Daren Thomas Magee: The Real Fun Wow Experience

A well-known artist and illustrator, Darren brings his distinctive pen to many recognizable places around Ojai for his hundreds of thousands of followers. Darren talks about growing up on the frozen tundra of Buffalo, New York and how he lucked into a graphic design course in high school that gave him the idea he could create a career for himself doing what he'd be doing anyway — drawing. We re-release this wide-ranging and fascinating talk with this enigmatic artist who has left his Ojai-inflected distinctive stamp all around the world. We talk about plant medicine, public schools, Buffalo's surprisingly vibrant arts scene and much, much more. We did not talk about Plains Indians and their kinship with the millions of bison that once roamed through our country, flint-knapping or counting coup. This is a re-release of an episode from 2021. Check out Darren's prolific and talented art on IG @RealFunWow or the cover of the OQ he drew in Spring 2021 on Issuu.com.