Hi my name is Amanda and I am a colorful still life oil painter. Today Is a chill day. I am just restocking my fine art prints for my upcoming markets this weekend. I thought it would be fun to show a less cut version of my fine art print making process and just chat a little about my art journey which eventually led to me becoming a full-time artist.
When I was young I loved making art. I started taking art classes when I was around 9 years old. I took those classes for almost 3 years. Then I was in junior high and I got super into anime, specifically yugioh! I would sit on my bed and watch yugioh on my computer and then when I would see a frame that I really liked I would pause the show and scroll back to that frame then I would take out my little kodak digital camera and take a picture of my screen. I then would get that picture off my camera and onto my computer so I could print it out and draw from it while I kept watching the show. I did this for years and it was really fun. I would even make up my own anime characters.
Towards the end of my years in high school I started taking classes at the junior college to start preparing for college. As a highschool student I could only take 2 classes. So I took a hard class and a fun class which ended up being art. I took a design class, a drawing class, and a sculpture class. It was in these classes that I realized that my skill to make art was a lot more advanced than the drawings I made as a kid and the anime characters I drew as a junior higher. My art was realistic and compelling to look at and I really enjoyed doing it.
When it came time to decide what I wanted to major in I was leaning towards graphic design because that seemed more practical than art. But my parents encouraged me to do what I was passionate about, not what I thought was practical. So I decided to major in Art at Westmont College. I also took some graphic design classes and interned as a graphic designer each summer but at school I was mostly focusing on art. Funny enough I didn’t take an oil painting class until my junior year! When I was in drawing 2 the semester before, we had mostly been drawing with charcoal and pencil but we had a few classes where we drew with acrylic paint and other mediums. I was painting with acrylic paint and my professor looked over my shoulder and said “Amanda have you ever painted before”? I said no not really then he said “well I think you're a painter” That next semester I was in painting 1 and completely fell in love with oil painting.
I loved how the paint would stay wet and workable for so long. I loved how brilliant and deep I could get the colors to be. And I just loved the texture of the medium. After that class I was able to take 2 more painting classes. And finally I ended my time at Westmont with my senior project which was a series of 6 still life oil paintings of antique glass arrangements with a colored light. I think that time of my life was probably one of the most productive I have ever been. I would wake up, eat breakfast and be in the painting studio by 8:30 or 9:00 every morning then I would paint till 11 or 12. I put so many hours into my senior project and I made some really cool pieces. Right before the exhibition opening the pandemic happened and our opening was postponed. When I heard that was happening I cried so hard. I had literally spent 6 plus months thinking about what I was going to do for my senior project planning it out painting, drawing, photographing, writing the list goes on. To then have not that many people see it was heartbreaking.
After graduating in 2020 that summer I didn’t make much art. I made maybe 5 pieces. Then I moved back to Santa Barbara for an internship and then found a full time job packing orders for a running apparel company and doing some graphic design as well. I worked at this company for almost 2 years and I very much loved this job but there was a part of me that wondered what would have happened if during the pandemic I did what a lot of creative people did which was start a business selling their art and other handmade things.
So with a bit of a leap of faith and with the support of my family I quit my full time job and started pursuing art full time. I have been full time for almost 2 years and it has definitely had a lot of ups and downs. I have had times where I feel super creative and am making so much art. Then I have times where I feel hardly any motivation to make art and it almost feels like a chore. At the beginning of going full time I poured so much of my energy into painting. I had basically been starved of painting for years and I was hungry for it. I still paint consistently now but not with that same fierceness as when I first went full time.
Currently right now what I am really struggling with in my art is getting people to buy it not just at in person markets. I am a part of a weekly art market that happens every Sunday here in Santa Barbara. It is called the Santa Barbara Arts and Crafts walk. I also participate in a few other local art markets downtown on saturdays. I always sell super good at each of those markets. But I barely sell anything on my website. I give all my customers at markets my business sticker which has my social handle and website. Here and there I have gotten website orders from people who met me at a market or follow me on instagram. But it is not as many as I would like.
Don’t get me wrong I love going to in person markets and seeing people interact with my art in real time. But it's really exhausting having my weekends always packed. Like in June I only have one saturday that is free the rest I have markets. I am by no means complaining! I am just saying it is really starting to take a toll on me. I feel like I have no time to rest. I sometimes take one day off each week but even on that day I sometimes work a little bit. It is just a constant grind and I am realizing that it seems like that's how it is always going to be. When I watch other artists' videos here on youtube it seems like we are all in the same boat of constantly working really hard on our art and art business.
Oftentimes when I am working it doesn’t always feel like work so I am completely fine working extra and working in the evenings because I am enjoying what I am doing. But when work seems to never stop that's when it can get tiring no matter how much you enjoy what you are doing. I think what I would really like is for in person markets to not be such a huge part of my small business. When I have a market on saturday and then another on sunday I am absolutely spent and over stimulated by the end. I am by nature a more introverted person so it is hard for me to be friendly, talkative, and happy with each and every customer who looks at my art. When I have had 2 markets in one weekend, by the end I literally come home, eat, take a shower and go straight to bed and then the next day I don’t talk to anyone as much as I can.
I don’t think it is sustainable for me to do so many in person markets and work so much during the week. I would really like to be able to do less markets and take some days off here and there during the week to rest after markets. One of my ways I am hoping to achieve this is by getting more orders on my website so in person markets are not as huge of a source of income for me. But how do I get more people on my website? Well one way I am hoping to do that is through social media. I have a good amount of followers on instagram and a few on tiktok and a good amount here on youtube. So I am going to start sharing more of my art process, business thoughts, and just life here on youtube and other social media platforms in the hopes that it will get more eyes on my art and website and maybe translate into sales.
I have been saying I wanted to do a youtube channel since I started being a full time artist and I am finally at the point now where I am actually going to do it and do it consistently. I have found so many amazing artists here on youtube and I connect with them so much because they are all small business owners, introverted, and creative people. Sometimes while I am painting I will put on one of Kelsey Rodriguez’s or Uncomfy Co’s videos and just listen as I paint. In a funny way it almost feels like hanging out with a friend.
To wrap up this video I want to talk a little bit about what my art is about. I have always been fascinated with glass objects and shiny things. I love how glass distorts and refracts the things around it. I love how it picks up little bits of light and color from its surroundings. I am also really interested in fruits and foods since that was a subject I didn’t paint much in college. I paint everyday ordinary things in a whimsical and interesting way. Things that most people can recognize and understand but they look just a little bit different and fantastical. I want my art to draw any viewer in and invoke comfort and relatability. And what better way to do that than painting delicious foods and interesting objects.
So yeah that's my art journey up to this point as well as some small business struggles. If you made it this far thanks so much I really appreciate it! I am super close to 1,000 subscribers which is super exciting! I am so happy for each and every sub I get. With this channel I hope to provide helpful information about how I run my art business and my struggles and wins as an artist. Thanks so much bye friends!
Check out my youtube video for visuals: