Leaning Into Art to Battle Depression with David Sandum (#169)

In this episode I talk with David Sandum who was driven to take up art personally and then professionally after being hospitalized with depression in 2001.

His journey through depression led him to the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch—finding solace and a deep connection with their expression of raw emotions.

We discuss how art continues to be a lifeline in his struggle with depression and his memoir, I’ll Run Till the Sun Goes Down: A Memoir About Depression & Discovering Art.

David and I touch on the tension between making art for yourself and surviving in a commercial market, and, related, why he chose to focus on a series of Auschwitz paintings over seemingly more market-friendly paintings of beaches.

We also talk about how he organized a community of artists on what was then Twitter to begin an annual international exhibition and fundraiser that has been going on since 2010. The Twitter Art Exhibit has evolved into the Postcard Art Exhibit, which accurately reflects its contents.

Heads up that you’ll hear David abbreviate it repeatedly—and understandably—as PAE.

🎧 RELATED EPISODES

The Art Biz ep. 168: Impacting Artists First in a Curatorial Project Focusing on Empathy with Nanci Hersh

The Art Biz ep. 112: Leaning Into Creativity in Times of Pain with Rich Simmons

The Art Biz ep. 52: Making Art While Grieving Loss with Jan Heaton

📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/sandum-mental-health

⭐️ Connect with David and see more of his art: https://www.davidsandum.com

🔶 Sponsored by my new program, ESTABLISH YOURSELF: Essentials for Artist Success 🔶 a coaching group for strategies, support, and accountability inside a community of artists who get you. https://artbizsuccess.com/essentials

⛰️ The Art Biz is recorded on the traditional land of the Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute tribes.

~ ~ ! ATTENTION INDIGENOUS ARTISTS and BIPOC ARTISTS ! ~ ~

This is an invitation to all Indigenous and BIPOC artists, wherever you are in the world, to share your story here on The Art Biz. Here’s how ~~~~> https://artbizsuccess.com/pitch-podcast/