We recently connected with Carli Desai and have shared our conversation below.

Carli, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

I started painting in 2020 when the world shut down. After joining an online painting group with Amanda Evanston, I didn’t anticipate much more than just a creative outlet and a way to have something that was just for me. The first thing I painted was peonies. Pink ones to match my hair. I had a few that I liked ok but I really wasn’t sure about them and if I was even good at this painting thing. I posted them on my instagram page, because who couldn’t use a little brightness and positivity in mid-2020, and my friend Andrea, who I know from grade school, asked if I had considered selling it. That question changed everything. I sold her that peony painting for $45 and I’m eternally grateful for her validation and support.

Carli, 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 in high school, I decided that I wanted to go to art school. My dad told me that he wouldn’t pay for me to learn to be a starving artist and to find a different option. I ended up in Textile Technology at NC State with a Design concentration. Creativity with career opportunities, we liked to call it. Right out of school, I designed bedding – comforters, pillows, etc. In 2011, I met my husband. We got married and pregnant in 2012 and we moved from North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia, where I began my next career as a Stay at Home Mom. We had 3 babies while we were in Atlanta and then moved a few more times to end up in Jacksonville, FL. Then Covid hit in 2020. I had a 6 year old, a 4 year old and a 2 year old. I was burnt out and exhausted and no longer felt like I knew who I was. When my artist mentor, Amanda Evanston, opened up an online painting group, I jumped at the chance and started collecting supplies on my dining room table. I painted flowers and sassy disco chickens, barns, boats and people with wonky faces. And I felt like I had finally come home. I paint on canvas and on paper and on wood panels. My favorite technique at the moment is collage. My favorite collage medium are old Southern Living cookbook recipe pages – they take paint so well and they are lightweight enough to not be too hard to glue on. And currently, my favorite things to create are flowers – the bigger the better. I make some of my work into stickers and greeting cards and I also hand paint cake cards to celebrate birthdays or a random Wednesday, when cake is necessary. I work with bright colors and try to find the spark in every day things that make it all feel worth it. We have settled back in North Carolina, not far from where we first met, and don’t plan on going anywhere else anytime soon. I have a beautiful home art studio with great natural light and it makes me happier than I could have ever imagined. I like to give back when I can and have certain collections that are directly tied in with charitable organizations. Otherwise, I sell my art so that I can continue to make art and I’ll say that it’s not a bad deal!

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

Being an artist gives me an excuse to be weird! I’ve had pink hair for the last 4 years because I have always wanted pink hair. I thought that I had to live in a certain city or be a certain type of person to pull it off. I’ve learned that me loving it is all I need and that it makes me feel more like myself than I ever have. I love to bring wild color to otherwise neutral spaces and I love that others can connect with what I create. Making art for myself is great, but using it to be able to connect with others is even better!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I would love to be able to give back more to the community to support local food banks, women’s shelters and the homeless. I don’t know exactly what that looks like in time, effort or funds, but that would be the ultimate success, in my mind. Getting to make beautiful things and help to make our community a better place to live.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlidesai.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/carlidesai
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chaosstyled