Supreme Dream Photography in Plano pivots to passion work amid pandemic

PLANO, TX – The past year has presented challenges for working artists, such as photographer and painter Kendrix Wesley. But as fast-paced and high-volume work has slowed, doors for exploring his art have opened, Wesley said.

“What that’s allowed me to do is buy back my time to really focus on things that I love to do,” he said. “And the happier I am, the more creative I am.”

After two decades as a photographer and nearly 13 years as owner of Supreme Dream Photography in downtown Plano, Wesley had grown his clientele for weddings, head shots and other studio and outdoor photography jobs. In the early stages of the pandemic, much of that work was put on hold, and he was forced to pivot his business.

Those initial pivots, such as shooting food and restaurant menus, eventually turned into selling art and photography prints to people redecorating their homes. Other shoots remained stalled due to the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, Wesley said.

Visual artists facing similar lulls in their careers came to Wesley to work on some passion projects throughout the last year. There, he discovered a reignited desire to work on creative and exploratory art, he said.“Sometimes, art and things like that takes a backseat, obviously, to the necessities,” Wesley said. “But there’s always … a client out there, and so, luckily, I’ve had some pretty cool referrals to marry the two to keep me going.”

Even as the difficulties of 2020 begin to fade, it is clear it will take time to return to normalcy, Wesley said. His business faced another setback last month when the winter storms caused his studio to flood, which destroyed about 20 stored paintings. Wesley said he is now debating recreating these pieces, all of which were made in 2020.

“It’s almost like a reflection of everything that’s kind of happened during 2020,” Wesley said. “It’s like you take one step forward and take two steps back. … We’re gonna be all right, though. We are definitely going to be all right.”