We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elsa Sroka a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elsa, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It was very obvious to me that the only path for me was a creative one. Academics did not come easy. I was and still am an extremely visual person. I take notice of everything around me, all the time. Almost to a fault. Working with my hands has and is an important part of what I do. All that had to do with art, creating, building, thinking out of the box, design, gardening, working with children’s art projects, rearranging our home continuously, fed my soul. It was natural that I pursue a creative path.

Elsa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an oil painter. This journey started after I retired from my 27 year career as a hairstylist. I felt I needed to create something that was mine. When our kids were still in middle school, I enthusiastically volunteered to head a few school creative art auction projects. This was the beginning of my art career. I took them pretty serious, no silly finger print ladybug tables and predictable class art projects. I wanted the kids to do more with their unique, naive, wonderful uninhibited selves. This inspired a buisness that I started called “Art in the Rough”. I worked with young people, taking what the kids drew or painted and placed those into a completed piece of art, supported by my vision and some of my early art skills. Together this was a special keepsake, a cool piece of art! I then started taking classes at the Art Students League of Denver to further my skills, as I am mostly self taught. Never looking back I forged ahead to art markets, gallery representation, group and solo shows, and public art. I felt I had found my place! This new world felt so comfortable and oddly familiar even when I just stepped into it. Cows are a common subject in my work. This began as an accident. I fell upon it as a simple subject to experiment with. I could never have predicted this would put me on the “map”. I now have a strong following and had some wonderful projects and shows. I have connected to so many amazingly talented people. I have created my brand, my unique vision. Not an easy thing to do really. I believe an artist has to have a strong vision and stay true to it. Always, there are influences, especially with social media and the internet. We can easily feel vulnerable to those and feel like we are not as good. That’s dangerous. Again, you have to do what comes from your heart and find what makes YOU happy.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

The life of an artist can look glamourous. It is absolutely not true. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and feel extremely lucky to have found my passion. But there are real struggles. There are challenges with getting recognition – regular work and a liveable wage. Maintaining a reputation can be tricky as well. These days you have to be active in the marketing part of your career, not only paint. Most artists would like to focus on thier work rather than the buisness part. Things are changing as social media and the internet have become a part of everything. I personally have been thinking hard about this and how to move forward with the challenges. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. I am finding I have to work harder on being present and breathe thru life’s distractions. Talking to other artists is also a HUGE help. We generally work alone so the connections and conversations with fellow artists is essential.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is my sanity and fullfilling my need to create. I get very unhappy and restless if I don’t have a project going. The project doesn’t nessesarily have to be painting. I enjoy other creative outlets. I am passionate about home design and gardening. Of course having a collector or viewer respond to my work is the biggest reward. Sharing the intimacy of what I create is worth every penny. It’s a labor of love and I would not do anything else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elsasrokaart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elsasroka_/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElsaSrokaFineArt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elsa-sroka-24226a32/

Image Credits
Art Photograper is Wes Magyar https://www.wmartistservices.com/