Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Margaret Archambault . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Margaret , thanks for joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I am a full-time visual artist and have experienced a host of challenges in pursuit of this title. Someone once told me during a particularlly difficult period where I was questioning my decision to NOT go back into the workforce, that being an artist was not for the weak and that if you expected it to be easy, then you’ll never make it. I took this as a challenge of course and proceeded to power through the hardships, which admittedly are always present, because the alternative would be even worse. The old adage that nothing worth doing is ever easy, definitely holds true.

Margaret , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I was a young girl I would see my mother painting little two-toned, monochromatic oil paintings with solid black trees as the focal point. This was a style very popular in the 1970’s and could be found on greeting cards of the period which she often used as her point of reference. As much as these pieces intrigued me, it was the smell of linseed oil that even today, still conjures up familiar feelings of comfort. In my early 20’s when I first began to really paint, it was not only a desire to create that motivated me, it was also the need to reconnect to that scent, to that time, when everything seemed alright. So, I jumped right in with both feet into oil paint and of course learned very quickly how to create the most accurate shades of mud – landscapes that more resembled landslides if you will. Quickly I discovered Acrylics and found them to be much more forgiving for my beginner explorations. Over time I played with a variety of mediums – temperas, watercolors, spray paint, latex and pastels. But it was always oil that drew me back. Oil was where I wanted to be and oil was where I was determined to primarily reside. For 30 years now I have been exploring with process and have learned techniques that make my work distinctive. Combining these skills with my ever evolving subject matter, palette choices and surfaces has allowed me to express my core beliefs into complex compositions. Solving the problems of the intentional complexities I create, is where my compositions come to fruition. On specific occasions I incorporate a use of collage to represent and explore the effect mainstream media has on our daily choices as well as antique and vintage paper in an attempt to connect or to reconcile our history. I believe that the power of what we see and how it alters our ability to find what we consider “happiness” a challenging subject and worth exploration. From the mediocre and mundane to the exhilarating and brilliant, we are shaped and created by the good, the bad, the happy and the sad, each moment a point in a repeated cycle of discovery. Regardless of our desires and often in direct defiance of our “plans” the revolutions of time and the changes that come with it lead us to the revelations that alter our paths. I am artistically driven to examine what constitutes the ever elusive “Good Life”. Does it actually exist? What does it consist of? Where can it be found? Can it be purchased, like advertisers tell us? Is it limited to only certain people? How do we define it? By expressing my investigations of the world around us through art, I’ve discovered some answers and of course a host of additional questions. My explorations have dissected a myriad of subjects including, the influence of mainstream media on our lives, how business practices affect our ability to achieve goals, how social media has changed the way we interact with each other and a variety of other similar subjects. At my core, I believe that mark making is one of the purest forms of truth. When this sort of truth is combined with palette and complex composition, it has the unique ability to become an investigation of the human condition and our individual roles within the surrounding world. Life is often complicated and my paintings dissect and often reflect the chaotic episodes that shape our universal experiences as well as ruminate on our common problem – Life and how vital living it to its fullest truly is.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Frankly, I’d have to say that my entire journey represents resilence. Like so many children of the 70’s my parents divorced when I was very young. Each of them went through several additional marriages and divorces all of which created a wide variety of both turmoil and challenges in our lives. Personally, I attended 13 schools before ever entering high school for a grand total of 15 schools by the time I graduated. Most of the time people assume my parents were in the Military when I’d share this fact, but that was not the case. Needless to say this plethora of movement in my young life injected me with the ability to adapt to any situation. I didn’t recognize this as a skill until much later in life. Today I see that my pre-20’s were a gift. Those years and those endless periods of change instilled an ability to see people. To see what we have in common, to see that we are all simply trying to live our best lives and that we all are human. When I first began to take painting seriously there were those family members and friends who thought I was nuts. I was met with the all too familiar “You can’t make a living doing that” or “Don’t quit your day job” and it wasn’t until much later that I realized these perpetual dissuasive comments were only reflections of their own discomfort with the idea and not my own. That being said, I must admit that in the beginning I did indeed keep the day job and painted as my “hobby” but it never sat well and even though as time moved along I did have a gallery that showed my work, I still felt incomplete, uninspired and flat out unsatisfied with life. Sure, it was safe and I got a weekly paycheck from my day job and the occasional art sale and I was able to keep up with debts and bills, but then I realized that I was working for things that I didn’t really need. I began to realize that there’s a big difference between want and need. I began to ask myself questions. Do I really need a car payment or just a car? Do I need a 2,000 square foot house or just a place to live? Do I need to charge new jeans on my Macy’s card or just buy a pair of jeans? I had all of those things and more, but I wasn’t actually happy. Today I can see clearly that I needed those years to be able to recognize where my true purpose and passion lied, but as they say, when you’re in the forest it’s difficult to see the trees. As I continued to contemplate these sorts of Maslovian needs, the Universe stepped in and placed a new challenge directly in my path. I was laid off. For the first time in my adult life I was jobless and secretly I was thrilled! I had no savings, but I had one year of unemployment insurance and I used every cent of it. This is when my full-time art career truly began. My mantra became to live life devoted to creating and that life would create a way for me to do it. Today, as it has been for the past 16 years, my day job is Artist.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes. I have an unrelenting desire to inspire people to recognize the power of their own individuality while at the same time embracing our commonalities, to appreciate our similarities alongside our differences. To see clearly that our differences are what makes us special and are precisely what has the ability to bring us together. The media (both social and network) continues to drive home ideologies around separation rather than promoting togetherness. I believe we can do better. I believe we are better than what we are fed. I believe we can change the narrative and come together in a united front of individuality rather than conformity. I believe art has the ability to achieve this lofty ambition by demonstrating these tenets in a physical way. My work attempts to remind the viewer to consider that the myriad of individual experiences, interactions and emotions we all survive each day is the challenge of living, We become ourselves as a direct result of these moments. They shape who we are, who we’ve been and who we desire to become. This sort vision is incorporated throughout my work. Through a combination of abstract figuration and abstract expressionism, I create allegorical paintings meant to invite the viewer to discover solutions, consider the relationship between the past and present and to ultimately appreciate, or at the very least recognize the universal between us all. I believe that great things come from strong individuals who live each day being the best version of themselves. What I’ve learned is that true happiness is rooted in our ability to offer compassion to those we come into contact with and we would do well to remember that if we make it to 100 years old, we only have 36,500 days to LOVE and it’s so much easier to simply not be a jerk.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.archambault-art.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretarchambault/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margaret.a.spivey
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-archambault-5a60a44a
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmw1w-fyImeF7lndbibuTA