The Starving Artist
The Story of How It All Began
For as long as I can remember I have been creating, drawing, and painting. My passion for art started with my dad. It all began when he decided to bring home old blue print scrolls from his job. He is an architect.
These blue print scrolls were massive. He would bring them in the house, unroll them, flip them over to have the blank side up on our kitchen table, then sit down with me and teach me how to draw.
We looked at story books and magazine for inspiration. He taught me how to see colors, blend them, and shade. Dad showed me how to draw exactly what I was looking at, whether a real life item or a picture.
When I was young we started by coloring with crayons. Dad and I would read the names of each color crayon found on the wrappers. One color from my selection was called “Tickle Me Pink.” He always made me read the name of this color out loud so he could tickle me until I was pink. He would claim I had demanded he do so. As I grew older, I began to use more sophisticated art supplies. My grandfather, a pastel artist, introduced me to both chalk and oil pastels. My dad taught me techniques for using colored pencils and fine tip pens. In college I taught myself how to use water colors and experiments with acrylics.
Fast forward… Iv’e graduated college, packed by bags, and left for Europe. It was always a dream of mine to backpack Europe post graduation. My first stop was Stockholm Sweden. It was in this country I realized how free I felt. I had been liberated from the weight of school and homework assignments and was on a wild adventure. I would soon be starting my dream job at a ministry in Colorado, where more adventure would await me. Life was great and everything was going just as one would hope and dream.
Unfortunately, after the outbreak of COVID19, the ministry I worked for was forced to lay off over half of their staff. I was devastated. With many ministry’s and companies on hiring freezes, I felt i had nowhere to turn.
My grandmothers voice kept echoing in my head. “Boy Elizabeth, you are a natural! You really should do something with your art one day.” I couldn’t ignore it, so I decided to take a long shot and start an art business. I felt clueless, yet determined. I reminded myself of the excitement and freedom I felt while in Sweden and clung to that feeling as fuel for a fresh new start.
In the past, art was something I did as a pass time.