Why we All Need to Learn to Fail Better

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“Take a step back and own up to your weaknesses. Then work on your strengths.”

Simon Dyjas has carved out a successful career as a photographer and artist.

But he’s only managed to achieve this thanks to constantly pushing himself to work harder. And never, ever, listening to those who only wanted to criticize his efforts.

In this inspiring podcast, Pencil Kings member Simon talks about his early introduction to computers, digital art and photography.

Although he grew up in Poland,  he’s lived in Philadelphia, USA, for many years now. He can still remember his ‘aha’ moment as a kid when his father brought home a computer that looked a little something like this:

amiga-500-retro-computer

 

Remember this? Sure, it was pretty basic by today’s standards. It had a whopping 4-bit operating system and loading a game from a cassette player (yeah, really!) took, like, forever.

But from that moment on, Simon Dyjas was hooked, and found himself ‘falling in love with the flicker of the pixel’. His mind was made up – he was going to become an artist and photographer.

Early Photoshop Inspiration for Simon Dyjas

As he went through high school, he discovered the more advanced digital world of Apple Mac, along with one super-important piece of software – one of the first versions of Photoshop!

And, when he went on to study at art college, he was keen to combine his love of drawing and painting with the limitless pixel possibilities offered by this game-changing software.

As an artist and photographer, Simon Dyjas has had to put in the hours to get where he is today. He’s also had to deal with negative feedback from some people, but he’s learned how to deal with it. His approach? He says: “The haters have no idea what it takes to be an artist. Just keep putting your work out there and don’t listen to them!”

And, if you’re prepared to do the same, you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve. Feeling inspired? Click here to Tweet this podcast and share the inspiration.

Listen to this week’s show and learn:

  • How to keep developing your skills – even if you feel like you don’t have the time
  • How to develop the confidence to put a portfolio together
  • Why it’s good to own up to your weaknesses and learn how to ‘fail better’
  • Why it’s so important to keep developing yourself and not set yourself limits

People on this Episode:

Mitch
Simon

Mentioned in the episode:

Simon Dyjas Website
Simon on Facebook
Simon on Instagram

Listening options:

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Thanks for listening to our show! We’ll be back next Wednesday morning 8AM EST.

Cheers,

Mitch

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