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

Alright, Lindsay thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I think it started sometime in late elementary/junior high, I was always a voracious reader and I’d started to write my own fiction and illustrate it. When it morphed into exclusively doing artwork as a form of storytelling, I really started to think about where it could go as far as a career. I knew I never wanted a job that would lock me behind a desk—funny how I sit at a drafting table doing my art now, not so different from a desk—and being able to do what I love for a living was and still is very important to me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

It was about 8 years ago that I really focused on art in a serious way. I did art for myself, but once people asked me for commissions and professional business ventures, I had a lot of hope for being able to make art more of a career. I’ve designed personal pieces, wedding invitations, business cards, and bottle labels.

I’ve taken classes for art through the years, but I’m primarily self taught. I work with acrylic paint, pen and ink, watercolor and pastel. Canvas isn’t my favorite, so I work on different paper and wood board. Thrifting frames for my pieces is a big part of the process as well. It’s a fun hunt, and also provides a customer with an already framed piece.

Standing out in a sea of very talented artists in my community—physically and in an online presence—can be a challenge. I would describe my art as a blend of the macabre and a fascination with botany. Storytelling is also very important to me, and I try to convey that in my artwork. Standalone scenes and characters are something that I find unique to my art, and hopefully to viewers as well.

Altogether, I can say I’m proud of myself in the growth and development of my style over the years. Experimenting with new mediums and incorporating new or unheard of folktales dries my creativity, and will keep my images evolving. New stories are always coming out of the woodwork, keep an eye on me to see what kind of creeps come next!

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

Being able to put the visuals in your head down on paper in a tangible form is a huge fulfillment for me. Like trying to describe a dream you had to someone, but it never comes out as clear or concise as it appears to you. The artwork might not be exact, and it can change as you put it to paper, but freeing it from your mind is really satisfying. Also working with my hands is very cathartic and soothing for the busy thoughts that can clutter your daily life.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building a presence on Instagram was a slow start for sure. But I’ve found the key to remaining seen is a fairly constant presence. Posting daily can definitely be a struggle—and I’ve certainly slacked and gotten discouraged—but even just a story can keep your followers reminded you exist. Process videos, photos of products you personally like to use, or other artists you admire is a good way to stay in people’s feeds. It can be tedious, but engaging with people that like what you do and encourage you to keep creating is a great point of social media.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @pinseyrose