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

Adeline, appreciate you 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 have been a full time artist since February of 2020, right before the pandemic shutdown. Deciding to become a full time artist was one of the scariest, most important decisions I’ve ever made. As a person who has been consistently working and employed since I was fourteen, the idea of being self employed, let alone an artist, seemed to be something of a fantastical idea.

I spent my youth working in the animal industry and expected to continue down that road until my partner and I had gotten a job offer in 2018 to move out of state as a graphic design/photography team for a new company. The first six months of working at that company was great, however, the business slowly started to change and evolve into a very toxic workplace and the expectations that we had agreed to before moving, were not being fulfilled. As an escape and to feel some connection to the animal community that I missed so much, I decided to try the ‘Inktober Challenge’ & started doing small daily animal drawings. I didn’t have much time after work, so I did 1×1 inch square ink drawings in my notebook and shared them online. I hadn’t done much, if any artwork since high school and thought it might be fun to pick it up again. I honestly NEVER would have expected what came next.

After sharing my artwork on my personal pages, a friend asked if I had an art page to follow. I created one and started sharing more and more artwork. I soon started getting requests from friends to draw their animals and before I knew it, I was staying up late at night working on pet commissions and logo designs after I’d get home from work. I got to the point where I was doing so many artwork commissions, that I was financially surpassing my day job. Yes, the job I moved out of state for. Because I had been squeezing in my art time after a full day of work, my partner, Chris and I discussed the idea: What if I had ALL day to work on commissions instead of a few hours a day? We made a list of pros and cons, and after much encouragement from Chris, along with my good friends, I decided to hand in my notice and quit my day job.

I think that because I had built up a clientele while working on artwork on the side, and through fantastic clients that were kind, supportive and happy to recommend me, I was able to get a great, solid start as a full time artist. Even with all the challenges that 2020 had brought with the pandemic, we were able to make it work. I started doing daily live videos online, as a place for friends and folks who lived alone to come together and hang out with me while I painted. We would chat about everything and it was a really nice way to feel connection and camaraderie, a bit of escape from feeling a bit isolated in our homes if you will. Truthfully, now that I was full time, and for the first time too- there was a LOT to learn. There was so much to running a business that I had never even considered. When I started, I expected to be drawing and painting all day, and I quickly got a wake-up call and crash course in marketing, customer service, ordering supplies, prepping files, backing and sleeving prints, shipping, social media, bookkeeping, booking hotels and expos, designing table and expo displays, ordering tools and supplies and a multitude of other things involved.

As an inexperienced, somewhat scared, now self-employed person, I took on nearly every job or commission that came my way. After all, we needed to “keep the lights on” and pay our bills, and I’m a person who loves to say yes and make people happy. What I did not have the experience to know about yet, was burnout. After months of pouring every bit of myself into my work, without taking rest or time for myself, I crashed. Many creatives work in cycles. They will be highly focused, obsessed and intense in their work, and by either not taking breaks or having an overload of projects, will then exhaust themselves and won’t be able to stand the sight of a pencil, or drawing stylus. Burnout can last from a few days, to a few weeks and in the beginning, until one’s work and focus patterns are learned, it can be a bit difficult to identify when it’s going to happen. To anyone starting a new business, or venture, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to use a schedule, plan your projects out and give yourself time to rest in between. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

I am now happy to report that after four years of building, learning, changing methods and getting better, that I have finally cracked the code on how to work efficiently, and what type of workload works for me.

Adeline, 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 a wildlife artist that specializes in unusual and lesser known exotic animals. I primarily do artwork of reptiles and amphibians but also have experience with birds, aquatics and insects and love sharing my passion for these animals in my artwork. There are so many misconceptions about animals that I would love to help change. I have a background in animal care and wildlife education and love teaching folks about the amazing creatures we share our planet with.

I grew up in a home with a large menagerie of animals of all types. We had fresh and saltwater aquariums, snakes and lizards, parrots, canaries, a hedgehog and a multitude of small mammals. I got my first job at a beautiful specialty aquarium store at fourteen. I also worked at a local wildlife center, a hunter/jumper show barn teaching horseback riding lessons, and a wonderful pet shop before moving out of state for a graphic design job in 2018. While working there, I started picking artwork back up after work, and with encouragement from friends and family, became a full time artist in February of 2020.

While there are many majestic and beautiful paintings of Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Giraffes, Bears and other large mammals, you don’t commonly see the small Hippie Anole from Ecuador, The Giraffe Clown Frog from the Amazon Basin or the elusive Mud Snake from the southeast US.

I love to showcase interesting animals that people may not know about. There are some species of animals that have never been drawn or painted and I really enjoy helping bring awareness to them as well as endangered species and share why wildlife and habitat conservation is so important. I sell my original wildlife artwork, fine art prints, canvas prints, vinyl stickers, educational coloring books, tumblers, apparel, and more on my website. I also offer a sneak peek into my art process, upcoming new pieces, timelapse videos, walkthroughs and exclusive content on my Patreon.

If you would have told me five years ago, that I would be a full time wildlife artist with a studio space, an online membership and get to travel across the country and search for my subjects in the wild, I would have thought it was a funny joke and surely it couldn’t be serious. I’m so so grateful to be able to do this for a living and I’m honored to have the support of my partner Chris, our families, great friends, and all our amazing clients. It’s crazy to see how far we’ve come in four years and I’m incredibly excited for the future. Big thank you to Dan for all the support, advice, insight and friendship. Thank you Andy for all your assistance and for helping us stay technologically relevant and giving us the kick-start we needed to get our online presence going. I’d also like to extend a huge thank you to Chuck for helping us get into an amazing space, which will help us continue to grow and create.

My goals are to always strive to be the best artist I can be, to promote wildlife awareness, education & conservation, and to give back to the community and the animals that are my muses. They are my inspiration and passion and I want everyone to learn how amazing these creatures are and see the beauty they hold.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Yes! The business is actually in a pivot right now. After being primarily commission based for the last three years, many of the ideas and animals I have wanted to paint have been patiently waiting on the sidelines for their time. We have just gotten into a beautiful studio space and are currently working on switching gears. Moving forward, I will only be taking a small number of commissions, with the bulk of my time being spent on traditional pieces, continuing to push myself to strive to be a better artist and more of a focus on process videos, live streams, tutorials and educational material.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Inspiring others to create & changing perspectives on misunderstood animals! Nothing warms my heart as much as hearing people say they started to get back into creating artwork, playing music, or expressing creativity in general. I love hearing folks get excited about their projects. It’s always awesome too when they have a newfound appreciation for certain animals they may have been previously afraid of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://adelinerobinsonart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adeline_robinson_art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdelineRobinsonArt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCufEOICaa5TQ4A_QzJCaikg?view_as=subscriber
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/adelinerobinsonarthttps://www.tiktok.com/@adelinerobinsonart

Image Credits

Chris Bihlmaier