Since I could pick up a crayon, I have loved the art of illustration. When I was little, I remember reading some of my favorite cartoons like Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts, and being more intrigued by how the lines on the paper were formed to make memorable characters than the story lines themselves. Later, when I was sitting at home bored, I would try to replicate those characters perfectly in a sketchbook to make them my own. While I was constantly told by my mother that I was a naturally talented artist, I didn’t believe her.
As a child, I looked around and was awestruck by the beauty in this world. How could I ever measure up to it? My mom often pushed me to take art classes, but I never listened. I preferred teaching myself how to draw and create things rather than trying following someone else’s directions about how to do so.
As time went on and after I graduated high school, my family life had drastically changed. My parents split up and I moved to the east coast with my mother and sisters. After twenty years of staying home and raising children, my mother had to find a way to go back to work as a nurse. She spent every day for the greater part of a year studying to renew her license so she could start working again.
It wasn’t an easy time for us as a family, but in the midst of it all, she would inspire my siblings and I by saying things like “it’s never too late to go back to school.” Or, “it’s never too late to try something new.” We would be at the gym and see an 80 year old woman doing yoga, and my mother would say “I hope I can do that when I’m 80.” Her motivation to keep going inspired me like no other. It pushed me to do things I never thought I was capable of – like finishing college and buying a place of my own.
It was around the time my mother was returning to the workforce that I was trying to decide what to do with my own life. I always wanted to go to college and make something of myself, and was pushed even further when I saw what my mother was capable of. She was my inspiration. I briefly considered a career in some type of design – fashion, interior, or graphic, but none of them seemed practical. I went to college and studied business because it seemed like the most sensible thing to do.
For over a decade, I used my degree in business as a stepping stone into corporate marketing, and worked as a project manager where I was constantly running meetings with large teams to keep business on track. While I knew the career path I had chosen would more than likely always pay the mortgage, it never felt like it was the right fit for me.
Work was exhausting because I wasn’t doing the things that came naturally to me. I would hear my mother’s words “it’s never too late” replaying in my head over and over again as I considered going back to school to get a master’s degree, but I didn’t want to waste more time and money on another path that wasn’t right for me.
It wasn’t until about five years ago that I decided to pick up a pen again and try drawing just for fun. I was pregnant with my son and drawing and doodling seemed like the best way to pass the time. It was almost therapeutic for me. This was right around the time Instagram became popular and I was learning new techniques from other artists online. What was once a hobby soon became an obsessive passion as my belly grew bigger and I could do less physically.
After my son was born, I was inspired even more to create and spend more time learning different art techniques. I decided I wanted to learn how to paint, and while today I look at some of my first paintings with horror, I eventually taught myself how to paint with watercolors that in a way was pleasing enough to the eye and things began to come together naturally. I started using other mediums like goauche, acrylics, and different types of surfaces to paint on.
I would post artwork on Instagram and get comments about the pieces, so decided to start selling some of my work on Etsy. I attended a few craft fairs and people continued to buy my work. I wasn’t making any money, but every sale drew me closer to what I really loved doing.
Last year, at 37 years old, I was blessed with a second child. Even though I was on the older end of the spectrum for having another child, I kept telling myself, “It’s never too late.” Together, my husband and I made the decision that I would stay at home for a year or so to raise the children until we both felt the time was right for me to go back to work full-time.
During my downtime at home, I picked up my sketchbook again. I obsessively began drawing and painting again and teaching myself new techniques. My love for art had been rekindled. After a few months of being home, I of course became a little restless. I felt like it was time to figure out what I wanted to do during this next season of my life. I knew that this time I had to use my artistic abilities in my work.
Once again, I heard the words “It’s never too late” replaying in my head.
With everything behind me, I decided to start my own creative business, where I would focus solely on creative projects. Today, I’ve launched my own website, selling some of my favorite pieces and I run a blog that covers best practices in marketing for small businesses.
This time around in my career, I want to focus on the things that come naturally to me and do work that I enjoy. In the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to work on some really cool illustration and graphic design projects for clients all over the country. And have learned so much about being a business owner and professional designer.
I can’t wait to show you my next big project that I’ve been working – a true labor of love, and the most artistically challenging project I’ve worked on thus far. Stay tuned to see what’s in store!