We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Abbey Giedraitis . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Abbey below.

Abbey , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful projects I have worked on have been my imaginary landscapes. I have anxiety, which started back in 2018 during my first pregnancy. It wasn’t until 2021 I finally decided to seek out help for it, because I was getting frequent panic attacks.

While I have been a painter since high school, I never utilized art as a form of therapy or healing from my trauma. Lately, to help with distracting my thoughts, instead of using a photo reference, I would start to image a place that I wanted to be or escape to. I would envision mountains with bright and vivid colors that regular ones didn’t have. I would create bushes or trees where I feel they looked best and to my liking. All of a sudden, this place that I could see in my mind, this place that was bringing me peace and calm, was now a reality.

When I show my art at galleries or art festivals, I love when strangers wander up to get lost in the places that I create. It is so rewarding to give others peace and joy through these landscapes. My ultimate goal is to have my paintings reach as many homes that need a place to look, envision and escape to throughout their busy or stressful day.

Abbey , 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?

Born and raised in the NW suburbs of Denver (Arvada/Westminster), I have been heavily inspired by mountain landscapes, as well as the desert, since my husband is from Tucson, AZ where we frequently visit. I have been obsessed with creating since I was old enough to hold up a paintbrush. I got my Bachelors Degree in Art from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2015, got married and started my family as a stay-at-home mother. It wasn’t until after my first child grew a bit that I got back into painting and working on my own individual style and techniques. After a few years of trial and error, I have discovered I have an equal love for both watercolor and acrylic painting. My goal for each painting is to create a dream-like, whimsical and vibrant illustration of nature. Whatever the subject matter may be, I utilize color or texture to evoke my feelings and emotions I experience. I create my paintings out of my home in Westminster, while raising my two young children (5 and 2). I offer fine art archival canvas and watercolor paper prints in my online art shop, and at local artisan markets throughout the summer and fall!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yes! The book “Artpreneur” by Miriam Schulman is a fantastic book for artists. This book talks about “the starving artist” or the negative mindset/imposter syndrome all artists are faced with and how to redirect these thoughts into positive and flourishing ones. It also gives you steps to starting your own business, and tips along the way, not to mention how to have successful conversations with collectors to get them to buy your work/sign up for your email list…which I learned is your holy grail…your email subscribers are your gems!

I’m also currently reading “The Creative Act: A Way of Being” by Rick Rubin because I have heard so many wonderful things about it! Loving it so far.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’d love to see more positivity towards this career path. All my college years I constantly got “what are you going to do with that?” or “that’s a waste of time” when I said I was getting an art degree. Stop calling artists “starving”… we are THRIVING. We need more opportunities to show our work, whether it be in a local coffee shop or an art gallery! My biggest challenge for people looking for “wall art”is to stop before you go into Hobby Lobby or Target to pick random things to fill your wall space. Be resourceful, look up local art markets happening in your area, we would LOVE your support! Besides, you are going to love collecting artwork and decorations from artists/artisans that you have met and connected with in-person or saw their work in your favorite local restaurant rather than something that you will most likely see in other homes because they are mass produced.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.abbeygiedraitisart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbeygiedraitis.art/